The New Deal
FDR Offers Relief & Recovery
Roosevelt Takes Charge
People lost faith in Hoover’s ability to get them out of the depression,
so there was not much of a chance for Hoover.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a social reformer who combined her humanitarian
beliefs with her political skills. She traveled the country, observing the
social conditions and reminded the president about the suffering of the
nation’s peoples.
She also urged him to appoint women to government positions. She resigned from
DAR because they would not allow Marian Anderson to perform. She focused on child
welfare, housing, and equality for all!
Not only does FDR win, but the Democrats
also gain control of the Senate as well. FDR
collects a group of professionals and academics,
whom were nicknamed the “Brain Trust.”
Roosevelt decided on a plan called the New Deal.
The Plan contained 3 main goals:
Roosevelt’s First 100 Days
FDR restored faith and confidence in the nation’s banks by declaring a
four-day bank “holiday.” Banks closed and got their accounts in order and
then reopened for business.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp
Securities Exchange Commission
FDR also passed the FDIC, which insured bank
deposits up to $5,000.
Congress established the SEC to regulate the
stock market and make it a safer place for
investments.
President Roosevelt delivered informal radio speeches to the American
people. These were called fireside chats. These chats became
an important way to communicate to the American people. FDR’s
calming words reassured the Americans.
Agricultural Adjustment Act
 The AAA did the following:
o Paid farmers not to grow crops and raised crop prices by lowering production.
o Cotton was plowed under and 6 million pigs were slaughtered.
 Results: Mixed feelings because crop prices increased and people were starving.
21st Amendment Repeals Prohibition: The main goal was to increase
government revenue through the taxation of alcohol.
Tennessee Valley Authority
Civilian Conservation Corps
Federal Emergency Relief Act
Home Owners Loan Corporation
National Recovery Administration
Public Works Administration
 Built dams to provide cheap electric power
to seven southern states.
 Set up schools and health centers.
 Provided jobs to 2 million young men.
 Replanted forests (200 million trees), built trails,
dug irrigation ditches, and fought fires.
 FDR’s favorite New Deal program.
 $500,000 was provided for direct relief and work
projects for the hungry, homeless, and
unemployed.
 Created to help homeowners save their houses
from foreclosure.
 Provided funds to pay off mortgages and proved
new long-term mortgages at lower, fixed-interest
rates.
 Developed codes that established minimum
wages for workers and minimum prices for
goods.
 Idea that if a worker made more money then they
could buy more goods.
 Built bridges, dams, power plants, and
government buildings.
 Created millions of new jobs for workers.
Opposition to the New Deal
Roosevelt spent more money than what the government had, which
is called deficit spending. Some critics said the New Deal
gave too much power to the government.
FATHER
CHARLES COUGHLIN
He was a radio show host who was initially a supporter of the
New Deal, but wanted to nationalize the banks. His anti-Semitic
views ended up costing him much of his support.
DOCTOR
FRANCIS TOWNSEND
He believed that FDR was not doing enough for the poor and the
elderly. Found backing from the elderly, thus
undermining support for FDR.
SENATOR
HUEY LONG
He supported the New Deal initially as well. Eager to
win the presidency for himself, he proposed program
known as Share-Our-Wealth. But he was assassinated.
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The New Deal
The Second New Deal
Extending Social & Economic Reform
Progress had been made under the New Deal, but there was
still much work that needed to be done. The Second New Deal
addressed the problems of the elderly, the poor, and the
unemployed. It created new public-works projects; helped
farmers; and enacted measures to protect workers rights.
Workers Progress Administration
 The WPA built or improved a good part of the nation’s highways,
dredged rivers and harbors, and promoted soil and water conservation.
 The WPA even provided programs in the arts for unemployed artists.
 By 1943 the WPA employed 8 million people.
 Helped build the San Antonio River Walk and parts of the Appalachian Trail.
Social Security Act

 Set up a system of pensions for retired workers.
 The law also created insurance for victims of work-related accidents, and provided
aid for poverty-stricken mothers and children, the blind, and the disabled.
Rural Electrification Administration

 Loaned money to electric utilities to build power lines.
 Provided affordable electricity for isolated rural areas.
Labor Unions Find A New Energy
 Banned Child labor.
 Set the work week at 44 hours.
 Established a hourly minimum wage.
o *New Deal’s most controversial legacy.*
Fair Labor Standards Act
National Labor Relations Act
(Wagner Act)
 Outlawed unfair labor practices.
 Granted workers the right to organize unions and
to use collective bargaining.
 Created the National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) to look into worker’s complaints.
Challenges To The New Deal
The Supreme Court struck down the AAA and the NIRA on
the grounds that agriculture is a local matter and should be
regulated by the state instead of the federal government.
FDR issued a plan to add up to six new justices to the
nine-member Court. Critics called his plan
Court Packing because all of the new justices would
most likely support the New Deal legislation.
Historical Significance: Critics saw FDR as trying to upset the balance of
power between the 3 branches of government.
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The New Deal
Effects of the New Deal
Women Lead the New Deal
Frances Perkins was the first female cabinet member, Secretary of
Labor. Sec. Perkins was influential in establishing Social Security
and winning approval for the Fair Labor Standards Act (which ended
child labor & established a minimum wage).
Mary McLeod Bethune helped to organize a “Black Cabinet”
of influential African Americans to advise the Roosevelt
administration on racial issues.
Historical Significance: Women were strong supporters
of FDR and they helped get him elected.
African Americans Make Advances & Face Challenges
African Americans were one group that benefited from the New Deal. Mary
McLeod Bethune worked to provide jobs for African Americans. FDR met
with the “Black Cabinet” to discuss social issues that African Americans
were facing. Did Roosevelt always listen to the “Black Cabinet?” Why?
Overall, African Americans still voted for FDR
because he was their best hope for the future.
No. Needed the political
support in the South.
New Deal Aims at Other Groups
Generally approved of the New Deal because the CCC & WPA helped
MEXICAN
AMERICANS some. The New Deal did not interfere with their work on farms.
NATIVE
AMERICANS
John Collier created the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which moved
away from the policy of assimilation and land ownership h
(tribe not individual).
New Deal Coalition
This was an alignment of diverse groups dedicated to supporting
the Democratic Party. The coalition included Southern whites,
various urban groups, African Americans, and unionized industrial
workers. Keep the Democrats Dominate!
Evaluating The New Deal
 The New Deal expanded the power of the government and the president.
o Regulated business.
o Settled labor and management disputes.
o The FDIC and SEC restored confidence in the banking and stock market.
 Government employed deficit spending.
o FDR left the country with a large debt.
 What had the greatest effect?
o Social Security – Assumed the responsibility for the social welfare of its citizens.
o Effects on Agriculture – Oversaw the nation’s agriculture by setting up quotas on the
production of crops.
o Environmental Benefits – Conserved and promoted policies designed to
protect the nation’s natural resources.
o FDR’s Legacy – Ranks 3rd in most Historical Rankings of Presidents.
 Why do you think? Who’s he behind?
Helped the country in one of the most trying times in history.
George Washington? Abraham Lincoln?
 What really got us out of the Great Depression?
o Historical Significance: WWII was largely responsible for
ending the Great Depression. The New Deal did not solve
unemployment, the farm crisis, and under consumption.