Last Days of the New Deal Angela Brown Chapter 23 Section 3

The New Deal did not end the nation’s suffering, but it did lead to some profound changes in American life. Voters expected a President to formulate programs and solve problems. People accepted more government intervention in their lives. Laborers demanded more changes in workplace.

The Recession of 1937 Improvement from New Deal did not last long. The new Social Security Tax was partly to blame for the recession of 1937. The tax came directly out of paychecks. Workers had less money so bought fewer goods. FDR distressed at rising national debt – cut back on programs.

National debt – total amount of money the federal government has borrowed. Government borrows when its revenue, or income, does not keep up with its expenses. National debt rose from $21 billion in 1933 to $43 billion by 1940. After 1937 Harry Hopkins persuaded FDR to expand slashed programs to relieve recession.

Unions Triumph The Wagner Act provided Federal protection for the activities of labor unions. Made unions more attractive to workers By 1945, 36% of workers were unionized.

A New Labor Organizations 1935 United Mine Workers President John L. Lewis created a Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) within the AFL. Sought to organize unskilled workers – welcomed all workers AFL suspended CIO unions in 1936.

1938 Coalition, or alliance of groups with similar goals changed its name to Congress of Industrial Organizations Aim to challenge conditions in industry – main tool was the strike

An Era of Strikes Wagner Act legalized collective bargaining but did not force companies to accept union demands = wave of strikes Sit-Down Strikes – laborers stopped work but refused to leave the workplace. Supporters outside picketed = no scabs or substitute workers Most Famous – 1936 United Auto Workers (UAW) GM’s main plant in Flint, Michigan Executive turned off heat, blocked entry (no Food), called in police against picketers outside.

Wife of a striker grabbed bullhorn and urged other wives to join picketers. Organized food deliveries and set up speaker’s bureau to present the union’s position to the public They formed the Women’s Emergency Brigade to picket – GM gave in Ford resisted unionism in his 1937 Detroit Ford Plant – men beat UAW officials who distributed leaflets

Republic Steel Company refused as well – 1937 Chicago police killed 10 picketers, injured 84 others 1939 Supreme Court outlawed sit-down strikes stated it was too potent a weapon and an obstacle to negotiations.

New Deal’s Effects on Culture Literature The Good Earth (1931) Pearl Buck –saga of peasant struggle in China Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941) James Agee and photographer Walker Evans – lived for weeks with share croppers in Alabama The Grapes of Wrath (1939) John Steinbeck – Dust Bowl victims travel to California Their Eyes are Watching God (1937) – Zora Neale Hurston – strong willed African American woman in a Florida town

Radio and Movies 1930s stars Jack Benny, Fred Allen, George Burns, and Gracie Allen Soap Operas began – 15 minute stories Symphony music and operas flourished. Technicolor movies 1931 – double feature 25 cents or drive in theater for whole family 25 cents

Federal agencies used motion pictures to publicize their work. Hollywood – Mr. Smith goes to Washington (1931), Monkey Business (1931), Duck Soup (1933), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Mickey Mouse, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The WPA and the Arts FDR earmarked WPA funds to support unemployed artists, musicians, historians, theater people and writers Federal Writer’s Project – 1935 – assisted 6,000 writers Historians surveyed government records, wrote state guidebooks, collected life stories of 2,000 former slaves

Federal Music Project started community symphonies and organized fee music lessons, collected and preserved folk heritage Federal Art Project (1935) – put 10,000 artist to work Federal Theatre Project – directed by Vassar College professor Hallie Flanagan used drama to create awareness of social problems – launched careers of Burt Lancaster, Arthur Miller, John Houseman, and Orson Welles Investigated by the House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) as being a propaganda machine for communism – Congress killed appropriation in 1939

Lasting New Deal Achievements Public Works and Federal Agencies Many New Deal bridges, dams, tunnels, public buildings, and hospitals stand today. The Tennessee Valley Authority Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) Securities and Exchange Commission continues to monitor the workings of the stock exchange. U.S. farmers still plant according to federal crop allotment strategies.

Social Security System discriminated against women for a longtime. Assumed male-head of the household Mother could lose benefits for children if a male lived in the household. (whether providing support or not) Women seldom stayed in workforce long enough or earned high enough wages to receive maximum benefits.

A Legacy of Hope Greatest Achievement – restored hope Government programs meant the difference between survival and starvation for millions. READ PAGE 677 – SOCIAL SECURITY