The New Deal Assessment
Page 252
What were the hundred Days?
The period of time during which the newly elected
President Roosevelt sent Congress many bills that
were the start of the New Deal.
What was the initial response to
Roosevelt’s fireside chats?
Listeners grew confident and optimistic about
overcoming the banking crisis and took Roosevelt’s
advice to make deposits rather than withdrawals.
Why was the Wagner Act enacted?
It was created to guarantee workers the right to
unionize and bargain collectively.
What was the significance of Social
Security
It provided a safety net, in the form of a monthly
retirement benefit and unemployment insurance, that
protected people in case of hard times.
Why was the court-packing plan such a
mistake for Roosevelt?
It made it seem that the president was trying to
exceed his constitutional powers and take too much
control of the Supreme Court.
Which groups were part of the New
Deal coalition?
African Americans, women, industry workers,
immigrants, ethnic minorities, and progressives.
Tell how the political right and left differed
in their objections to the New Deal
The right believed that the New Deal restricted
business too much and gave the federal government
too much power. Meanwhile, the left felt that the
reforms of the New Deal did not go far enough to
fight the depression and protect the American
people.
Why did African Americans shift away from
their long tradition of supporting the
Republican Party?
The Depression had been particularly hard on African
Americans and they felt that the Republican Party had
done nothing to help them. So, a majority of African
American voters shifted their political influence to the
Democratic party.
Why was Roosevelt’s cutback of the
WPA and PWA premature?
He cut spending for the Works Progress
Administration and the Public Works Administration
at the same time that the first payroll taxes for Social
security hit the economy. The disappearance of the
two relief agencies alongside the additional taxes
needed to fund the Social Security payments
combined to cause a recession.
Why did Eleanor Roosevelt like the
Quaker project?
She liked it because it emphasized individual initiative
in improving the lives of the miners.
Based on the excerpt, what are the
benefits that she saw in the homestead
idea?
Giving people land so that they could grow their own
food, build a home, and not rely on federal
government relief funds.