1932 Election
• Democrats nominated
the governor of New
York, FDR (cousin of
Theodore Roosevelt) promised a “New Deal”
• Democrats won the
majority in the House
and Senate
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) won the 1932
Presidential election 57.4% to Hoover’s 39.7%.
• FDR gathered
information from many
university professors/
economic experts
(Rexford Tugwell,
Raymond Moley, Adolph
Berle Jr.) known as the
Brain Trust.
Most diverse
administration in
US history:
including blacks,
Jews, Catholics,
and women.
Frances Perkins
became 1st
female Cabinet
member as
Secretary of
Labor
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II. plans for
I. Relief for
economic
the unemployed
Recovery
The New Deal had three major goals:
III. Reforms to
prevent another
depression
The First 100 Days - 1933
• Bank Holiday
• Emergency Banking Relief Act – Gov’t.
gained ability to authorize banks to open.
• Fireside chats – FDR gave weekly radio
addresses to the public.
• 20th Amendment “lame duck amendment”
Fireside Chats
• FDR gave 30 radio speeches to the nation, which
became known as fireside chats.
FDR’s
first
fireside
chat on
the bank
crisis.
(March
12,
1933)
Glass-Steagall Act
• Established the FDIC
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
– Provided insurance to
individual bank accounts
up to $5,000
(now up to $250,000)
Federal Securities Act
• The SEC, Securities
Exchange Commission
was created to increase
confidence in the stock
market.
– Practices must be open
to the public.
– No insider trading.
21st Amendment
• Beer-Wine Revenue Act
• FDR hoped to increase
revenue by legalizing
some alcohol sales
(sin taxes).
Help is on the Way!
• The Agricultural Adjustment Act –
farmers were paid to slow down
production, which would raise
prices. Why controversial?
• The Civilian Conservation Corps
– Built roads, parks, planted trees,
and developed flood control.
And More…
• The Public Works Administration / National
Industrial Recoveries Act
– Built schools and government buildings
– Built roads and bridges
• The National Recovery Administration
– Set prices and minimum wages
And Still More…
• National Housing Act &
The Federal Housing Commission
– Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC)
provided loans to homeowners in default
• The Federal Emergency Relief
Administration - Harry Hopkins
– Provided funds for direct relief to
poor / needy through state & local
governments
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1936 Election - Defeats Alf
Landon in a landslide
• With over 60% of popular vote seen as a
thumbs up to the New Deal
• New Democratic coalition:
1. The South
2. White ethnic groups in the cities
3. Midwestern farmers
4. Labor unions
5. African-Americans - why significant?
Critics of the New Deal
Dr. Francis
Townsend
Huey Long
Father Coughlin
FDR Faces Opposition
• Conservatives say his Big Government has
gone too far - American Liberty League
…some liberals say not far enough.
• The conservative Supreme Court strikes
down the NRA (Schechter v. U.S.) and AAA
(U.S. v Butler).
• He is accused of assuming legislative
powers.
• FDR has an answer…?
“Court-Packing” Plan
• Even some Dems thought
this went too far Congress did not grant his
request for a new panel of
judges - 1st time!
• But for various reasons he
ended up nominating
seven new judges over
his term in office.
Works Progress Administration
• 1935 – 1943, $11 billion spent to create
jobs.
– 850 airports
– 651,000 miles of roads
– 125,000 public buildings
National Youth Administration
• Provided education, jobs, counseling,
and recreation to young people.
– Issued part time jobs for students
– Found work for drop-outs
The Wagner Act & Fair Labor
Standards Act
• National Labor Relations Act (Sponsored
by Senator Robert Wagner)
– Supported union rights
– Prohibited firing of union members
• Fair Labor Standards Act
– Reduced work week to 40 hours
– Minimum wage – 25 cents
• (40 cents by 1945)
– Banned hazardous work for minors
Social Security Act
• Old Age Insurance – employee paid half
and employer paid half.
• Unemployment Insurance – employees
could draw from this if out of work.
• Aid to Families w/Dependent Children
and the Disabled
New Deal Impact
& Legacy
1. Expanded role of the federal government
in the lives of Americans (Social Security)
2. Support - rise of power of unions (CIO)
3. Minor advances for minorities: blacks &
Native Americans
4. Support for Keynesian Economics
5. Political realignment of the Democratic
and Republican Parties
The WPA “Dollar”
Artists of the WPA
Kansas City
from Politics,
Farming, &
the Law
Thomas Hart
Benton,
1936
The Annual Move
by Otis Dozier, 1936
Construction of the Dam
by William Gropper
Women of Flint, MI
by Joseph Varak
The Cradle Will Rock, 1937
The theater, when it’s
good, is always
dangerous!
Orson Welles &
John Houseman
WPA Bookbinding
The American Guide Series
Former Slave Interviews