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Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Background. Wealthy, New Yorker Attended Harvard, then Columbia Law NY State Senator, 1911-13 Asst Sec of Navy, 1913-20. Polio -1921. Contracts polio on vacation Never gains use of legs Gave him patience Sensitivity toward the less fortunate.
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Background • Wealthy, New Yorker • Attended Harvard, then Columbia Law • NY State Senator, 1911-13 • Asst Sec of Navy, 1913-20
Polio -1921 • Contracts polio on vacation • Never gains use of legs • Gave him patience • Sensitivity toward the less fortunate
Eleanor Roosevelt • Shy, awkward, intelligent, sensitive and shrewd politically. • Played very public role as 1st lady • Communicated with common man • Blacks included • Gave FDR moral focus
FDR Elected in 1932 • Took Oath of Office – Mar 5, 1933 • Began New Deal on inauguration day • New Deal – economic stimulus package to get US out of Depression • Elected to 3 more terms 1936, 1940, 1944. Only President to serve more than two.
Target the Depression • Main goal – end the depression • Said no political agenda would stand in his way for ending the depression
Restore Confidence • Upbeat and Optimistic • Great Speaker • Inaugural address - “Only thing we have to fear is fear itself” • Fireside Chats – weekly radio address
The First 100 Days Greatest period of domestic legislation in American History in regards to the number of significant bills that were passed
Bank Recovery • Lines at banks • 4/5 of states temporarily closed their banks • Emergency Bank Act – Mar 9, 1933 • Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) – June 1933 • Home Owners Loan Corp (HOLC) – June 1933
Creation of Jobs – May 1933 • Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) • Civil Works Administration • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) – May 1933 • Farm commodity prices depressed • Attempt to make farming competitive • Provided subsidies for farmers to not plant - fallow land • Who did it hurt? • Consumers • Railroads • Sharecroppers
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – May 1933 • Federal government took control of hydroelectric facility • Compete with private electric companies • Communist? • Provided service for rural areas • Experiment in centralized federal economic planning.
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) – June 1933 • Created Public Works Administration - $3.3 billion • Established fair competition standards by industry • Workers rights • Opponents argued it is communism • Ruled unconstitutional in 1935
Is It Working?? • Had no clear ideological basis, but ... • Banks reopen • 100,000 people go back to work. • Economic indicators start to rise. • Creates optimism. • Does not end the depression…this leads to the 2nd New Deal
Relief Legislation • Resettlement Administration • Revenue Act of 1935 – “Soak the Rich Act”
Regulatory Legislation • SEC – Securities and Exchange Commission • FCC – Federal Communications Commission
Reform Legislation of 2nd New Deal • WPA – Works Progress Admin • NLRA – National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) • Social Security Act 1935
Fair Labor Standards Act - 1938 • Banned oppressive child labor • Minimum hourly wage = 25 cents/hr • Maximum workweek = 44 hours
Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) • Organized by John L. Lewis in 1935 • AFL was more geared toward skilled workers • Labor union that organized unskilled workers across industries • Accepted African-Americans • Dramatic increase in labor enrollment
Challenges from the Right and Left • Hoover Republicans • Neo-Populists • Huey Long • Share the Wealth • Fr. Charles Coughlin • Dr. Francis Townsend • Communists
Court Packing – Supreme Court is a Rival • Supreme Court – obstacle to New Deal • Declared several acts unconstitutional • 1st AAA • NIRA • Concerned Social Security and Wagner Act would be declared unconstitutional
Court Reform Bill • If a justice retires at 70, they can retire at full pay. • Or.. President can assign another justice (with equal power) to the court to help with the workload.
Results of Court Reform • People were outraged • Bipartisan criticism • The bill passed, but removed clause that allows the President to appoint additional justices
New Deal In Decline • FDR’s reputation from Court Packing takes a hit • Recession in 1937 – more criticism of New Deal • Labor Strikes – national mood toward labor declines • Issues with Italy, Germany, Japan
John Maynard Keynes • Government must spend during a recession • Deficit spending is OK if necessary • Hope is to jump start the economy • During good economic times you pay down the national debt.
The New Deal in closing • Increased the size of federal bureaucracy • Committed country to federal responsibility for national welfare • African-Americans shift from republican to democrat voters