SSUSH18
The student will describe Franklin Roosevelt’s New
Deal as a response to the depression and compare
the ways governmental programs aided those in need
In the midst of the Great Depression, on
March 4, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt
told America, “This great Nation will endure
as it has endured, will revive and will
prosper. So first, let me assert my firm belief
that the only thing to fear is fear itself…”
With a fourth of the nation unemployed,
Roosevelt vowed to “put people to work.” In
a nation that had seen one bank failure after
another, Roosevelt promised “strict
supervision of all banking and credits and
investments…an end to speculation with
other people’s money, and…provision for an
adequate but sound currency.”

A comprehensive series
of social & economic
programs enacted
during the Great
Depression by the FDR
Administration that have
become part of our
everyday lives today.


Within 2 days of
inauguration FDR
closed all banks.
Once reopened, he
told Americans “that it
is safer to keep your
money in a reopened
bank than under your
mattress.”

Money then began
flowing back into the
banks

FDR started as soon as he got into office
with new laws regulating the banking
industry, gave relief to the poor, and
managed farms.

Foremost was getting people back to work


Created in 1933 to
control floods & bring
electricity to rural
America in seven
southern states.
The TVA generated
over 40,000 jobs
building dams, power
plants, roads and miles
of wiring
What do workers do with the money
they earn? How could the TVA help
the economy?


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
Established in 1933 – ended in 1942
Within 9 years, flood control, reforestation,
and other CCC projects employed at least
2.5 million people, primarily young men
(ages 18-25).
The men lived in work camps under a strict
regime – the majority were racially
segregated
Accomplishments: planted over 3 billion
trees, developed 800 state parks, and built
more than 46,000 bridges

FDR’s effort to
regulate business
practices by
encouraging
businesses to
establish a minimum
wage and abolish
child labor

Began in 1933 and provided relief to
farmers in the form of crop subsidies.


A subsidy is money paid by the government for
a specific purpose.
The purpose of the AAA was to keep
farmers from overplanting to prevent
another Dust Bowl and to keep produce
prices high.

Began in 1935 and built buildings and
roads and created employment for workers
and artists.

One job in particular were the slave narratives, a
series of stories as told by elderly African
Americans who recalled their days of
enslavement prior to 1865
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or Wagner Act
 Passed in 1935, the law protected the right of
laborers to form unions.
guaranteed workers the right to unionize
 protected collective bargaining (the ability to bargain as
a group for workers’ rights)
 allowed for binding arbitration
 Also established the National Labor Relations Board to
settle disputes between the labor unions and
management.


The Wagner Act paved the way for the formation
of the United Steel Workers of America and the
United Auto Workers


After two years of
New Deal
programs, the
American economy
showed little sign
of recovery
To try and speed
up the recovery
process, Roosevelt
launched his
second New Deal



Created in 1933 as retirement insurance
for the elderly.
The idea of redistributing tax dollars to the
elderly was quite controversial at the time.
3 parts:



Old-age insurance for retirees 65 or older and
their spouses
Unemployment insurance compensation system
Aid to families with dependent children and the
disabled


First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
Viewed as a woman of great compassion

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
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
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Thousands of individuals wrote to Mrs. Roosevelt
during the years of the Great Depression asking for
money to pay the rent, help with the mortgage, buy a
sweater, or buy “shoe skates” in 1930. Children
promised to pay her back once they got a job
She worked tirelessly to help the less fortunate,
touring the country to assess the needs of the
people
Eleanor Roosevelt spoke to many women and
African American groups and relayed their plight
to the President
Though little progress in race relations was made,
Eleanor helped promote minority and women’s
rights
She stood out at the time as a symbol of social
progress and women’s activism
She was the eyes and ears for FDR.

Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs had
opponents including Huey Long,
Roosevelt’s political rival from
Louisiana, put forth his “share the
wealth” plan
 Called for taxing the rich and
using those dollars to give
everyone a home and annual
income of $2,500
 believed that the government
should take money from the rich
and give it to the poor
 Wanted to run for President
 Was assassinated 1935



1935, the U.S. Supreme Court held
the National Industrial Recovery Act
(NIRA) to be unconstitutional
1936, Supreme Court declared
provisions of the AAA
unconstitutional
At the same time, cases were
pending against the Social Security
Act and the TVA.


The Supreme Court had
struck down several of
Roosevelt’s programs
declaring them
unconstitutional
Roosevelt responded by
attempting to increase
the number of Supreme
Court justices from 9 to
15, with the intent of
appointing justices
supportive of the New
Deal.



After much protest by
Congress and many
Americans, the bill
suggested the extra
justices was killed in
the Senate
Idea of “packing the
court” was dropped
after the U.S. Supreme
Court upheld the
constitutionality of the
Social Security Act
Roosevelt over
estimated his power


As not only the U.S., but the world struggled to
emerge from the economic depression, military
dictators in several countries began to gain power
(Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia).
Worried that the U.S. would be drawn into another
European war, Congress passed the Neutrality Act
which made it illegal for Americans to sell weapons to
any country at war and that goods purchased from the
U.S. had to be paid in cash and transported on non
U.S. ships
Why would Congress insist
on goods being transported
on non U.S. ships?