CHAPTER 13
The New Deal
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
BACKGROUND:
•Wealthy NY family, but taught
that he had an obligation to help less
fortunate
•Educated @ Harvard & Columbia
•Marries distant cousin, Eleanor
Roosevelt
•Had been: NY State Senator, Gov of NY
•Stricken with polio at age 39
*Eleanor Roosevelt
*Will become one of our most
noted First Ladies, working
particularly on human rights
IDEAS FOR ACTION
>Believed the government should aid people in need
(*vs the prevailing idea of that time of “rugged individualism”)
>Believed the government’s actions during WWI
could be applied to fighting the depression
“Brain
Trust”
*FDR’S CABINET OF ADVISORS
Conditions FDR faced upon taking office…
HOMELESS, SOUP KITCHENS,
BREAD LINES, ETC.
Desperation and hopelessness…
“HOOVERVILLES” – shanty towns on outskirts of cities,
in city parks, etc.
A “FLOP” HOUSE
APPLE PEDDLERS
“Buy an apple a day and
eat the Depression
away”
QUOTES FROM FDR’S FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS:
“THE ONLY THING WE NEED FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF”
“THE NATION ASKS FOR ACTION AND ACTION NOW”
F.D.R. CALLED FOR
“BOLD EXPERIMENTATION”
FDR’S GOALS:
1. RELIEF TO UNEMPLOYED ASAP!
2. HELP ECONOMY
RECOVER
3. CORRECT WHAT
HAD CAUSED CRISIS
(REFORM)
The First
Hundred
Days
*F.D.R. PUSHES 15 MAJOR
PIECES OF LEGISLATION
THROUGH CONGRESS TO
COMBAT THE DEPRESSION
*Every President since FDR has had his Presidency
evaluated after its first hundred days…
Bank Holiday
Banks were closed nationwide to stop
panicked withdrawals
*Finances of banks were then examined and:
~ Financially sound banks allowed to reopen
~ Essentially sound banks reopened with help from gov’t
~ Fiscally insolvent banks liquidated (like the Bank of Boulder)
Fireside Chats
*Informal radio addresses to promote his programs
to the American people
“… your money will be safer in a reopened bank
than under your mattress…”
C.C.C.
*ENLISTED SINGLE MEN 18 – 25 YRS
OLD TO WORK IN FORESTRY CAMPS
*GOV’T PAID ROOM,
BOARD, AND A SALARY,
ALLOWING WORKERS TO
SEND MONEY TO THEIR
FAMILIES
CCC Camps
*EX. FORT MISSOULA IN MT
Federal
Emergency
Relief Act
*GOV’T AGENCY THAT GAVE MONEY
TO STATE AND LOCAL WELFARE
AGENCIES, WHICH THEN DISTRIBUTED
IT TO THE UNEMPLOYED
**GAVE OUT $5 MILLION IN FIRST
2 HOURS OF OPERATION
Civil Works Administration
*PUBLIC WORKS AGENCY THAT EMPLOYED MILLIONS
CONSTRUCTING ROADS, AIRPORTS, ATHLETIC FIELDS, ETC.
**Ends in 1934 after spending over $200 Million
A month and putting over 4 million people to work
AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT (A.A.A.)
AGENCY THAT PAID FARMERS TO NOT PLANT (as many)
CROPS AND TO NOT RAISE (as many) LIVESTOCK IN AN
EFFORT TO REDUCE SUPPLY AND RAISE PRICES
* 5 MILLION PIGLETS & MILLIONS OF ACRES OF COTTON
DESTROYED IN EARLY 1933 TO REDUCE SURPLUS…
NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY ACT
~ Gave workers right to unionize
~ Created N.R.A.
National Recovery
Administration
N.R.A.
ENFORCED CODES OVER
WORKING CONDITIONS,
PRODUCTION, AND PRICES FOR
MANY INDUSTRIES
*Symbol – Blue eagle
*Slogan – “We Do Our Part”
** Codes resented & ignored by some
and proved difficult to enforce
INITIAL SUPPORT FOR THE
N.R.A. IS WIDESPREAD
P.W.A.
PUBLIC WORKS
ADMINISTRATION
PUT PEOPLE TO WORK
BUILDING BRIDGES, DAMS,
PORTS, SCHOOLS, NAVAL
SHIPS, ETC.
Ex. FORT PECK DAM
IN MONTANA
*Over $4 Billion spent…)
T.V.A.
Tennessee Valley Authority
BUILDS SERIES OF DAMS IN TENN. VALLEY AREA
TRANSFORMS ENTIRE REGION THROUGH
GOV’T SPONSORED CONSTRUCTION,
CONSERVATION, AND SOCIAL PLANNING
CRITICIZED BY MANY FOR:
~ UNFAIR COMPETITION WHEN FED GOV’T
SOLD POWER FROM DAMS CREATED
~ FED GOV’T BEING INVOLVED WHERE IT
SHOULD BE A STATE & LOCAL MATTER
TRUTH-IN-SECURITIES ACT
AN EFFORT TO END IRRESPONSIBLE SPECULATION
IN THE STOCK MARKET BY REQUIRING PUBLIC
DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
F.D.I.C.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
TO RESTORE PEOPLES’ CONFIDENCE IN BANKS THE
GOV’T INSURED SAVINGS ACCOUNTS AGAINST BANK
FAILURES WITH THIS GOVERNMENT AGENCY
FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION (FCA)
PROVIDED LOW INTEREST LOANS TO PREVENT
FORECLOSURES
*HELPED AS MANY AS 300 FARMERS A DAY…
**Homeowners Loan Corporation did the same for as
many as 1,000 families a day…
First Hundred Days ends
when Congress recesses
*Hopes are high that the legislation passed
will impact Depression in a positive way
F.D.R.’S CRITICS
Huey Long -“The Kingfish”
*This influential Louisiana Senator
starts out as a FDR supporter
but becomes a critic and rival…
His “Share our Wealth” program – would
have taxed income over $1 million at 100%
and redistributed the money to the poor
*His fate – assassinated in 1935 by a political rival in Louisiana
Charles Coughlin
The “Radio Priest”
Talked about an
international conspiracy
of bankers
Also known for
anti-Semitic (anti-Jewish) remarks
and an anti-communist stand
His positions eventually force the Catholic Church to
censure– or silence him.
Dr. Francis E. Townsend
Promoted a pension program
for seniors - $200 a month for
everyone over 60 years old
He claims this would:
>Open up jobs for younger people
>Stimulate economy with the spending
of this pension money
*Though his program isn’t put into effect,
the idea of a gov’t pension for the elderly
is realized with the later creation of -
The Supreme
Court
Struck down a number of
New Deal programs as
unconstitutional
Exs. A.A.A. & N.R.A.
*Fiscal conservatives were also opposed to FDR’s
prolific spending – deficit spending in particular
The Second New Deal
As unemployment continued, FDR & Congress
launch the “2nd Hundred Days” (Summer 1935)
– another period of relief and reform legislation
W.P.A. Works Progress Administration
>Yet another publics works program,
funded by Congress with $4.8 billion
>hospitals, schools, parks,
playgrounds, and airports
all built by W.P.A. projects
Harry Hopkins,
Head of WPA
The W.P.A. also provided for:
Federal Theater Project
Employed actors, writers, etc. to put on plays
Federal Art Project
Hired artists to paint murals, posters, etc.
*Some of these public works programs were
criticized as “make work” that unnecessarily
swelled the Federal deficit
N.Y.A. – National Youth Administration
provided part time jobs to keep young people in both high
school and college
1935 Wagner Act
Law passed that:
~ guaranteed right of labor to organize or form unions
~ established the National Labor Relations Board
Social Security
Sec of Labor appointee Francis Perkins refused to take
that position until FDR listened to her ideas on Social
Security
Provides for:
1. National pension for elderly
2. State run unemployment
insurance program
3. Support for handicapped
and dependant children
Francis Perkins
Some criticisms of Social Security included:
>Didn’t go far enough/cover enough people
>Would ruin people’s self-reliance & make them
reliant upon the government
>Many saw it as a step toward Socialism
*SS security issue for the future – too many
(Baby Boomer)recipients and not enough
workers paying into the fund!