The New Deal

FDR’s Fireside Chats

1 st 100 Days  Short term aids  Not loans as under Hoover  Bank Holiday Banks closed, designed to stop massive withdrawals Emergency Banking Act- gov’t examined all banks and allowed financially sound ones to reopen  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Insured bank deposits up to $5,000

Direct Relief  Civil Works Administration (CWA) Federal, state, and local “make-work” projects (raking leaves, picking up trash, etc.)  Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Men planted trees, cleared underbrush, created park trails, developed campgrounds and beaches

Public Works  Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) Paid farmers to reduce their output of corn, cotton, dairy products, hogs, rice, tobacco, wheat, and other commodities Supreme Court later overturned  Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Built dams, power stations, combated malaria, illiteracy, soil erosion, etc.

Regulation  Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) Regulates companies that sell stocks and bonds  National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) To stabilize industrial and business activity and reduce unemployment Public Works Administration (PWA)  Contracted with private firms to build roads, public buildings, and other public works projects National Recovery Administration (NRA)  Encouraged businesses to work together to set hours, prices, production levels, and wages Enthusiastic at the beginning, but faded Supreme Court later declared NIRA unconstitutional

Discrimination  Segregation in programs  Lower wages  Roosevelt named many African Americans to government posts- many came at the request of Eleanor Roosevelt  American Indians- inadequate housing, malnutrition American Indian Defense Association- fought to protect religious freedom and tribal property Indian Reorganization Act of 1934

Critics  Liberal and conservative both  Dr. Francis E. Townsend (California) Pension of $200 month to every American over 60, but they had to spend it within 30 days  Father Charles E. Coughlin (Michigan) Nationalize all banks and return to silver standards  Senator Huey Long (Louisiana) Share-our-Wealth- government would seize wealth from rich through taxes and then provide a guaranteed minimum income and home to every family Many people agreed with his views