The New Deal

Unit Objective To learn the goals of the New Deal and the positives and negatives of its programs

What was it? FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT’S (FDR) PLAN TO GET AMERICA OUT OF THE DEPRESSION

The Three “R’s” RELIEF, RECOVERY, REFORM TOGETHER THEY WERE THE THREE MAIN GOALS OF THE NEW DEAL

The Three “R’s” The first two “R’s” focused on: SHORT-TERM IMMEDIATE WAYS TO GET PEOPLE BACK TO WORK AND ON THEIR FEET The Third “R” focused on: LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS SO ANOTHER DEPRESSION WOULD NEVER HAPPEN

The Three “R’s” The First Hundred days: THE AGGRESSIVE FIRST CONGRESSIONAL SESSION OF FDR’S FIRST TERM THAT FOCUSED ON RELIEF AND RECOVERY Second New Deal: LATER PROGRAMS OF THE NEW DEAL THAT FOCUSED ON REFORM

How did the New Deal impact America? Banks: Created “bank holidays”; Emergency Banking Relief Act; Government regulation of banks (similar to what has happened in recent years) Bank Depositors (customers): FDIC insurance to protect savings The Stock Exchange: Creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Banks were forbidden from investing customer money in market

Helping businesses and home owners Farmers: AAA paid farmers not to grow certain crops as a way to drive prices up Industry: NIRA created; Anti-trust laws temporarily suspended Home Owners: HOLC; Government loans

Putting people to work The Unemployed: Put thousands to work on public construction projects (Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC; Public Works Administration or PWA; Civil Works Administration or CWA; Works Progress Administration or WPA Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): The federal government employed 40,000 workers to build 20 dams in the Tennessee River Valley to control flooding, conserve forestlands, and provide electricity to rural Americans who were mostly poor farmers

Helping Labor Social Security Act: Created unemployment system, disability insurance, pensions, and child welfare benefits National Labor Relations Act: Guaranteed to workers the right to organize into unions and to bargain collectively Fair Labor Standards Act: Provided more protection for workers against employers, abolished child labor, and established the 40-hour work week The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO): New union group that focused on automobile and steel industries—eventually merged with American Federation of Labor

Did the programs work?

Did the programs work? The New Deal failed to restore America to prosperity before WWII broke out—maybe it would have if given more time It did inspire Americans to have hope and be optimistic It did result in many social programs that are still with us today Some would argue it created many social programs that are still with us today that are bad for America (Welfare, Medicare, Social Security, etc.)

Not everyone supported the New Deal

Political Right Wing (Conservatives/Republicans): THOUGHT THE NEW DEAL HAD GONE TOO FAR—TOO MANY REGULATIONS ON BUSINESSES, EXPANDED POWER OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOO MUCH

Is Barack Obama the modern day FDR?

Political Left Wing (Liberals/Democrats) THOUGHT THE NEW DEAL HAD NOT GONE FAR ENOUGH Huey Long: Democratic governor of Louisiana known as the “Kingfish”; Rival of FDR; Thought the New Deal had not done enough Father Charles Coughlin: Catholic priest from Detroit; Impatient with slow pace of reforms; Wanted heavy taxes on wealthy and a national bank system Dr. Francis Townsend: Wanted to pay citizens over 60 $200 to retire (would increase spending and free up jobs for other people); First organized movement to make the elderly a political force

The Supreme Court ruled many New Deal programs to be unconstitutional What did FDR try to do about it? HE TRIED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICES FROM 9 TO 15 SO THAT AT LEAST 6 WOULD BE LOYAL TO HIM AND NOT RULE HIS PROGRAMS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

How did that work out for him? The Senate saw what he was trying to do and refused to confirm his appointments The Supreme Court remained a powerful check against the other two branches

In the end it was war production related to WWII and not the New Deal that got American out of the Great Depression