The New Deal
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
plan/program to alleviate the
problems of the Great Depression
focusing on relief for the needy,
economic recovery and financial
reform
FDR: The Man
►Distant
cousin of
Pres. T.R.
►More than any
other president—
popularly known
by his initials
►Only child of a
wealthy NY family
►Paralyzed
by polio in 1921
FDR: Greatest Strengths
►Warm
personality
►Speaking style
►Leadership
Eleanor Roosevelt
►Most
active first lady in American
history
►Wrote newspaper columns, gave
speeches, traveled the country
►Served as the president’s social
conscience & influenced him to
support minorities and the less
fortunate
New Deal Philosophy
►In
his campaign for president (1932),
FDR offered vague promises but no
concrete programs
►FDR did not have a detailed plan for
ending the depression
►Committed to action & willing to
experiment with political solutions to
economic problems
New Deal
►During
the early years of FDR’s
presidency, it became clear that his
New Deal programs were to serve
the three R’s . . .
New Deal:
for people out of work
►Recovery for business & the
economy
►Reform of American economic
institutions
►Relief
Recovery
► FDR’s
first two years in office were largely
focused on achieving one of the three R’s:
recovery
► Financial recovery programs included:
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the
Public Works Administration (PWA) . . .
Brain Trust
►In
giving shape to his New Deal,
FDR relied on a group of advisers
who had assisted him while he was
governor of NY
►Roosevelt turned to a group of
university professors, known as the
Brain Trust
Advisers
►The
people FDR appointed to
administrative positions were the
most diverse in US history
►Record number of African
Americans, Catholics, Jews &
women
Perkins: Woman of Vision
►His
Secretary of Labor was
Frances Perkins
► First female cabinet secretary
The First Hundred
Days
►With
the nation desperate & close
to the brink of panic, the
Democratic Congress looked to the
president for leadership
►Immediately after being sworn into
office (1933) Roosevelt called
Congress into a 100 day long
special session
The First 100 Days
►During
this brief period, Congress
passed into law every request of FDR
►Enacted more major legislation
than any single Congress in
history
►So numerous were the new laws &
agencies—they were referred to by
their initials (WPA, AAA, CCC. . .)
Bank Holiday
►In
early 1933, banks were failing at
a frightening rate, as depositors
flocked to withdraw funds
►To restore confidence in banks,
FDR ordered the banks closed for a
bank holiday (March 6, 1933)
Bank Holiday
►FDR
went on the radio to
explain that banks would be
reopened after allowing
enough time for the govt to
reorganize them on a sound
basis
Fireside Chats