FDR & the New Deal

Background Born wealthy Married his distant cousin Eleanor who introduced him to a world he had never seen TR led Eleanor down the aisle at their marriage Served as NY state senator Asst Sec of the Navy Got polio in 1921 Became governor of NY in 1928 As governor when the GD began he was well known for his innovative relief measures In 1932 he was elected president

Taking Office Unlike Hoover who was reluctant to institute direct relief programs, this was a major goal of FDR FDR filled his gov with Repub, Democrats, liberals & conservatives This select team, known as the Brain Trust, met before he assumed office and developed the New Deal This was a program designed to alleviate suffering of the GD by focusing on 3 areas: (1) Relief (2) Recovery & (3) reform

First Hundred Days Period of intense legislation – 15 major pieces of New Deal legislation passed by Congress Both Houses of Congress had democratic majorities These laws & others that followed would significantly expand the role of gov’t.

Bank Crisis When FDR took office there was a banking crisis One of his 1st actions is to ask Congress to pass the Emergency Banking Relief Act-partial bank holiday If banks were sound they could open If they were insolvent, unable to pay debts, they would remain closed Those that needed some relief would receive gov loans This revived public confidence, people deposited funds and the bank crisis was over

Bank & Finance Reforms Glass-Steagall Banking Act Prohibited banks from investing savings in Stock Market Established Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) to safeguard deposits which restored faith in banks Truth in Securities Act All info about stocks must be accurately disclosed Securities & Exchange Commission To prevent manipulation of the stock market by “rigging” the market with insider info

New Deal Goal #1: Relief to Unemployed Fed’l Emergency Relief Adm (FERA) was passed by Congress with $500m to distribute Direct relief of food, clothing & cash to needy Critics of this program, giving out the dole (gov charity) felt it broke down people’s self esteem & will to work FDR then proposed jobs Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed approx 3m men worked to build roads, trails & improve nat’l park facilities See pages 455-456

Civilian Conservation Corp

Civilian Conservation Corps Barracks

Civilian Conservation Corps

Public Works Adm –More Jobs $3.3 billion to carry out public projects such as: Schools Dams Sewage Systems Improving highways, gov bldgs This provided employment as well as stimulated the economy (sound familiar? Stimulus package)

Public Works Administration

Public Works Administration

National Industrial Recovery Act Purpose was to promote recovery by establishing codes for fair practice by interrupting the trend of wage cuts, falling prices & layoffs. Govt could not force businesses to adhere to industry standards so they launched publicity campaign This was known as the Nat’l Recovery Act Those that complied displayed the NRA sign

Agricultural Adjustment Admin Purpose was to help farmers by raising agric prices by cutting production Gov paid farmers a subsidy to reduce agric output to allow prices to rise Bad timing – when AAA began farmers had already planted fields – to adhere to the program they had to plow under those fields and kill livestock Led to criticism because they were destroying crops while many Americans were hungry

Tennessee Valley Authority Built dams along Tennessee River Valley (1 of the poorest regions in the country) to create hydroelectric power. Enriched agriculture Promoted tourism Provided electricity to 8 states

FDR and the People Fireside chats became frequent radio broadcasts FDR explained his programs in simple language Held regular press conferences Skillful communication restored hope & faith

Eleanor’s Influence One of the most active first ladies ever Became FDR’s “eyes and ears” Embraced many liberal (progressive) causes such as: Womens Trade Union League League of Women’s Voters Ending child labor Promoting better racial relations (Marion Anderson incident)

Evaluation How successful was FDR in each of his goals? Relief Recovery Reform

The End