The New Deal
Main Idea

In 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
became president of a suffering Nation.
He quickly sought to address the
country's needs, with mixed results.
Focus Questions
What were the key events of the
presidential election in 1932?
 What was the nature of Franklin and
Eleanor Roosevelt's political partnership?
 What initial actions did Roosevelt take to
stabilize the economy?
 How did the New Deal run into trouble
in Roosevelt’s first term?

The Election of 1932
Joblessness was on the rise and banks were
collapsing in record numbers.
 Many Americans placed the blame on
President Hoover for conditions and looked
to remove him.
 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was
selected as the Democratic candidate for
President.
 FDR’s as New York’s governor launched
groundbreaking reforms which contrasted
from Hoover’s insistence on limited
government interaction.

The 1932 Campaign
FDR promised relief for the poor and
public works programs to provide jobs.
 The main effort relied on attacking
President's Hoover response to the Great
Depression, or lack of action.
 He also criticized Hoover for spending
too much money, and promised to spend
less.
 Most of FDR’s speeches were vague; not
tying him down to promises or policies

Victory
Roosevelt received more than 57% of the
popular vote, and got all Electoral votes
except for 6 states.
 Also Democrats gain control of both the
House and Senate.

FDR’s Inauguration
The purpose of the speech was to declare
war on the Great Depression.
 Hence the line: “We have nothing to fear,
but fear itself.”
 FDR assured that country will survive and
prosper through the crisis.

Fireside Chats
Fireside chats were a series of radio
broadcasts where the nation was
addressed by FDR over the radio.
 The chats spanned a variety of topics,
usually some relevant issue to the Nation,
and to gain support for resolutions.
 The effect of these chats was calming to
the nation.

The Hundred Days
President Roosevelt called congress into an
emergency session to deal with situations
facing the country.
 The first situation was to handle the banking
crisis.
 The Emergency Banking Act passed
allowing the government to examine, correct
problems, and close banks as needed.
 Within days banks reopened and people
returned money ending the crisis.

The Hundred Days




The bank crisis resolution was the start of
what known as the Hundred Days.
Additional banking reforms were passed
under the Glass-Steagull Act, creating the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC)
People no longer needed to fear losing their
money if banks closed.
In the time of 99 days with congress, FDR
pushed congress to implement parts of his
program, the New Deal.
The New Deal

The New Deal aimed to fulfill three goals:
1. Relief
2. Recovery
3. Reforms

The combination of these efforts would
attempt to end suffering, fix the
economy, and prevent future economic
problem.
Trouble for the New Deal
Several leaders emerged to criticize the
New Deal.
 Huey Long felt that policies towards
banks were too kind
 Long setup the Share our Wealth Society
which proposed heavy taxes on the
wealthy.
 Charles Coughlin was critical of banks
and financial leaders and preached to the
nation regarding it.

Francis Townsend said the new deal for
not doing enough to help the elderly.
 He proposed a plan to provide pensions
for people over the age of 60

CCC – Civilian Conservation Corps
Sought to address unemployment in
people age 18-25.
 They worked on conservation projects
restoring forests, beaches, and parks.
 Workers earned only $1 a day but
received free board and job training. From
1934 to 1937, this program funded similar
programs for 8,500
 Relief- CCC taught the men and women
of America how to live independently

AAA- Agricultural Adjustment Act
Gave farmers a subsidy, or government
payment to grow fewer crops.
 Fewer crops would increase demand for
those crops.
 Tried to raise farm prices. It used
proceeds from a new tax to pay farmers
not to raise specific crops and animals.
 Recovery

SEC- Securities and Exchange
Commission
This commission would serve as the
government watchdog over the nation’s
stock market.
 The SEC regulated the stock market.
Congress also gave the Federal Reserve
Board the power to regulate the purchase
of stock
 Reform

WPA- Works Progress
Administration
This agency provided work for 8 million
Americans.
 The WPA constructed or repaired
schools, hospitals, airfields, roads, and
more.
 Unemployed writers, musicians, artists,
actors, and photographers temporarily
went on the federal payroll,
 Relief

FERA- Federal Emergency Relief
Administration
This agency sent funds to depleting local
relief agencies. Within two hours, $5
million were given out.
 It was believed that men should be put to
work and not be given charity.
 The program also funded public work
programs
 Relief- Revitalized many deteriorating
relief programs.

NIRA – National Industrial
Recovery Act
Mandated that businesses in the same
industry work together to set prices and
production levels.
 Normally this would have been viewed as
a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
 Recovery

PWA- Public Works Administration
Managed the 3.3 billion dollars given to
NIRA for public works programs.
 Relief/Recovery- Was responsible for
putting people back to work in
construction projects.

TVA- Tennessee Valley Authority
This program was charged with
developing the natural resources of the
Tennessee River Valley.
 It built dams to control floods and aid
navigation along the river.
 It would also provide hydroelectric power
to be used by industries.
 Reform

Beyond the Hundred Days
It was determined that FDR had delivered
on the promise to act for the country.
 It was admitted though that some of the
acts passed were failures.
 Acts were continued to be passed after
this time.

CWA- Civil Works Administration
This public work program gave the
unemployed jobs building or repairing roads,
parks, airports.
 It provided employment to over 4 million
workers.
 paid an average of $15 a week--many in
useful construction jobs such as repairing
schools, laying sewer pipes, building
roads. Some CWA jobs, however, were
criticized as useless (e.g., leaf raking)
 Relief

Indian Reorganization Act
Reversing previous policies, it recognized
the tribe as key unit for tribe
organization.
 Limited the sale of Indian lands and
provided assistance in developing
resource, economy, and culture.
 Limited rights of self rule was granted.
 Reform

Eleanor Roosevelt
She served as the eyes and ears of FDR.
 Eleanor also put her efforts in social
issues, for example to stop lynching's of
African Americans.
 She served as a delegate to the United
Nations.

Problems of the New Deal
1935 court cases were reaching the
courts considering the New Deal.
 Schechter Poultry Corporation v United
States found NIRA unconstitutional.
 United States v Butler found that the AAA
tax for subsidies unconstitutional .

2nd New Deal
With courts dismantling major parts of
the New Deal, the economy stubbornly
refused to get better.
 Roosevelt passed the Second New
Deal to provide new relief.
 Social Security would be the centerpiece
of this Deal.

Social Security 1935
Provided guaranteed regular payments for
people 65 and older.
 Also included a program for people who
were unemployed and looking for jobs.
 This was to counteract Townsend’s
proposition.
 To avoid taxing people, hampering
recovery, people were excluded.
 Reform

1936 Elections
Critics still existed: American Liberty
League were unhappy that FDR was
against Big Business.
 Republican’s felt the New Deal was
bureaucratic and creating a planned
economy.
 Despite this democrats still had a
landslide victory.

Court Packing- 1937
Frustrated that the courts had struck
down parts of the New Deal, FDR tried
to reorganize the supreme court
 Judiciary Reorganization Bill or the
Court Packing Bill would be expanding
the supreme court by 6 justices.
 The plan was struck down in end making
the attempt look clumsy.

New Deal in doubt
At the end of 1937 the country suffered
another setback, a drop in the stock
market.
 FDR looked to use large sums of money
to help the people again.
 John Maynard Keynes, a British
economist, supported the plan .
 The economy did rebound in 1938
because of FDR’s spending.

Impact of the New Deal
The relief programs were successful putting
millions into the hands of the people.
 The recovery efforts were wiped out by the
downturn of 1937-1938.
 The reforms were long lasting, like the
FDIC, Securities and Exchange Commission,
and WPA.
 It also change the role of government into a
bigger one, where people would look to for
help.

End of the New Deal

Late 1937, anti-New Deal Senators
challenged FDR to:
◦ Cut Taxes
◦ Balance the budget
◦ Return power to states

This group was strong enough to
challenge and stop most legislature.
1938 Elections
FDR face opposition in congress even
from his own party.
 FDR hand picked candidates to compete
against incumbent senators.
 The president also went to the southern
states to influence the votes.
 In each case the candidate lost, and FDR
lost the needed support to pass more
New Deal Programs.

Review
1.
2.
3.
4.
What did FDR do during 1932 to get
elected? What did he criticize?
What were the fireside chats and what
effect did they have?
What were the three parts of the new
deal? Give an example of a program for
each part.
What did Eleanor Roosevelt do?
5. What court cases declared parts of the
New Deal Unconstitutional? Why was the
AAA Unconstitutional?
 6. What was the key part to the 2nd New
Deal? What did this program do and why
is it important.
 7. What is court packing? Did it work or
hurt FDR?
 8. What were some of the impacts of the
New Deal?
