Managing the Great Depression, Forging the New Deal, 1929‒1939 James A. Henretta Eric Hinderaker Rebecca Edwards Robert O. Self America’s History Eighth Edition America: A Concise History Sixth Edition CHAPTER 23 Managing the Great Depression, Forging the New Deal, 1929‒1939 Copyright © 2014 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

1. Who is the intended audience for this poster 1. Who is the intended audience for this poster? (Answer: Girls and women who are unemployed and willing to work as domestic servants.) 2. What emotions did the illustrator hope to evoke with this depiction of a young woman drying a dish? (Answer: This young woman appears happy to have a job; the ad tells women that they will be paid, fed, and provided with good working conditions; this young woman appears to appreciate the opportunity the Illinois State Employment Service has provided.) 3. How is this poster representative of what President Roosevelt hoped to provide the nation with his New Deal programs? (Answer: While he may not have been able to provide immediate economic comfort and security to all Americans, he could improve the spirit of the people through work and other relief programs, which in turn had the potential for improving consumer confidence and getting the economy moving again.)

I. Early Responses to the Depression, 1929–1932 A. Enter Herbert Hoover 1. American traditions 2. Hoover’s failures I. Early Responses to the Depression, 1929–1932 A. Enter Herbert Hoover 1. American traditions – Hoover followed two American traditions: (1) economic outcomes were the product of individual character; (2) through voluntary action business could regulate itself; encouraged Americans to remain confident; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) cautiously provided federal loans to railroads and banks. 2. Hoover’s failures – Stubborn adherence to the gold standard added to length and severity of depression; Smoot-Hawley Tariff further hindered global trade and led to greater economic contraction; reluctant to break with tradition of limited government; private charity could not handle massive amount of unemployment; perceived by Americans as insensitive even though he had done more than previous presidents in times of economic need.

I. Early Responses to the Depression, 1929–1932 B. Rising Discontent 1. Hoovervilles 2. The Bonus Army I. Early Responses to the Depression, 1929–1932 B. Rising Discontent 1. Hoovervilles – The public connected Hoover’s name to the shantytowns erected by the homeless in urban areas; farmers sought to collectively resist the banks and sheriffs who tried to evict them; the Farmers’ Holiday Association was created to cut off supplies to urban areas as a result of low prices; violent labor confrontations occurred at Ford’s River Rouge plant and among coal miners in Kentucky. 2. The Bonus Army – In the summer 1932, 15,000 unemployed World War I veterans traveled to Washington to demand their soldiers’ pension; camped near the Capitol building; Hoover called in the U.S. Army to evict them from the land; Hoover’s already weak popularity could not withstand public’s anger at the Army injuring veterans and burning their encampment.

I. Early Responses to the Depression, 1929–1932 C. The 1932 Election 1. Franklin D. Roosevelt 2. The worst winter I. Early Responses to the Depression, 1929–1932 C. The 1932 Election 1. Franklin D. Roosevelt – Governor of New York, wealthy, served as assistant secretary of the navy during World War I, 1921 polio attack left him wheelchair-bound for life; easily defeated Hoover. 2. The worst winter – FDR elected in November, took office in March 1933; unemployment grew to 50 percent in Cleveland, 60 percent in Akron, 80 percent in Toledo; state governors began temporarily closing banks.

II. The New Deal Arrives, 1933–1935 A. Roosevelt and the First Hundred Days 1. Banking Reform 2. Agriculture and Manufacturing 3. Unemployment Relief 4. Housing Crisis II. The New Deal Arrives, 1933–1935 A. Roosevelt and the First Hundred Days 1. Banking Reform – The day after his inauguration, FDR declared a “bank holiday” to close all banks; passed Emergency Banking Act calling for the Treasury Department to reopen banks that had enough reserves to operate; in the first fireside chat, FDR reassured Americans that the system would be stable; Glass-Steagall Act created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure deposits up to $2,500 and prohibited banks from making risky investments; removed U.S. Treasury from the gold standard; Federal Reserve then lowered interest rates. 2. Agriculture and Manufacturing – Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA): direct governmental regulation of the farm economy, provided subsidies to farmers to cut production so that prices would rise (wheat, cotton, corn, hogs, rice, tobacco, dairy); money mostly helped those with large farms, not sharecroppers; National Industrial Recovery Act established the National Recovery Administration (NRA) to create self-governing private associations in 600 industries. 3. Unemployment Relief – Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), led by Harry Hopkins; avoided direct payouts (a “dole”) and instead put people to work in the Public Works Administration (PWA), Civil Works Administration (CWA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). 4. Housing Crisis – Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) created to refinance mortgages; Housing Act of 1937 changed the mortgage system.

II. The New Deal Arrives, 1933–1935 B. The New Deal Under Attack 1. Critics on the Right 2. Critics on the Populist Left II. The New Deal Arrives, 1933–1935 B. The New Deal Under Attack 1. Critics on the Right – Republicans created the Liberty League with conservative Democrats to fight the New Deal; creation of National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) produced radio, pictures, billboards, and direct mailing to promote free enterprise; 1935 Schechter v. United States ruled the NIRA unconstitutional because it gave legislative powers to the executive; Supreme Court struck down the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Railroad Retirement Act, and debt relief efforts. 2. Critics on the Populist Left – Dr. Francis Townsend argued for an Old Age Revolving Pension Plan (1933) of $200 a month to people over 60 who did not work; Father Charles Coughlin, a Detroit priest, organized the National Union for Social Justice and took his argument that the New Deal was not doing enough to the radio; Senator Huey Long (D-LA) became critical of the New Deal in 1934 and created the Share Our Wealth Society to argue for the equal distribution of wealth and a 100 percent tax on all income over $1 million. 10

III. The Second New Deal and the Redefining of Liberalism, 1935–1938 A. The Welfare State Comes into Being 1. The Wagner Act and Social Security 2. New Deal Liberalism III. The Second New Deal and the Redefining of Liberalism, 1935–1938 A. The Welfare State Comes into Being 1. The Wagner Act and Social Security – FDR moved left to combat critics; NIRA, Section 7(a), gave workers the right to unionize; voided by Supreme Court in 1935; new legislation proposed by Senator Robert Wagner (D-NY) upheld workers’ right to join unions; outlawed industries’ ability to fire workers for organizing and suppress unions; created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to protect workers and guarantee the right to collective bargaining; Social Security Act (1935): old-age pension, federal-state system of compensation for the unemployed, payments to widowed mothers, blind, deaf, and disabled. 2. New Deal Liberalism – To preserve individual liberty, government must assist the needy and guarantee the peoples’ basic welfare.

III. The Second New Deal and the Redefining of Liberalism, 1935–1938 B. From Reform to Stalemate 1. The 1936 Election 2. Court Battle and Economic Recession III. The Second New Deal and the Redefining of Liberalism, 1935–1938 B. From Reform to Stalemate 1. The 1936 Election – Works Progress Administration (WPA) put 8.5 million people to work on construction/repair of roads, bridges, public buildings, parks, and airports; new voters were energized by the Democratic Party under FDR; the party was able to attract voters from the North, the Midwest, organized labor, white ethnic groups, northern blacks, the middle class, and many southerners. 2. Court Battle and Economic Recession – FDR asked for changes to the Supreme Court; wanted to add a new member for every Court member over age 70; fears that the president wanted to “pack” the court with supporters; effort failed, though FDR did get to make appointments with subsequent retirements; Roosevelt recession of 1937–1938 dealt blow to FDR, who increased spending to get out of the recession.

IV. The New Deal’s Impact on Society A. A People’s Democracy 1. Organized Labor 2. Women and the New Deal 3. African Americans Under the New Deal IV. The New Deal’s Impact on Society A. A People’s Democracy 1. Organized Labor – Increased numbers and political power; Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) brought together all workers in an industry. 2. Women and the New Deal – Generally enhanced women’s welfare but not directly; Frances Perkins, first woman named to a cabinet post (secretary of labor); Eleanor Roosevelt had high-profile position in the White House as the conscience of the New Deal. 3. African Americans Under the New Deal – FDR was extremely popular among African Americans, but did little to aid them directly; CCC camps were segregated, Social Security and the Wagner Act excluded domestic and agricultural African American workers; no federal anti-lynching law; Scottsboro Boys case revealed how unfair the southern justice system was to African Americans; southern Democrats controlled the states where most blacks lived.

IV. The New Deal’s Impact on Society A. A People’s Democracy (cont.) 4. Indian Policy 5. Struggles in the West IV. The New Deal’s Impact on Society A. A People’s Democracy (cont.) 4. Indian Policy – John Collier, head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), pushed through the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (sometimes called the Indian New Deal): reversed the Dawes Act, gave Indians increased religious freedom and more power to tribal governments; government still financially controlled reservations. 5. Struggles in the West – Government promoted “repatriation” of Mexicans (deportation), about 60 percent of those deported were U.S. citizens; others left voluntarily; in California, Mexican American Movement (MAM) was organized with help from New Deal funds; discrimination against Asians and Asian Americans worsened with economic downturn; many were ineligible for citizenship and aid.

IV. The New Deal’s Impact on Society B. Reshaping the Environment 1. The Dust Bowl 2. Tennessee Valley Authority 3. Grand Coulee IV. The New Deal’s Impact on Society B. Reshaping the Environment 1. The Dust Bowl – A severe drought on the Great Plains between 1930 and 1941; over 350,000 “Okies” sought to leave the region for California; Soil Conservation Service tried to work with farmers to prevent future soil erosion by not producing certain crops and planting certain grasses. 2. Tennessee Valley Authority – Started in 1933; integrated flood control, reforestation, electricity generation, and agricultural and industrial development, dams; Rural Electrification Administration (REA) helped bring electricity to the region with loans to farmers. 3. Grand Coulee – The Grand Coulee Dam was built on the Columbia River in Washington State; largest electricity-producing structure in the world.

1. Examine and describe this photograph by Dorothea Lange 1. Examine and describe this photograph by Dorothea Lange. What is the setting, and who does it include? (Answer: Setting is a pea-pickers’ camp in California. Subjects are a woman from a migrant farm-working family surrounded by her children. They look poor, tired, dirty, and perhaps hungry.) 2. What did Lange hope to convey to her audience about life in California during the Great Depression through this image? (Answer: The images attest to the sheer sense of loss and disillusion Americans felt during this period. Migrant Mother—the desperation in this woman’s eyes as her children lean against her shoulders, shielding their eyes. Lange composed this photograph to show the way these children depend on their mother for care and comfort and her grim awareness that, although she could provide comfort to them with her body, she could not care for their other needs adequately. Her facial expression betrays misery but also resignation and determination.)

IV. The New Deal’s Impact on Society C. The New Deal and the Arts 1. Federal Art Project 2. Federal Theatre Project IV. The New Deal’s Impact on Society C. The New Deal and the Arts 1. Federal Art Project – “Art for the millions;” provided work for artists; Jackson Pollock, Alice Neel, Willem de Kooning, among others; Federal Music Project and Federal Writers’ Project further employed musicians and writers; Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Richard Wright’s Native Son were both supported by these programs. 2. Federal Theatre Project – Encouraged talented directors, actors, and playwrights; Orson Wells, John Huston, and Arthur Miller.

1. What was this photograph of a large conduit being lowered into place intended to illustrate? (Answer: The photograph illustrates the incredibly large scale of this federally funded project. The Grand Coulee Dam was the largest federally funded project in the West and, at its completion in 1941, the largest electricity-producing structure in the world. By focusing on the man in the conduit and the three men on top, the photographer illustrates the project’s large scale very effectively.) 2. How is the Grand Coulee Dam representative of New Deal programs? (Answer: It serves as tangible evidence of the work done by Americans in the Roosevelt administration’s Public Works Administration. The dam, like the New Deal, didn’t end the Great Depression, but the construction of the structure served multiple purposes: put men to work, harnessed water power for the betterment of local communities, and improved the Depression-era morale of the men paid to do the work who were previously unemployed.)