Unit VIII – Boom Times
and Challenges
Chapter 25 – The Great Depression
Section 2 – Roosevelt’s New Deal
Roosevelt’s New Deal
The Big Idea
Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal included government programs designed
to relieve unemployment and help the economy recover.
Main Ideas
• Congress approved many new programs during the Hundred Days.
• Critics expressed concerns about the New Deal.
• New Deal programs continued through Roosevelt’s first term in what
became known as the Second New Deal.
• Roosevelt clashed with the Supreme Court over the New Deal.
Keynesian Theory
• Keynesian economics, also called
Keynesianism, or Keynesian Theory.
– active government intervention in the
marketplace and monetary policy is the best
method of ensuring economic growth and
stability.
– government would borrow money to spend
on such things as public works; and that
deficit spending, in turn, would create jobs and
increase purchasing power.
Main Idea 1:
Congress approved many new programs
during the Hundred Days.
A New President
•
Took office in March 1933
•
Said that economic recovery was possible
•
Promised that the government would help
The Hundred Days
• Hundred Days.
• President and Congress worked together
• These programs became known as the New Deal.
Franklin Roosevelt as President
Banking
Crisis
Hundred
Days
• Bank Holiday
• Passed the
Emergency
Banking Act
• Glass-Steagall
Act created the
FDIC
• The New Deal
promised relief,
recovery and
reforms.
Beyond
the
Hundred
Days
• Civil Works
Administration
• Passed the
Indian
Reorganization
Act
Restoring Confidence
• Plan was announced in Roosevelt’s
first fireside chat.
–Radio address in which he spoke
directly to the American people
–Gave many chats over the course
of his administration
Selected New Deal Programs
Civil Works Administration– employed 4 million Americans to
build road and airports
Civilian Conservation Corps– provided jobs to thousands.
Helped unemployed young men 18 to 25 years old
Tennessee Valley Authority– hired people to build dams and
generators, bringing electricity and jobs to Tennessee River
Valley
Farm Credit Administration– helped farmers refinance
mortgages so they could keep their farms
Agricultural Adjustment Act– stabilized agricultural pricesHelped farmers by paying them not to grow crops
National Industrial Recovery Act– passed with support from
Frances Perkins, the nation’s first female Cabinet member,
addressed business concerns
The New Deal
• National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)
– Helped business by requiring that businesses in the
same industry cooperate with each other to set prices
and output
– Started Public Works Administration (PWA)
– Labor received federal protection for the right to
organize.
• Federal Securities Act
– Helped investors, restored confidence in the markets
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
– Helped build dams and other projects along the
Tennessee River and its tributaries
The New Deal
Relief
Recovery
Reform
Immediate action taken to halt the
economies deterioration.
"Pump - Priming" Temporary programs to
restart the flow of consumer demand.
Permanent programs to avoid another depression and
insure citizens against economic disasters.
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
Permanent Agency set up to monitor stock market activity
and ensure that no fraud or insider trading was taking
place.
Bank Holiday
Declared so that the panic would be
stopped.
Emergency Banking Act
Closed the insolvent banks and
only reopened the solvent ones.
Federal Emergency Relief Act
(FERA)
Gave immediate help to those that
needed it in the form of cash
payments.
Civil Works Administration
(CWA)
Provided temporary jobs repairing
roads and bridges.
Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC)
Temporary jobs to unmarried single
adults filling sand bags and helping out
at disaster type situations. Participants
lived in barracks type housing.
Taxed food processors and gave the money
directly to farmers as a payment for not
growing food. This decreased supply so price
would go up.
National Industrial Recovery Act
(NIRA)
Created the NRA (National Recovery
Administration) a consortium of businesses
organized by the government and given the
power to set rules and regulations for the
economy. Members of the NRA displayed a
blue eagle.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Permanent Agency designed to insure depositors money in
savings banks. Originally insured up to $5,000 per
depositor today it has increased to $100,000.
Home Owners Loan Corp.
Gave loans to home owners so they could
pay their mortgages. This prevented people
from going homeless and prevented banks
from going under.
Social Security Administration
Permanent agency designed to ensure that the older
segment of society always would have enough money to
survive. The key here is that they would then also be able
to spend throughout their lives.
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Provided long term government jobs
building schools and other public works
projects.
National Labor Relations Act and National Labor
Relations Board (NLRA/NLRB)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Agency created to build dams in the
Tennessee river valley. These dams
provided more stable irrigation and cheap
hydroelectric power.
Otherwise known as the Wagner Act it helped unions and thus
helped workers. This acted created the NLRB (National Labor
Relations Board) which enforced labor law and made sure that
fair business practices where upheld.
Soil Conservation Act
Laws mandating proper soil maintenance to make sure that
another dust bowl was avoided.
EARLY NEW DEAL MEASURES – Are they Relief, Recovery or Reform?
_______
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_______
_______
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______
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FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT -- provided minimum wage for workers.
FEDERAL SECURITIES ACT -- required full disclosure of information related to new
stock issues.
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM ACT -- created US employment service.
HOME OWNERS REFINANCING ACT -- use of government bonds to guarantee
mortgages.
BANKING ACT OF 1933 -- created Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., guaranteeing the
safety of bank deposits.
NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY ACT -- minimum wages and self regulation of
industry --- ended in 1935.
PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION -- appropriated funds to construct roads and
other federal projects.
NATIONAL HOUSING ACT -- federal housing administration insured loans of private
banks and trust companies for construction of homes.
COMMUNICATIONS ACT -- federal housing administration insured loans of private
banks and trust companies for construction of homes.
NATIONAL HOUSING ACT -- construction of low cost public housing and slum
clearance.
SOIL CONSERVATION ACT -- established federal soil conservation services.
RESETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION -- built new model communities for low income
city workers
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION -- created and administered
program of bringing electricity to rural areas.
NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION -- federal work relief and employment for
young people.
EARLY NEW DEAL MEASURES – Are they Relief, Recovery or Reforn?
Relief
Reform
Reform
Recovery
Reform
Recovery
Recovery
Recovery
Recovery
Reform
Reform
Relief
Reform
Relief
FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT -- provided minimum wage for workers.
FEDERAL SECURITIES ACT -- required full disclosure of information related to new
stock issues.
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM ACT -- created US employment service.
HOME OWNERS REFINANCING ACT -- use of government bonds to guarantee
mortgages.
BANKING ACT OF 1933 -- created Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., guaranteeing the
safety of bank deposits.
NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY ACT -- minimum wages and self regulation of
industry --- ended in 1935.
PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION -- appropriated funds to construct roads and
other federal projects.
NATIONAL HOUSING ACT -- federal housing administration insured loans of private
banks and trust companies for construction of homes.
COMMUNICATIONS ACT -- federal housing administration insured loans of private
banks and trust companies for construction of homes.
NATIONAL HOUSING ACT -- construction of low cost public housing and slum
clearance.
SOIL CONSERVATION ACT -- established federal soil conservation services.
RESETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION -- built new model communities for low income
city workers
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION -- created and administered
program of bringing electricity to rural areas.
NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION -- federal work relief and employment for
young people.
The Hundred Days
• Recall- What did Roosevelt promise in his
inaugural address?
• Identify – Who worked together on the New
Deal?
• Rate – How would you judge the value of
programs such as CWA, the CCC, and the TVA?
Main Idea 2:
Critics expressed concerns about
the New Deal.
New Deal:
Goes Too Far
• Criticized expansion of
federal government
• American Liberty League
argued New Deal gave
president too much
authority.
• Business leaders concerned
about potentially higher
taxes
New Deal:
Not Enough
• U.S. senator Huey Long
believed the rich should
pay extra taxes to
support the poor.
• Some felt that the New
Deal helped only
business interests.
Leading Critics of the New Deal
•
Huey P. Long (senator from Louisiana)
– Believed Roosevelt’s policies were too friendly to banks and businessmen (started
the Share Our Wealth Society)
•
Father Charles Coughlin (the “radio priest”)
– Believed Roosevelt was not doing enough to curb the power of bankers and financial
leaders
•
Dr. Francis Townsend
– Criticized the New Deal for not doing enough for older Americans (wanted pensions
for people over 60)
•
The American Liberty League
– Believed that the New Deal went too far and was anti-business
•
Opposition from the courts
– Critics of the New Deal feared that it gave the president too much power over other
branches of government.
– Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States
– United States v. Butler
New Deal Critics
• Recall- What stopped Huey Long from running
for President?
• Explain – Why were business leaders critical of
New Deal programs?
• Rate – What do you think about Long’s “Share
Our Wealth” idea?
Main Idea 3:
New Deal programs continued through Roosevelt’s
first term in what became known as the Second
New Deal.
• America showed support of Roosevelt in the
Congressional elections of 1934.
• Roosevelt continued to introduce additional New
Deal legislation
– These laws became known as the Second
New Deal.
• First lady Eleanor Roosevelt was an active
supporter of New Deal programs
Selected Second New Deal
Programs
Works Progress Administration– employed 8.5 million
National Youth Administration– gave part-time jobs to
young workers
• Social Security Act– passed in 1935, worked to provide
some financial security for the elderly, the disabled,
children, and the unemployed
– Placed new tax on workers and employers
– First time the federal government took direct
responsibility for many citizens’ economic wellbeing
New Deal Labor Programs
• National Industrial Recovery Act passed in 1933.
– Required minimum wage and allowed collective bargaining
– Declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court in 1935
• National Labor Relations Act, or the Wagner Act
– Allowed workers to join labor unions
– Established the National Labor Relations Board to oversee union
activities
• Congress of Industrial Organizations
– Organized workers into unions based on industry, not skill level
– Allowed African Americans, Hispanics, women, and immigrants
as members
– Led a sit-down strike against General Motors in which they stayed
in the factories so that they could not be replaced by new workers
The New Deal Continues
• Recall- How many people were employed by
the WPA?
• Identify – What were two benefits of Eleanor
Roosevelt’s NYA?
• Explain – What was unusual about the passage
of the Social Security Act?
• Analyze – In what way did Americans show
their support for Roosevelt and his programs in
the 1934 election?
The New Deal Continues
• Recall- What happened to the NIRA?
• Draw Conclusions – In what way was the
CIO helpful to unskilled workers?
• Evaluate – What do you think about the
CIO’s attitude toward membership?
Main Idea 4:
Roosevelt clashed with the Supreme Court
over the New Deal.
• Roosevelt was reelected in 1936 by a huge margin.
• Supreme Court issued a series of rulings declaring several
New Deal programs unconstitutional.
• Roosevelt responded by proposing a plan for reorganizing
federal judiciary.
– Drew harsh criticism from Congress and public
– Critics charged that Roosevelt was trying to change the balance of
power defined in the U.S. Constitution. (Court Packing)
– Congress rejected the bill.
• The Supreme Court did not overturn any more New Deal
legislation.
Clashes with the Court
• Identify- Which branch of the federal
government was not controlled by the
Democrats in 1936?
• Define – What is meant by “court packing”?
• Compare – How did the actions of President
Roosevelt, the Supreme Court and Congress
illustrate the systems of Checks and Balances
within the U.S. government?