Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal

Franklin D. Roosevelt Distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt He married his 5th cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt Suffered from polio in 1921 which paralyzed him from the waist down Very few pictures showed him in a wheel chair 32nd President of the USA (1933-1945) Beat Hoover in election by a landslide People wanted help from the government and Roosevelt had a plan to help.

“Fireside Chats” a series of 31 radio broadcast messages from FDR FDR explained issues about the economy in simple language (like the bank crisis), his plans to help the country asked Americans “tell me your troubles”. As a result, many wrote FDR letters about their troubles http://www.history.com/topics/fireside-chats

The New Deal FDR’s plan was called the New Deal New Deal used government programs to help the nation recover from the Depression. His plan included 3Rs: Relief – immediate help for those unemployed Recovery – temporary programs to restart the economy Reform - programs to prevent another depression http://www.history.com/topics/new-deal/videos/the-new-deal

New Deal - Reforms 1. Reform Banks Closed ALL banks (Bank Holiday) (March 5, 1933 1 day after taking office) Emergency Banking Relief Act  U.S. Treasury Department inspected banks Banks that were sound could open & those that could not pay debts remain closed Banks which needed help received loans from the government. Created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)  Promised the Federal Reserve (The nation’s bank that supports all the countries’ banks) would insure individual bank accounts up to $5,000 (today $250,000) Outcome: Americans trusted banks and felt their money was safe

New Deal - Reforms 2. Reform Stock Market Required corporations to provide complete information about their stocks Corporations were made responsible for any misrepresentations Prevent anyone with inside information from “fixing” the stock market for their personal profit Outcome: Regulated the stock market Americans gain some confidence back in the stock market

New Deal – Recovery/Relief 1. Gave money to states to create jobs for unemployed workers. Public Works Administration (PWA) built dams, bridges, hospitals, and schools Goal: provide jobs Works Progress Administration (WPA) Built airports, hospitals, and schools Outcome: Built 40,000 schools Paid 50,000 rural teachers salaries Built 500,000 miles of roads

New Deal – Recovery/Relief 2. Help Farmers Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) Government paid farmers NOT to grow crops Goal = raise crop prices by reducing supply Outcome: Prices rose and farmers made more money Upset many who were hungry to purposely destroy food

New Deal – Recovery/Relief 3. Help the Environment Civilian Conservation Corps. (CCC) Government paid men, gave lodging, food, & uniforms (age 18-25) to: Build Roads Develop new and existing parks Plant trees Help with soil-erosion and flood-control Goal = create work projects that improved the environment and provide jobs National Parks  12 million acres of land for new national parks Outcome: Provided 3 million men jobs Provided new infrastructure in America Helped reforest the Great Plains to prevent another Dust Bowl

This program is still around TODAY! New Deal – Recovery/Relief 4. Help the Elderly Social Security Act  a portion of one’s paycheck is taken out each month and given to the government. Government Uses the money 3 ways: Savings account for when elderly retire (65 and older) Jobless people can collect money while they are looking Help families with disabled children along with disabled adults This program is still around TODAY!

Effects of the New Deal The New Deal DID NOT end the Great Depression, but it gave people hope that their situation would improve WWII DID end the Great Depression with its massive military spending

Effects of the New Deal Expanded the Power of the Government Government was expected to get involved when people needed help Created a Welfare State Government took on the responsibility of provided help for children, poor, elderly, disabled, sick, and unemployed This was new. People had never been given help by the government before Changed the Role of the President President played a larger role in government Led to the 22nd Amendment: limits the number of terms a president can serve (2 terms or 10 years)