Chapter 25
The New Deal
Section 1
Restoring Hope
Pages 740-746
Section 1 Objectives
• 1. Describe how the New Deal provided relief
for the unemployed.
• 2. Explain how the New Deal promoted
industrial and agricultural recovery.
• 3. Discuss the New Deal goals for the
Tennessee Valley region.
• 4. Recount how the Roosevelt administration
addressed the concerns of African Americans
and American Indians.
Roosevelt Confronts the Emergency
• 1932: During Roosevelt’s campaign he formed
an advisory group known as the “Brain Trust.”
With the support of the group Roosevelt
developed the “new deal for the American
people.” This new deal would consist of 15
relief and recovery measures. Roosevelt
during his inaugural address told the nation
that a change in the balance of power might
be needed to move Congress forward in times
of emergency.
• March 5, 1933: Roosevelt called a special session of Congress. In
the next 100 days measures were passed known as the New Deal.
• March 6, 1933: Roosevelt was concentrating on the banking system.
He issued a proclamation closing every bank in the nation. This was
known as a bank holiday this was a way of stopping bank
withdrawals.
• March 9, 1933: The Emergency Banking Act was passed to allow
the federal government to examine the banks and those financially
sound would reopen. This would hopefully restore confidence in
the banking industry. Many were concerned they didn’t have cash
during the bank holiday and were trying to find alternate sources.
• “Fireside chats” Roosevelt communicated with the American
people by using the radio as a source of restoring confidence in the
banking system. Roosevelt would use the radio chats throughout
his terms as president to communicate with the American people.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC):
June, 1933, the banks reopened with 1 billion
dollars being deposited into the system.
Congress passed the FDIC which insured at the
time deposits up to $ 5,000. Now the FDIC
insures up to $100,000.
• Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC): April,
1933 Congress passed the HOLC to assist the
homeowners who couldn’t pay their mortgages.
By 1936 over a million Americans had been
granted low-interest, long-term mortgage loans.
• Farm Credit Administration (FCA): 1933, the
FCA was created to provide long term low
interest, long term loans to farmers. FCA
supported farmers by allowing them to pay off
mortgages and back taxes, buy back farms,
and purchases supplies for the farm to
operate.
Relief for the Needy
• Eleanor Roosevelt: First lady who supported direct
relief to the American unemployed.
• Molly Dewson: Democratic National Committee
member also supported direct relief programs.
• Frances Perkins: Secretary of Labor. [Before she
became Secretary of Labor Perkins was a social worker.
Many misunderstood her desire to be taken seriously
and called her colorless. This could have arisen from
her habit of wearing black dresses and small hat.
Despite some of her conservative ideas, particularly
her distrust of labor unions. She was a symbol of the
New Deal’s liberal policies.]
• Federal Emergency Relief Administration ( FERA):
May, 1933-500 million dollars would be distributed to
states and local agencies as direct relief. Half of the
FERA’s relief went directly to the states for distribution
to families. The other half federal government
contributed $1 dollar for every $3 dollars states and
local governments spent on direct relief. The
government provided direct grants, not loans that the
Hoover administration had promoted.
• Harry L. Hopkins: former relief supervisor in New York,
headed the FERA.
• By 1935 over 3 billion dollars had been
distributed in federal aid.
• At one point in the 1930s 8 million American
families were receiving public assistance. Many
Americans didn’t like direct relief they wanted
jobs.
• Civil Works Administration (CWA): From 1933 to
1934 the CWA created federal, state, and local
“make work” projects. These projects were raking
leavings or picking up trash in local parks. 740
million dollars was paid out by the CWA.
• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): established
in 1933 to provide relief to unemployed young
men between the ages of 18 and 25. Young
men went to CCC army training camps. Once
trained they planted trees, cleared the
underbrush, created park trails, and
developed beaches and campsites in our
national parks and forests. The CCC was in
existence for 10 years and employed more
than 2.5 million young men.
• National Recovery Administration (NRA): General Hugh S.
Johnson, head of the NRA, tried to win support for his
agency for associating compliance with the NRA codes with
patriotism. When labor leaders, liberals, and progressives
complained that the NRA catered to big business. Roosevelt
created a review board to investigate complaints. Lawyer
Clarence Darrow was appointed to head the inquiry. He
soon agreed that the NRA was dominated by monopolies
and was not solving any economic problems. Businesses
didn’t obey the codes and consumers thought the codes
pushed prices up. Some called the NRA “National Run
Around” in 1935 NRA found unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court.
Helping the Nation Recover
• Roosevelt felt that some business practices needed to be
reformed. This was important in the economy’s recovery
and guard against stock fraud.
• Roosevelt supported the Federal Securities Act: which
created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
regulates companies that sell stocks and bonds.
• John Maynard Keynes: British economist in which the new
deal program was based. He argued that for a nation to
recover from depression they must spend money to
encourage investment and consumption.
• “Priming the pump”: Roosevelt dumped money into the
U.S. economy through federal loans and government
spending.
• National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA): June, 1933. This
Act would stabilize prices, raising wages, limiting work
hours, and providing jobs. The NIRA Act created two
federal agencies.
• 1. Public Works Administration: Secretary of the Interior,
Harold Ickes led the PWA. The PWA used federal funds to
contract with private industry to build public roads,
buildings, and other projects.
• 2. National Recovery Administration: businesses were to
create “codes of fair competition” under the codes,
competing businesses agreed to work together to set
hours, prices, production levels, and wages. Antitrust laws
were suspended under the NIRA. The NIRA allowed workers
the right to organize and bargain collectively.
Agricultural Recovery
• Agricultural Adjustment Administration: May,
1933; Roosevelt felt if farmers would cut their
production prices would rise. The AAA paid
farmers to cut their outcomes of corn, cotton,
dairy products, hogs, rice, tobacco, wheat, and
some other commodities. The money came from
taxes on flour millers, meat packers, and canners.
• The outcome: price did rise on the cotton crop
and many felt this was from the New Deal. The
negative: taxes on processors led to higher prices
on consumers.
• Many felt farmers with large landholdings gained from the AAA
than smaller farmers. When the large farmers cut production it
forced sharecroppers off their land. In 1936 the Supreme Court
declared the AAA unconstitutional based on taxes on food
processors.
• STFU: Racial Integration and Labor Organizing: 1934. African
Americans and white people joined the union in segregated local
branches. Eventually the groups merged to form a racially
integrated union. The STFU helped gather evidence against planters
who denied their tenants a share of AAA subsidies. Members also
protested discriminatory practices such as the poll tax,
demonstrated in favor of labor reforms, and conducted strikes.
Violence did occur against members. The STFU’s work eventually
led to the creation of the Farm Security Administration.
Revitalizing a Region
• Tennessee Valley Authority: May, 1933; The TVA was
headed by David E. Lilienthal. This program was spread out
over a seven state area. It sets out to address the issues of
flooding and deforestation. Other issues the TVA would
address would be disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, and
poverty. The TVA was going to change the economic and
social life of the region. The TVA worked towards improving
the life in the region and built several dams and power
stations for producing electricity.
• Many thought the federal government was abusing power.
Private utilities thought the government would cause them
to lose money. The Supreme Court refused to strike down
the TVA.
Equality Under the New Deal
• New Deal programs supported and supplied aid
to all races.
• CCC: African American men received work and
training. The men were segregated from white
workers.
• TVA: employed African American workers, but
were not allowed to live in some of the model
town built by the TVA.
• NRA: the codes set wages lower for African
Americans than for whites.
• The social attitudes of the time were reflective
of Americans. The depression raised social and
racial discrimination in the country.
• Roosevelt didn’t support an antilynching law
because he feared lack of political support of
southern democrats.
• National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP). Supported the
antilynching law.
Fighting Discrimination
• Harold Ickes: former leader of the NAACP bought many
African Americans to advise the Department of
Interior on racial issues.
• Robert C. Weaver: another advisor would held a Ph.D
in economics from Harvard.
• Federal Council on Negro Affairs: evolved from the
African Americans involved in the Roosevelt
administration. Became known as the “Black Brain
Trust.”
• Marian Anderson: 1939, the Daughters of the
American Revolution refused to allow the singer to
perform at their Washington D.C. hall.
Rights of American Indians
• 1920s -the American Indians were suffering from lack of
nutrition, poor health care, and inadequate housing –The
Dawes Act of 1887:stripped away the Indian culture by
ending tribal government and sold off tribal land.
• John Collier: 1920s social worker who worked to help the
Indian community.
• 1933: Roosevelt nominated Collier to be Commissioner of
Indian Affairs working to improve the lives of Indians.
• 1934, Indian Reorganization Act: reversed the Dawes Act
of 1887. Tribal rule was revived, college education was
provided for young American Indians, and to provide
support for preserving Indian culture.
Assignment
• It is 1933 and you are artists who have been
hired by the federal government to create
informational posters about New Deal
programs. Create posters describing New Deal
unemployment relief programs. Example:
CWA , created jobs such as raking leaves and
picking up trash.