The New Deal

1. The New Deal President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan to fix the US economy

2. The New Deal was…. • A plan to offer relief, recovery and reform • All aspects of the plan were aimed at combating problems caused by the Depression

3. First Hundred Days… • From his inauguration in March of 1933 to June = 100 days • FDR pushed programs through Congress to provide relief, create jobs, and stimulate the economy

4. Emergency Banking Act • March 5, 1933 – closed all banks for 4 days • March 9, 1933 – Emergency Banking Act • Authorized the government to inspect the financial health of all banks • Inspectors found most banks were in good shape – 2/3 reopened by March 15 • This helped American gain confidence in the banking system and start saving again • More $ in savings meant the banks could make more loans

5. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) • This insured bank deposits up to $5000 • 1933

6. Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) • 1933 • This agency gave $ to local relief agencies • Harry Hopkins – Director • FERA also put money into public works programs which were government funded projects to build public facilities

7. Civil Works Administration (CWA) • November 1933 • This agency gave jobs building or improving roads, parks, airports, and other facilities to the unemployed • 4 million employees

8. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) • March 1933 • Over 2.5 million young, unmarried men got jobs restoring and maintaining forests, beaches, and parks • Earned $1 /day but lived free of charge, rec’d food and medical care as well as job training

9. Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 • Directed by John Collier • Ended the sale of tribal lands • Helped to begin restoring some lands that had been sold under the Dawes Act (1887) to Indian groups

10. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) • June 1933 • Set up to increase industrial prices • Set up the National Recovery Administration (NRA)

11. National Recovery Administration (NRA) • June 1933 • Set up to balance the unstable economy through sensible planning • Regulated wages, working conditions, production and prices • Also set minimum wage and gave organized labor collective bargaining rights (unions)

12. The new codes worked for a while but higher wages meant higher prices • Consumers stopped buying • The cycle of rising production and falling consumption returned • Business began failing

13. Public Works Administration (PWA) • November 1933 • Directed by Harold Ickes • Set up large scale building projects • Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River----the causeway connecting Key West to the Florida mainland---NYC’s Triborough Bridge

14. Federal Securities Act • May 1933 • Required companies to provide financial information if they sold stock publicly in their business

15. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) • May 1933 • Set up to regulate the stock market • Had the power to tell companies what info. had to be included in their financial statements • Also gave the Federal Reserve Board the power to regulate the purchase of stocks on margin

16. Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) • June 1933 • Refinanced or reshaped the terms of mortgages to make the payments more affordable • In 3 years – the HOLC had made more than 1 million low interest loans

17. Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) • May 1933 • Attempted to raise farm prices through subsidies (gov’t loans) • Used $ from a new tax to pay farmers to NOT raise certain crops or animals • It was hoped that lower production would raise prices

18. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) • May 1933 • Helped farmers with flood control • Provided jobs by reactivating the hydroelectric power facility • Gave cheap electric power and many recreational opportunities to the entire region ( TN, Miss., KY, AL, GA)

19. Advances for Women… • 1st female Cabinet member – Secretary of Labor – Frances Perkins • Highest ranking African American female – Mary McLeod Bethune – director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration

20. Problems with the New Deal… • Many were not seeing great changes happening fast enough • Former Pres. Hoover complained that the country was losing its freedom to a state-run gov’t • The US Supreme Court declared NIRA unconstitutional because it gave the Pres. lawmaking powers and regulated local rather than interstate commerce • It also ruled that the tax that funded the AAA gov’t subsidies to farmers was unconstitutional

21. 2nd New Deal • Mid-term elections (1934) showed that most Americans were in support of FDR’s programs • 1935 – FDR launched a second set of reform to hush critics who said that he was not doing enough for the ordinary citizen • More social welfare benefits, more control over business, stronger support for unions, and higher taxes on the rich

22. Works Progress Administration (WPA) • 1935-1943 • Work was set up for over 8 million US citizens • Constructed or improved over 20,000 playgrounds, schools, hospitals and airports • Supported the creative work of many artists and writers

23. Farm Security Administration (FSA) • 1937 • Loaned over $1 billion to farmers and set up camps for migrant farm workers • Helped small farm owners • Helped to resettle tenants and sharecroppers on productive land

24. National Labor Relations Actaka…The Wagner Act • 1935 • Strengthened collective bargaining and closed shops (work places open only to union members) • Outlawed spying on union activities and blacklisting (agreement that employers won’t hire union leaders) • Set up a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce its provisions

25. Fair Labor Standards Act • 1938 • Banned child labor • Established a minimum wage for all workers covered under the act

26. Social Security Act • 1935 • Purpose was to provide regular payments to people who could not support themselves • The system offered three types of insurance…Old Age Pensions and Survivors Benefits, Unemployment Insurance, & Aid for Dependant children, the Blind and the Physically Disabled

27. Election of 1936 • Kansas Governor Alfred Landon – R v. Pres. Franklin D Roosevelt – D • LANDSLIDE victory for FDR • 523-8 (electoral college vote) FDR lost in only two states – Maine and Vermont • Landslide victory showed that most Americans believed in FDR and his New Deal

28. Problems arise…. • The New Deal worked for many but left many out in the cold • FLSA only covered ¼ of all workers • The minimum wage was set at $.25 – well below what most were earning • Less helpful to women and minority groups

29. Women… • NRA codes permitted women to be paid less than men in ¼ of all cases • Men received preference in job and relief programs • No program protected domestic workers – largest female occupation

30. African Americans… • Relief programs in the south enforced racial segregation • Were not offered professional or skilled jobs – lower wages than whites • Social Security did not cover farmers or domestics so it failed to cover nearly 2/3 of working African Americans • Last hired – first fired in the north – discrimination was strong • Lynchings still took place

31. Critics of the New Deal… • Republicans opposed FDR and his New Deal • Wealthy hated FDR because of his socialist ideas and the new higher tax – Revenue Act of 1935 or the Wealth Tax Act – raised taxes on incomes over $50,000 and on corporations and their profits

32. Social Security Critics… • Many complained that it penalized successful, hardworking people • SS# were seen as a step towards a militaristic, regimented society • Many believed that all Americans would soon have to wear dog tags with SS# for Gov’t control

33. American Liberty League • Led by Alfred E. Smith & Nat’l Assoc. of Manufacturers & wealthy businessmen like DuPont family • The New Deal limited American freedom in an unconstitutional “un-American” manner • Compulsory unemployment insurance felt like “Bolshevism” (USSR)

34. Upton Sinclair • Muckraker - Ran for Gov. of California with the idea of EPIC – End Poverty in California • Economic system of the state taking over factory and farms • Opponents discredited him with fake newsreels showing Russians accented people praising him – he lost the election

35. Demagogues • Leaders who manipulate people with half-truths, deceptive promises and scare tactics • Father Charles Coughlin – the Radio Priest – 10 million people listened • Often contradicted himself - nationalism v. privatization– attacked FDR – supported anti-Semitism – praised Hitler and Mussolini • 1942 Roman Catholic church ordered him to stop broadcasting

36. Huey Long - Demagogue • Lawyer, Gov of LA, US Senator • Nicknamed the “Kingfish” • Large following – he supported “Share the Wealth” idea – limit income and inheritance • Wanted to become President • Shot and killed by an enemy in 1935 prior to nomination

37. Court-Packing Scheme • FDR wanted major court reforms after they had “messed” with the NIRA and AAA • FDR wanted to “lighten the burden” for the Justices – go from 9 judges to as many as 15 – one new for each over the age of 70 • Most knew that he wanted to “pack” the court with New Deal supporters

38. Court Packing…. • Critics blasted the President for trying to inject politics into the court system • Uphold the idea of separation of powers • FDR was forced to withdraw his reform bill • Did appoint several new Justices with retirements – the court became a little more in line with the New Deal

39. Recession of 1937 • Production and employment fell • New SS tax coming out of employees paychecks was partly to blame – less money to spend • Also FDR had cut many expensive programs (WPA) • National Debt rising – total amount of $ that the gov’t has borrowed and has yet to pay back

40. Recession cont’d • Gov’t borrows when its revenue (income) does not keep up with its expenses • To fund all of the New Deal prograns – massive amounts of money was borrowed • 1933 Nat’l Debt $21 billion – $43 billion in 1940 • The WPA was expanded and other cut programs were brought back • Slowly unemployment eased and the economy picked back up – but things would remain sluggish until the 1940’s

41. Union Membership • Rose from 3 million in 1933 to 10.5 million in 1941 – about 11.3% of the total workforce – by 1945 36% were unionized • American Federation of Labor (AFL) • United Mine Workers • Combo of 7 unions made into the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO)

42. Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) • By 1938 – the CIO had 4 million members • Changes its name to Congress for Industrial Organizations • John L Lewis became the 1st President • It was a coalition – alliance of groups with similar goals – to challenge conditions in industry – by way of strikes

43. Back to the Wagner Act… • Strengthened collective bargaining and made management bargain in good faith. However it did not force management to accept union demands • This led to a wave of huge strikes • Many were sit-down strikes – sitting down and refusing to leave – pickets were set up outside – both actions prevented the company from bringing in scabs (substitute workers)

44. Strikes… • Rubber-tire plants in Akron, Ohio – sit-down strikes in 1936 • General Motors plants – UAW members – sit-down strikes. • Main plant in Flint, Michigan – occupied by UAW workers

45. GM strikes back… • Turns off heat in the buildings & blocked entries to keep food and supplies from the striking workers • Called Police to arrest picketers – violence erupted • UAW wife grabbed a bullhorn and urged the other wives to get involved • Women set up food deliveries, formed a women's brigade to help picket

46. GM Strike cont’d • Michigan Gov. Frank Murphy and Pres. Roosevelt refused to call in the Militia and eventually GM gave in to the unions demands • Not all strikes were successful – Ford refused to allow unions in his shops • Ford had his men beat UAW members when they tried to give out leaflets to Ford workers in Detroit

47. Republic Steel Company • May 1937 – Chicago Police killed 10 picketers and injured 84 other unionized workers • The US Supreme Court got involved and outlawed sit-down strikes because they were so effective and such an obstacle to negotiations

48. New Deal & Culture • New books were published about the hard times faced during the Depression • Radio was extremely popular – soap operas were sponsored by soap companies to entertain the stay at home moms and to get them to buy their product • Opera and symphony music became popular on the radio • Technicolor movies began - $.25 admission • Double features and drive-ins began

49. Movies…. • Movies were used by many agencies to promote their work – FSA documentaries were produced • Comedies and movie musicals became popular • The Wizard of Oz came out in 1939 • Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse cartoons were very popular • Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs - 1937

50. WPA and the Arts • FDR felt that arts should not be given up simply because of the Depression • Writers, historians, artists, musicians and playwrights were supported by funds from the WPA • Historians wrote state guidebooks and collected the life stories of former slaves • Free music lessons were set up and community symphonies were organized – they were also sent to lumber camps and small towns to preserve folk heritage