FDR’s New Deal

Election of 1932 Hoover was blamed for the countries woes and FDR wins in a landslide victory Promises a more active role of the govt. in addressing poverty, providing discounts Eleanor Roosevelt – Revolutionizes the role of the 1st lady; Very active in social issues, Opinionated, Strong Great communicator; cheerful, optimistic Fireside Chats Hoover was unpersonable, worked alone, quiet

Change in role of Government New Deal – Various programs created by FDR and his advisors to end the depression / fix US economy 100 Days – FDR and Congress passed an unprecedented number of laws to combat the Depression

Fixing Banks Banking Crisis – Banks were closing by the thousands due to overuse of credit “buying on margin” installment buying Bank Runs - millions of Americans rushed to withdraw their savings FDR declared a “Bank Holiday” forcing banks to close for 4 days Only banks that were in good condition were allowed to reopen FDIC – Created to insure bank deposits

Fixing the Economy National Recovery Administration (NRA) & Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) Both restricted production to raise prices of goods and increase profits Paid farmers to not grow food CCC – Male heads of families given jobs by the govt. to provide for their families.

Wagner Labor Relations Act or National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) guaranteed workers the right to form unions Union workers make more than non union workers

TVA – Tennessee Valley Authority; Govt TVA – Tennessee Valley Authority; Govt. program to provide jobs and resources to poor rural areas in 7 States TVA proved to be most controversial New Deal program Govt. money intended to put people to work and bring electricity to impoverished rural areas Critics argued that it was socialism, govt. giving money to the poor to raise their standard of living

Tennessee Valley Authority ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Tennessee Valley Authority

Hoover Dam was built to provide needed water out West

Federal Water Projects in California Built or Funded by the New Deal ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Federal Water Projects in California Built or Funded by the New Deal

New Deal Critics on All Sides Huey P. Long – “Share our Wealth” – Democrat LA governor / US Senator with a radical plan to redistribute wealth “more fairly” Criticized FDR for being too friendly to banks and businessmen Assassinated Radicals (anarchists / socialists) believed the New Deal did not go far enough to help those in need

Father Charles Coughlin the “radio priest” – Criticized FDR for not cracking down on bankers and financial leaders for causing the Depression Dr. Francis Townsend - Criticized the New Deal for not doing enough for older Americans (wanted pensions for people over 60)

The American Liberty League - Believed that the New Deal went too far and was anti-business Believed it would destroy the American spirit due to the unprecedented change (and cost) in US govt. role in people’s lives. Too many taxes, govt. regulations, free Handouts, Debt Businesses are laying people off to pay taxes Govt. programs like the WPA, meant to put Americans back to work, caused US businesses to close because they could not compete financially with the govt.

Part II

2nd New Deal 2nd New Deal and 2nd 100 days after FDR’s reelection FDR’s opponent only won two states Unemployment had been cut in half, but still many problems Taxes raised on wealthy More govt. regulation in business and banking

Supreme Court vs. the New Deal Supreme Court overturned many of the original New Deal laws NIRA, NRA, AAA were all overturned in court Written too hastily, minor wording changes needed to keep from violating the Constitution

Court Packing Plan FDR planned to expand the Supreme Court by 6 Justices to get more Democratic justices Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States greatly weakened the NIRA Plan was voted down as a violation of Checks and Balances Major publicity blunder for FDR The plan did work in intimidating some members of the Supreme Court to support the New Deal

Addressing Critics In an attempt by FDR to meet the demands of his critics new acts required people to work in order to get govt. assistance Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) – gave money w/o requiring work Works Progress Administration (WPA) – Largest peacetime program to provide jobs in US History From Construction projects like schools and hospitals to artists Social Security – Benefits for 65 & up; unemployment insurance

African-Americans, Women and the New Deal New Deal did more to reinforce patterns of racial discrimination than promote racial equality Took only symbolic steps supporting civil rights but did / could not make the issue a top priority

Important women in FDR’s administration worked mostly behind the scenes Frances Perkins – US Secretary of Labor 1st Female Cabinet Member Little commitment in administration for women’s equality

End of the New Deal 1937 stock market slipped again and despite a rebound 1938 New Deal began to lose support Deficit spending – People began to debate how much govt. debt was too much Democrats thought more needed to be done Not everyone got equal help Republicans began to win more seats in Congress by criticizing the size of govt., role in people’s lives, high taxes, handouts

Add on New Deal vs. Business Use recent scholarship on page 373 to explain republican view of why new deal was bad and how businesses couldn’t compete with the WPA Caple style TVA / New Deal Debate

Yes, but No Discussion

YES, but No Unemployment was cut in half Gross National Product increased Govt. policies introduced to protect investors; SEC WPA built 2,500 hospitals and 6,000 schools TVA provided electricity to rural areas in 7 states Provided relief for those in need Improved the nations infrastructure, transportation systems

Yes, but NO Businesses could not compete with the US govt. People more dependent on govt. The depression improved, but was not fixed FDR could not help all those that needed help Workers benefits decreased, pay New Deal masked, covered up the problems, didn’t fix them Help was only temporary