FDR & The New Deal

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Expanded the powers of the federal government more than any president Dominated the government for an unprecedented amount of time 12 years and two months One of the most influential world leaders of the 20th century

FDR: The man Personally admired his older cousin Theodore and followed in his foot steps, but unlike his cousin, FDR was a Democrat Served as a N.Y. legislator and then U.S. assistant secretary of the navy Paralyzed with polio in 1921- was wealthy enough to retire, but determined to continue his political career Regained full strength in his upper body but never walked again Most of the public and world leaders were unaware of FDR’s condition as the White House and press agreed to keep it secret FDR’s true strengths were his warm personality, gifts as a speaker, and ability to work with and inspire others

Eleanor Roosevelt FDR’s wife Eleanor emerged as a leader in her own right Became the most active first lady in history Wrote columns, gave speeches, traveled the country Her relationship with FDR was strained, but he always respected her as she served as his social conscience Influenced his support for minorities and the less fortunate

The New Deal Philosophy At first FDR had no concrete plans for ending the Depression In his acceptance speech at the 1932 Democratic national convention, Roosevelt said “I pledge to you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” It soon became clear his New Deal programs were represented by the three R’s: Relief for the unemployed Recovery for businesses and the economy Reform of American economic institutions

The First Hundred Days Immediately after being sworn into office, FDR called Congress into a special hundred-day-long session During this period, Congress passed into law every single request of President Roosevelt Enacted more major pieces of legislation than any single Congress in history Most of these New Deal laws and agencies came to be referred to by their initials WPA, AAA, CCC, TVA

The first hundred days Bank Holiday Repeal of Prohibition As many banks failed in 1933 (over 5,000) as had failed in all the previous years of the Depression To restore confidence in investing and saving, the president ordered banks to close for one day on March 6, 1933 Went on the radio to assure the banks would reopen after rates and prices stabilized, and the govt. had enough time to reorganize them Repeal of Prohibition FDR kept his campaign promise to repeal Prohibition The Beer-Wine Revenue Act raised the much needed tax money from the sale of alcohol before the 21st Amendment was finally passed

The first hundred days Fireside Chats March 12, 1933- Roosevelt went on the radio to make the first of many fireside chats to the American people President assured listeners about the bank holiday and would go on to do the same for his other programs and plans Americans would eagerly tune in weekly to hear the president’s fireside chats

Financial Recovery & Reform programs Emergency Banking Relief Act Authorize govt. to examine finances of banks that closed during the bank holiday and determine which ones could reopen Glass-Steagull Act Increased regulation of the banks; limited how banks could invest customers’ money Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Guaranteed individual bank deposits up to a certain amount Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) Provided refinancing to small homes to avoid more foreclosures Farm Credit Administration Provided low-interest farm loans and mortgages to prevent foreclosures of farms

Relief for the unemployed Some programs created jobs with government stimulus dollars to provide relief and create more demand for goods and services Which hopefully would create more jobs, more demand, and so on Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) Offered federal grants to state and local governments who were operating soup kitchens/other forms of relief Public Works Administration Gave money to state and local governments for building roads, dams, bridges, and various other construction projects that employed thousands

Relief for the Unemployed Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Employed young men to work on projects on federal lands; paid their families small monthly sums Responsible for the creation of many of the nation’s federal parks and refuges Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Huge experiment in regional development and public planning Employed thousands of people living in the Tennessee Valley to build dams, operate power plants, control flooding and erosion, and manufacture fertilizer Provided electricity at rates far lower than any private company

Industrial Recovery programs National Recovery Administration (NRA) Attempted to guarantee reasonable profits for business and fair wages and hours for labor NRA helped many major industries set codes for wages, hours of work, levels of production, and prices of finished goods Law also gave workers the right to organize and bargain collectively Operated with limited success for two years before being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 (Schechter v. U.S.)

Farm production control programs Farmers were offered a program similar to what the NRA did for industry Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) Encouraged farmers to reduce production (in order to boost prices) Paid subsidies to farmers for every acre they plowed under Also declared unconstitutional in 1935 by the Supreme Court

Other programs of the first new deal Civil Works Administration (CWA) Added to the PWA to create even more jobs Hired labors for temporary construction projects sponsored by the federal govt. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Created to regulate the stock market; outlawed many of the speculative practices that led to the crash in 1929 Required full audits of and financial disclosure by corporations to protect investors from fraud Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Insured bank loans for building new houses and repairing old ones; helped out both homeowners and the construction industry

? How did Teddy Roosevelt and FDR’s wife Eleanor affect his political career? What did the Three R’s stand for? What was the significance of Congress’ actions during FDR’s first hundred days in office? What were fireside chats? Explain in your own words why the NRA and AAA were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court