

We will use some of the steps we have learned to
assess President Roosevelt’s New Deal Policies and
their effects on the United States after the Great
Depression.
For more info regarding the Public Policy Analyst
steps click below:

Define the problem

Gather evidence *

Identify causes *

Evaluate a policy *



*
Develop solutions
Select best solution
http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/pp
ae/ppae1.html

1929- Stock Market Crash
› Thousands of banks collapse
› Decline of production across all markets
1933- 25% of America unemployed
 Song of the Great Depression

› “Brother Can You Spare a Dime”

But new hope with election of 1932
› Franklin Delano Roosevelt
› “Happy Days Are Here Again”


So long sad times
Go long bad times
We are rid of you at last
Howdy gay times
Cloudy gray times
You are now a thing of the
past
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear
again
So let's sing a song of cheer
again
Happy days are here again
Altogether shout it now
There's no one
Who can doubt it now
So let's tell the world about it now
Happy days are here again
Your cares and troubles are gone
There'll be no more from now on
From now on ...
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So, Let's sing a song of cheer
again
Happy times
Happy nights
Happy days
Are here again

Were the “Happy
Days here again”
with the New Deal ?

After reading the
lyrics to “Happy Days
Are Here Again,” in
your notebooks, take
a few minutes to
answer the Big
Question.
United States Great Depression
(Unemployment)





1932 ELECTION
1 out of 4 was
unemployed…
national income
was 50% of what it
had been in 1929
Republicans
nominated Hoover
 no hope
Winner by a
landslide =
FRANKLIN DELANO
ROOSEVELT
(Democrat - N.Y.
governor)






FDR brought optimism to the
country – spoke to the
people- fireside chats
New Deal for the people
Creation of the modern
government
› Expanded federal
government to greatest
heights
› A controversial expansion
Progressivism firmly
entrenched in the Democratic
Power
Myth- Hoover did nothing to
spark New Deal
Truth- The RFC –
Reconstruction Finance
Corporation





Was the New Deal an
appropriate response
to the Great
Depression?
Did it go too far in
expanding the federal
government?
Was it effective?
How did life change
for Americans through
its policies?
What were its criticisms



Be sure to think about
these questions as you
analyze President
Roosevelt’s New Deal
Policies
Use the following
worksheet to
document your
evaluation
Worksheet4:
"Evaluating Existing
Public Policies"(HTML)

The Dust Bowl
Government programs which provided direct relief to
suffering Americans through government spending
It was a revolution in American society - changed
completely the way the government functions ………
 Renew democracy
 Restore confidence in the banking
 Stimulate economy
Social Engineers
 Put people back to work.
Brain Trust
 Restore self confidence
How? FDR’s 3 R’s
Relief:
ease suffering of the needy
Recovery:begin economic growth
Reform: help prevent future
economic crises
Roosevelt was very
successful getting New Deal
legislation passed-100 days
….FDR and Congress went to
work providing for direct
relief, recovery and reform.

From March of 1933 to June
of 1933, Roosevelt sent 15
proposals to Congress and all

15 were adopted

Congress and President tried
anything reasonable to
overcome the Great
Depression.
Part of FDR’s
New
Deal……Agencie
s created by the
US Govt. to bring
about the 3
R’s……Relief,
Recovery, and
Reform.
RELIEF:
Ease Suffering of the Needy
WPA / 1933 to 1943
Works Progress Administration
Employed 8.5 million workers in
construction and other jobs, but
more importantly provided work
in arts, theater, and literary
projects.
•Works Progress
Administration (WPA),
the New Deals main
relief agency.
•People employed by
the WPA at its peak
was more than 3 million
•2,500 hospitals
•5,900 schools
•13,000 playgrounds
•125,000 public
buildings
RELIEF:
Ease Suffering of the Needy
CCC / 1933 to 1942
Civilian Conservation
Corps
•Sent 3 million young men to work
camps to build bridges, replant forests
and other conservation tasks.
•Develop job skills and improve
environment.
• Removed surplus of workers from
cities, provided healthy conditions for



UNEMPLOYMENT - still a major
problem
FDR like Hoover was wary of
gov't handouts - he wanted
people to earn their keep so
gov't agencies were created
- temporarily - to address the
unemp. problem
CIVILIAN CONSERVATION
CORPS (CCC) - in 1933 - set to
establish work for young men
(18-25) in areas of
reforestation, soil
conservation, flood control,
road construction - also took
them out of urban labour
markets - but Blacks not
permitted to enrol

Created up to four
million jobs in
construction




Provided jobs
constructing huge
public works such as
bridges and dams
Goals
Create jobs
Strengthen
American industry
•Also called the National Recovery
Act.
•Helped businesses organize codes
setting prices and minimum wage.
•Put people back to work at decent
jobs, wages and working
conditions.
•Businesses were not forced to join
this.
•Declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court in 1935 because it
violated powers given to excutive
branch by legislative branch .
•Violated separation of powers,
executive not allowed to enforce
intrastate commerce


NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY
ACT (NIRA) and NATIONAL
RECOVERY ADMIN (NRA) were
established to end animosity
between labor and business 
all was redirected to industrial
growth  fair labor codes
established - wages, no child
labor, shortened work hoursbusiness people challenged the
NRA, claiming it was communist
They formed the LIBERTY LEAGUE
- at LL's urging, the Supreme Ct.
overturned the NIRA & NRA,
claiming that federal
government was exceeding its
authority (by interfering in state
jurisdiction)
RECOVERY: Begin Economic Growth
AAA / 1933
Agricultural Adjustment
Act
•Protected farmers from price drops and over
production..
• US Govt. Paid farmers (subsidies)
•not to grow crops, produce dairy products such
as milk and butter or raise pigs and lambs.
•Goal of raising prices of agriculture
•Prevent another Dust Bowl, teach farmers methods
of preventing soil erosion.






AGRUCULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT (AAA) passed in 1933 to aid farmers- its objective
was to restore farmers' purchasing power
and to restore the family farm - AAA had
farmers cut back on crop production by
paying them equivalent SUBSIDIES (paid
not to produce) the goal was to increase
prices of farm goods - bad side:
1) food production down when millions
were starving
2) Black sharecroppers were hurt: white
landowners paid not to farm so they got rid
of Black tenant formers
in 1935, AAA was declared
unconstitutional by courts (too much
control over individual states), so it was
revised and introduced as new legislationSoil Conservation Act
Second AAA
EX: Food Stamp Act of 1939 - gave away
surplus food to poor, also guaranteed
(small) farmers a market
RECOVERY: Begin Economic Growth
TVA / 1933
Tennessee Valley
Authority
•Federal government built a series
of dams to prevent flooding and
sold electricity.
•First public competition with
private power industries.
•Develop a poor section of the
Southeast U.S.
•Stimulate the economy and produce
cheap electricity.
•Control floods, planting new forests.
•Bring this section into the 20th
century.
Controversial- is government
overstepping bounds into private
sector
94 percent of property owners and 98 percent of tenants did not have
electricity.
30 percent of property owners and 41 percent of tenants had no toilet
facilities whatsoever
65 percent of property owners and 78
percent of tenants had to travel at least
300 yards to get their household water.
8 percent of property owners and 3
percent of tenants owned radios
(usually battery operated).
39 percent of property owners and 23
percent of tenants had phonographs
(including record players that were
operated with a hand crank).
50 percent of property
owners and 25 percent of
tenants read newspapers.
26 percent of property
owners and 16 percent of
tenants owned
automobiles.
7 percent of property
owners and 4 percent of
tenants owned trucks.

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (TVA) - used to
promote hydroelectric power, control flooding lower rates  private industry, manuf. fertilizer
fed. gov't. took ownership (nationalization v.
privatization)
REFORM: Prevent Another Depression
FDIC / 1933
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Created federally insured
bank deposits ($2500 per
investor at first) to prevent
bank failures.



The first phase of the New
Deal dealt exclusively with
economic reform - FDR
believed government
legislation/involvement
was crucial to stimulate the
economy
Step 1 – deal with the
banking crisis
BANKING HOLIDAY- banks
shut down and subject to
government inspection,
allowed to open when
"healthy"- people's
confidence returned in
depositing in banks,
allowing them to reinvest in
the economy.




Step 3 – Increase the
money supply
FDR went off the GOLD
STANDARD
(government could
print more money than
Fort Knox gold
reserves would allow)With more money in
circulation, wages and
prices increased
More inflation caused
dollar value to lower
which gave
government spending
power (Keynesian
REFORM: Prevent Another Depression
SEC / 1934
Securities and Exchange
Commission
Regulated stock
market and restricted
margin buying, and
frauds.
Stock Regulation
Step 2 - Stock
market reform
 Security Exchange
Commission
established to
police the Stock
Exchange -practice
of buying on margin
was regulated


The National Labor Relations Act
› also called the Wagner Act
› It guaranteed workers the right to organize unions without
›
›
›
›
interference from employers and to bargain collectively.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which organized
factory elections by secret to determine whether workers wanted a
union.
The NLRB then certified successful unions.
The new law also set up a process whereby dissatisfied union
members could take their complaints to binding arbitration, in which
neutral party would listen to both sides and decide issues.
The NLRB was authorized to investigate the actions of employers
and had the power to issue “cease and desist” orders against unfair
practices.







The United Mine Workers union began to work with other
unions to organize workers in industries where unions did not
exist.
To do this, they formed the CIO
They began with automobile and steel industries—two of the
largest industries
In late December 1936, General Motors launched a sit-down
strike do to the first sit-down strike due to the demotion of two
workers
Violence broke out in Flint when police launched a tear gas
assault on one of the smaller plants.
Afterward, GM broke down and recognized the CIO union,
United Auto Workers as its employees sole bargaining
organization.
This led to others using the sit-down strike as a method in other
industries.




other agencies had specific mandates
too...NATIONAL YOUTH ADMIN. (NYA) created jobs for young in urban areas
FED. EMERGENCY RELIEF ACT (FERA) aimed at older workers- these and other
similar agencies worked well, but unemp.
was still at 6 million in 1941(solution for this
would be the ind. boom of WW2)
NEW DEAL - SOCIAL REFORM ASPECT- after
1935, w/ immediate economic relief &
reform addressed, New Deal turned to
Social Welfare - more legislation...
National Labour Relations Act (aka Wagner
Act)- it legitimized unions and labour
tactics such as collective bargaining &
collective action (strikes, etc...) - it
outlawed BLACKLISTS & other anti-union
practices
•One of the most important
features of the New Deal.
•Established a retirement for
persons over 65 funded by a
tax on wages paid equally by
employee and employer.
•Old age insurance
•Protect Americans who were
unable to support
themselves.
•Unemployment
compensation
•Compensation to disabled
workers and assistance to
Social Security Act (1935)feared by opponents as
"creeping socialism"- this
act typifies the WELFARE
STATE - unemployment
insurance, old age
pensions
 Problem: it took some $ out
of circulation (payroll
deductions) at a time when
purchasing power was
already low- also, it only
covered the unemployed





Roosevelt vs Landon
FDR wins in a landslide
this victory gave FDR a
mandate to continue
his New Deal policies
first objective: to
reorganize the
Supreme Court - they
disallowed some New
Deal legislation
Congressional opposition was beginning to grow;
many of his laws, including the WPA, were taking
a long time to get passed and met resistance.

Schechter v. United States
› The Schechter brothers had a poultry business in Brooklyn.
› They had been convicted in 1933 of violating the NIRA’s
Live Poultry Code; they had sold diseased chickens and
violated the code’s wage-and-hour provisions.
› Known as the “sick chicken case.”
› The Supreme Court said that the Constitution did not allow
the Congress to lend its powers to the executive; the NIRA
was unconstitutional.
› This suggested that the Supreme Court would make similar
decisions in regards to the New Deal.
•Supreme Court was striking down
New Deal legislation.
•Roosevelt proposed a bill to allow the
president to name a new federal judge
for each who did not retire by age 70
and 1/2.
•6 justices over age limit.
•Would have increased the number of
justices from 9 to 15, giving FDR a
majority of his own appointees on the
court.
•The court-packing bill was not
passed by Congress.
Criticisms of New Deal
US government and President too powerful
Violated laissez faire
Supreme Court declared NIRA and AAA unconstitutional
Critics:
Father Charles Coughlin
Dr. Francis Townsend
Al Smith
Huey Long
Deficit spending: Govt. spends $$$ to stimulate the economy and
help people even if it means US Govt. goes into debt.
Welfare state----Created a population of Americans who relied on the
US Govt. to live
100 days
•A Roman Catholic priest.
•Radio Priest in Detroit Michigan.
•Criticized FDR in weekly radio program.
•10 million listeners.
•Criticized FDR’s farm program
•Believed an international conspiracy of bankers existed and FDR was
influenced by them.
•He called for the nationalization of banks and utilities.
(US Govt. controls banks, Socialism)
•Fascist; Anti-Semitic overtones.
•He wanted the government to help older
citizens.
•Retired California Physician.
•Suggested a $200 per month pension for
people over 60.
(This is socialism)
•Open jobs for the younger unemployed.
•Spending all $200 would also be required to boost economic demand.
•Townsend Clubs created all over the nation.
•Influenced FDR’s creation of Social Security
Successes of New Deal
AMERICANS IN 1939 WHO WANTED THE NEW
DEAL TO CONTINUE WAS 55%….. 37%
REGARDED IT AS A BAD INFLUENCE AND
WANTED A NEW PRESIDENT…………...
Stimulated the economy
Put people back to work….
Improved morale and self-confidence of the people
US Govt’s. role changes and became directly involved in helping
people
WWII ended the Great Depression not FDR’s New Deal
100 days



a 3rd revolution in American
culture and politics- more gov't
involvement but w/in the context
of traditional U.S. democracy (not
socialist…)
New Deal helped in stimulating
the U.S. economy, but only WWII
would solve any lingering
problems  unemployed found
jobs in munitions factories and
the military as the U.S. became
the ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY
New Deal saw expansion of U.S.
gov't in :
1) economy. - constant government
intervention/deficit spending
2) social reform - welfare state - after this
pt the U.S. government was
expected to
play a role in any
economic crisis

Did the New Deal transform or reform
American society?