Roosevelt and the New Deal

Election of 1932 Democrat Roosevelt beats incumbent Republican Hoover in a landslide Roosevelt rallied nation in his inaugural address  “The only thing we have to fear is, fear itself” – “this nation asks for action and action now!”

New Deal Nickname for his new programs that would make government a more active participant in solving problems Emergency Banking Relief Act –required the Treasury Department to declare banks financially sound before they reopened Fire-Side Chats – FDR urged listeners that the banks were safe and they needed to put their money back into the banks  would become weekly addresses to keep the people informed of his plans After 1st Chat, deposits outnumbered withdraws  banking crisis was over

3 R’s Over the course of the next 100 days while in office, Roosevelt and Congress enacted numerous government agencies known as “alphabet agencies” Agencies fulfilled the New Deal’s “3-R” goals: Relief, Recovery, and Reform

Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) (Mar Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) (Mar. 1933) –provided jobs for 3 million Americans (ex: helped landscape the Blue Ridge Parkway) Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (May 1933) – agency created to provide cheap electricity, recreational areas, and flood control by building dams in the Tennessee Valley   Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) (May 1933) – government agency paid farmers to reduce crop production, kill animals, and plow under crops to help increase their income  less supply leads to higher demand and prices Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (Jun. 1934) – set up to supervise and police the stock market Glass-Steagall Act (Jun 1933) – separated commercial banking from investment banking and established the FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (Jun. 1933) – formed to correct unsound banking/investment, increase confidence in the banking system National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) (Jun. 1933) – suspended anti-trust laws to promote economic recovery for business leaders in exchange for recognition of workers rights (unionize, collective bargaining, work hours) and minimum wages National Recovery Administration (NRA) – agency that attempted to enforce the NIRA by encouraging business to accept the regulations as “patriotic” urging the public to only buy from business that did Public Works Administration (PWA) (Jun. 1933) – agency created to distribute fund in construction jobs and public works

Haters Gonna Hate, Hate, Hate Some believed New Deal didn’t go far enough to help Americans while other believed it went too far giving the federal government excessive power Deficit Spending – spending more than you make  buying on credit and creating debt FDR used this policy to fund New Deal programs with large amounts of money alarming many as America was creating a national debt Supreme Court Challenges –reviewed constitutionality of New Deal programs finding some unconstitutional including the AAA and NRA

Second New Deal At election of 1936, Depression better but not over so FDR began work on his Second New Deal to end the Depression Works Progress Administration (WPA) (Apr. 1935) – offered further work in construction and also provided federal jobs to artists, musicians, writers, and theatre actors National Labor Relations Act/Wagoner Act (Jul. 1935) – protected workers right to unionize Social Security Act (Aug. 1935) – offered the elderly and disabled a federal pension when they retired and offered a system of temporary unemployment insurance Frances Perkins – FDR’s Labor Secretary who had a big influence on drafting the Social Security Act was also the first women cabinet member