Chapter 23 Section 3
The Last days of the New Deal
Recession
• A period of slow
business activity
• The U.S. entered a
recession in 1937 when
the economy collapsed
again
Why did the U.S. slide back into a
recession in 1937?
• Social security taxes
meant workers had less
money to spend and
bought fewer goods
• Consumers had less
money because
programs such as the
WPA had been reduced
in size
National Debt
• The total amount of
money the federal
government borrows, and
has to pay back
• The government has to
borrow whenever the
amount of money it
brings in is less than the
amount it spends
• The New Deal increased
the national debt by
$22billion
Why did FDR become concerned about
the national debt?
• New Deal programs had
required borrowing
massive amounts of
money, causing the
national debt to rise
dramatically
Revenue
• Income
• Due to the New Deal,
American spending
surpassed its revenue
From reading section 3, explain why
unemployment rose during 1937?
• New Deal jobs programs
provided initial relief, but
only for certain segments
of society.
• Critics charged that
government spending on
jobs programs and public
works projects wasted
resources, interfered with
free market economics,
and expanded
government bureaucracy
Coalition
• An alliance of groups
with similar goals
– The CIO (Congress of
Industrial Organizations)
was a coalition of la or
unions representing
unskilled labor
– The aim of this coalition
was to challenge
conditions in industry
Sit-down strike
• A strike in which
laborers stop working
but refuse to leave the
building.
• Supporters outside
would set up a picket
line
What made sit-down strikes effective
to some extent?
• Together, sit-down
strikers and picket line
protesters would
prevent companies
from bringing in
replacement workers
What gains and setbacks did unions
experience during the New Deal Era?
• Wagner Act protections
and activism by union
leaders allowed unions to
grow dramatically.
• Strikes were used as a
tool, sometimes
successfully. But
sometimes leading to
violent opposition
• Eventually sit-down
strikes were outlawed by
the Supreme Court
What impact did the Congress of Industrial
Organizations (CIO) have on union strategies?
• The CIO helped to unite
and organize the
nation’s unskilled
workers in massproduction industries,
using the strike as the
main tool in the quest
for better wages and
working conditions
Why did the federal government fund new
arts programs during the Depression?
• FDR believed that the
arts were necessities,
not luxuries.
• Art and theater could
create awareness of
social problems, while
employing many and
fostering hope.
What did critics dislike about the Social
Security System?
• The payments were low
• Women were
discriminated against
• It took from the
paychecks of some, that
had worked for it, in
order to give to others