The New Deal and 1930s Texas
• Essential Questions:
– Describe civil rights
movements and
identify its key leaders,
such as LULAC
– Analyze the political,
economic, and social
impact of the Great
Depression on Texas
– Identify ways Texans
have adapted to and
modified the
environment
The New Deal Begins
• 1932 – Franklin D.
Roosevelt won the
presidential election, with
almost 90% of Texans
supporting him.
• 1933 – FDR starts
reform programs called
the “New Deal” to get
America back to work and
out of the Great
Depression.
• “The First 100 Days” he
orders all banks to close
to determine the
strongest to stay in
business.
The New Deal Begins
• Vice President John Nance
Garner, a former Texas
congressman, helped push
New Deal programs in
Congress.
• Another Texas
congressman, Sam
Rayburn, became Speaker
of the House.
– He proposed the
Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) to
restore confidence in the
stock market.
New Deal Programs
• FDR’s New Deal created agencies to deal
with many problems from the Depression.
– Alphabet Agencies - government agencies
that came to be known by the first initials of
their names.
New Deal Programs
• FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) –
gave funds to states and local agencies for unemployed
people
• CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) – provided outdoor
employment for young men and helped preserve
resources
• NYA (National Youth Administration) – hired high
school and college students to perform clerical and
maintenance jobs.
• PWA (Public Works Administration) – built bridges
dams, schools, and other structures of value to the state.
• WPA (Works Progress Administration) – hired
600,000 Texans during the Great Depression
New Deal Programs
• New Deal programs tried to
slow down soil erosion to
help farmers in the Dust
Bowl regions.
• New planting and contour
plowing techniques helped
farmers protect the topsoil
from blowing away.
• The federal government
also paid farmers to plant
trees as windbreaks and
reduce production of crops
in effort to drive prices up.
• 100th anniversary of Texas
independence in 1936
• Celebration held at Fair
Park in Dallas (where
annual State Fair is located)
• Exhibits highlighted Texas
History and proudly
displayed examples of
Texas products and culture
• Also, the San Jacinto
Monument was erected on
the battlefield to the east of
Houston and various
museums built
1930s Governors:
Sterling and Ferguson
• Miriam Ferguson
defeated Ross Sterling in
1932 for governor
• 2nd term as governor was
controversial
– Fired many TX Rangers
– Used pardon power to
release criminals
• Asked FDR to lend
farmers money to help
make up for lost income
from low cotton prices
1930s Governors:
Allred and O’Daniel
• James Allred 1935
– Reorganized TX Rangers
– Helped found Board of
Pardons and Paroles
– Created retirement
systems for state
employees
• W. Lee O’Daniel 1938
– Sales manager and radio
host
– Wrote unofficial state song
“Beautiful Texas”
– Unable to deliver on many
of his campaign promises
African American Rights
• Dr. Lawrence Nixon
– African American Texan
physician who presented his
poll tax receipt and tried to vote
in the Democratic primary, but
was turned away
– Filed suit to win the right to vote:
Nixon v. Herndon (1927):The
Supreme Court justices
declared his rights under the
14th and 15th amendments had
been violated
Mexican Americans Rights
• League of United Latin American Citizens
(LULAC)
– Founded at Corpus Christi in 1929 with Ben Garza as the
first president
– Worked for Mexican American rights in court system,
hiring, and education
• The School Improvement League was founded in
1934 to improve school facilities for Hispanic
children