The New Deal

1. The New Deal

2. Election of 1932 • 1932 – Americans were ready for a change • Most people recognized that Hoover had to go • Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) won the election easily • Had a reputation for being friendly and wanted to combat poverty and unemployment • Before the inauguration, FDR began working to create the “Brains Trust” • Wanted to alleviate the Depression • Developed a program called “The New Deal”

3. The New Deal • New Deal was made up of many components to help the US • Focused on: financial reform, relief for the needy, and economic recovery • 15 policies supporting the New Deal were passed during FDR’s 1st 100 days in office

4. Financial Reform • the day after the inauguration, FDR had the banks closed to stop all withdrawals • Then had Congress pass the Emergency Banking Relief Act • Gov’t inspects banks, and only the ones in good financial shape could re-open • FDR urged people to trust the banks and invest their money

5. FDR on the banking system (clip)

6. Financial Reform • Glass-Steagall Act • Established Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) • Insured individual bank accounts • Required banks to be cautious with customers’ $ • Federal Securities Act • Goal was to regulate the stock market • Companies must provide information about their stocks • FDR also had Congress begin to allow the making and selling of some alcohols

7. Helping the Needy • Agricultural Adjustment Act • Pay farmers to produce less (leave some of the fields unplanted) • Raises prices on farm goods • But many were upset that farmland was going to waste when so many were hungry • Tennessee Valley Authority • Renovated 5 dams, built 20 new • Created thousands of jobs, provided flood control, and a new source of power

8. Helping the Needy • Civilian Conservation Corps • Put young men to work • Building roads, developing parks, planting trees, preventing erosion • Most work was focused in the mid-west • Public Works Administration • Gave $ to states to create jobs in building schools and community buildings • Civil Works Administration • PWA was not providing enough jobs, so FDR created CWA • Invented jobs for people

9. Helping the Needy • National Industrial Recovery Act • Promoted industrial growth • National Recovery Act • Set prices of products, established standards for products, and wages • Workers were allowed to unionize • Food, Clothing, Shelter • New Deal programs provided loans to stop foreclosure and made mortgages easier to obtain • $500 million was given in direct relief to the needy and to support work programs

10. New Deal Under Attack • New Deal did help millions of Americans • But it meant that the Gov’t was spending more money than it brought in • FDR viewed deficit spending as a necessary evil • Didn’t end the Depression • Some thought it didn’t focus enough on direct relief or reform the economic system • Others thought the gov’t was interfering too much in the economy

11. Supreme Court on the New Deal • 1935 – Supreme Court says NIRA is unconstitutional • Gives the gov’t too much power • 1936 – AAA is unconstitutional, states should govern agriculture • 1937 – FDR wanted to appoint 6 new Supreme Court Justices (not really legal) • One Justice ended up retiring, and FDR was able to appoint someone anyway • FDR ended ups appointing 7 new judges during his term

12. Criticism of the New Deal • 3 strong critics spoke out against the New Deal • Father Coughlin • Wanted a guaranteed national income and nationalized banks • Huey Long • Began “Share-Our-Wealth” program, wanted to run against FDR in the 1936 election • Dr. Francis Townsend • Wanted a pension plan for the elderly, undermined support for FDR

13. FDR’s 2nd 100 Days • New Deal was very popular, FDR wanted to use that success to get Congress to provide more relief • FDR’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt was a driving force behind this push • Eleanor Roosevelt was a humanitarian who traveled the country observing people’s lives and living conditions • Would inform FDR about what was actually going on • Urged FDR to appoint women to gov’t positions

14. Election of 1936 • Popularity of the New Deal and 2nd 100 days (aka 2nd New Deal) let to FDR easily being re-elected

15. Helping Farmers • 40% of farmers had to mortgage their property • When the Supreme Court got rid of AAA, Congress passed the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act • Cut crop production of soil-depleting crops • Rewarded farmers for conserving soil • Resettlement Administration – gave loans to farmers to buy land, established camps for migrant workers • FSA hired photographers to get a glimpse of what life was like for farmers

16. FDR increases relief • Works Progress Administration (WPA) • Wanted to create as many jobs as quickly as possible • Built 850 airports, constructed and repaired 651,000 miles of roads, built more than 125,000 buildings • Hired people collect narratives, paint murals, and perform plays • Made special effort to help young people, women and minorities • National Youth Administration (NYA) • Provided education, jobs, and counseling to young people • Students had to work part-time in order to participate

17. Improving Labor • Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) • workers were able to create unions and engage in collective bargaining • Prohibited unfair labor practices • Fair Labor Standards Act • 44 hour work week (later 40 hrs) • Established minimum wage (25¢, later 40¢) • Set rules about workers under 16

18. Social Security Act • Old-age Insurance – 65 or older, supplemental retirement plan • Unemployment compensation system - $15-$18 a week, funded by a tax on employers • Aid to families with dependent children and the disabled – paid for by federal funds

19. Other programs under the 2nd New Deal • Electricity to rural towns • Regulating public utilities • Get rid of corruption in public utilities

20. New Deal new opportunities • Women were able to gain gov’t positions • Frances Perkins – Secretary of Labor • FDR also appointed 2 female diplomats and federal judge • African-Americans were appointed to gov’t and leadership positions • Mary McLeod Bethune – leader in NYA • “Black Cabinet” – advised FDR on racial issues • Southern Tenant Farmers Union

21. New Deal new opportunities • Mexican-Americans received less support than other minorities • Were excluded from some programs, were not allowed to unionize • Migrant workers did not have a permanent address, and were not eligible for CCC and WPA

22. New Deal new opportunities • Native Americans received strong support from the New Deal • Were declared full citizens • John Collier became head of Indian Affairs • Economic- tribes can own lands • Cultural – Native American children can attend own schools • Political – tribes can elect councils to govern themselves

23. New Deal Coalition • Diverse groups dedicated to supporting the Democratic Party • Southern Whites, unionized laborers, urban groups, African-Americans

24. Unions Grow • Unionization tripled between 1933-1941 • American Federation of Labor • Congress of Industrial organizations • Unions bargained for better pay and working conditions • Sit-down strike

25. Culture of the 1930s • Movies • 65% of people saw at least 1 movie a week • Made Hollywood the center of the film industry • Movies were an escape from reality Gone With the Wind Flying Down to Rio Wizard of Oz Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Mr. Smith Goes to Washington • Radio • almost 90% of homes had a radio War of the Worlds (trick broadcast) Fireside Chats Comedians Soap operas Lone Ranger

26. Art • Federal Art Project – pay artists to produce public art • Murals, posters, teach art in schools • Music • Woody Guthrie – songs captured hardships of America • Theater • WPA’s Federal Theater Project – hired actors to perform plays around the country • Writers • WPA’s Federal Writer’s Project John Steinbeck Richard Wright Zora Neale Hurston James T. Farrell Jack Conroy Thornton Wilder

27. FDR’s Second Term • Hinted at a 3rd New Deal • Did not like the conditions that many workers and families had to live in • Did not want to use deficit spending • Economy was improving • Congress chose to scale back New Deal programs • Caused industrial production to drop again • Unemployment increased • FDR was becoming concerned with the actions of Germany in Europe

28. Effects of the New Deal • FDR expanded the power of the gov’t, especially the role of the president • Regulated banking and investing • Reduced suffering through jobs, money and food • Federal Deficit rose to $2.9 billion • Protected workers rights

29. Effects of the New Deal • Establishing the Social Security Administration • AAA, CCC, TVA • Loans for farmers (based on parity) • Spread electricity to more towns • Civilian Conservation Corps- planted trees, created hiking trails, built fire-lookout towers • Soil Conservation Act

30. What Ended the Great Depression? • Massive spending by the government in 1943 • Guns, tanks, ships, airplanes, equipment and supplies needed for US Armed Forces in WWII