FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT - “FDR” DOMESTIC Policies

I. The Election of 1932

What will that spell for Hoover and the Republicans?! ? Remember, 1932 was the worst year of the depression! What will that spell for Hoover and the Republicans?! ?

A. Democrats- Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1. FDR was governor of New York a. Ran for vice-president in 1920 and was assistant secretary of the Navy during WWI 2. Democratic platform- a. Urged the repeal of Prohibition and made general appeals for reform and recovery through a “New Deal”

B. Republicans re-nominated Herbert Hoover They had no better alternative C. Roosevelt carried 42 of the 48 states- he won overwhelmingly! D. People blamed Hoover and the Republicans for the Depression

FDR’s Inaugural Address is one of the most famous!!! Listen to a piece of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX_v0zxM23Q&feature=related We’ll watch about 1st 3 minutes…

II. Banking Panic A. 20th Amendment changed the presidential inauguration from March 4 to January 20. B. Hoover was a “Lame Duck;” a person leaving office that has not been re-elected has little or no influence.

C. Between the election and the inauguration, the banking system disintegrated & the economy came to a standstill D. Most smaller banks closed while larger banks stayed open; by 1933 most people had lost faith in the banking system; had withdrawn any $ they had left- most banks closed their doors and waited until March 4 to see if FDR could help.

III. “BRAIN TRUST” A. Advisory group formed by FDR while campaigning for the presidency in 1932. B. This was a group of brilliant social, economic and political thinkers who comprised Roosevelt's cabinet. C. This group advised FDR in developing his 15 relief agencies to make advances in recovery efforts.

D. FRANCIS PERKINS 2. The 1st woman to be named to a cabinet A teacher and social worker who was originally from Boston, later moved to NY 2. The 1st woman to be named to a cabinet position - named Secretary of Labor in 1933. 3. She supported workers’ rights to join unions.

FDR LAUNCHES A NEW DEAL FDR promised a “new deal” for the American people He took office with a flurry of activity known as “The Hundred Days” The 100 Days lasted from March to June 1933

IV. THE HUNDRED DAYS March 9th – June 16th 1. The Senate met for exactly 100 days to pass laws that would hopefully get America out of the Depression.

B. 100 Days’ Order of Business March 6th- 1st order of business was to call a “Bank Holiday” (1933) to stop massive withdrawals that day. March 9th - Emergency Banking Act passed: only financially sound banks would reopen.

3. FIRESIDE CHATS: a. March 12th – FDR held the first of 31 Fireside Chats b. FDR’s informal talks through radio in which he calmly but confidently explained in simple terms the nation’s problems & how the New Deal planned to defeat the Depression. http://www.museum.tv/exhibitionssection.php?page=79

c. Many Americans felt he was speaking directly to them. d. He often received 50,000 letters a day after a Fireside Chat.

“I never saw him - but I knew him “I never saw him - but I knew him. Can you have forgotten how, with his voice, he came into our house, the President of these United States, calling us friends..." - Carl Carmer, April 14, 1945

FDR’s Platform It had 3 general aims: Relief, Recovery, and Reform V. THE “NEW DEAL”: FDR’s Platform It had 3 general aims: Relief, Recovery, and Reform

A. RELIEF 1. Immediate action taken to halt the economy’s deterioration. 2. FDR launched programs of direct relief for the nation’s 13 million unemployed workers. 3. Most Americans disliked relief. They wanted jobs- not handouts- so organizations were created to address that issue.

Temporary programs to restart the flow of consumer demand. B. RECOVERY Temporary programs to restart the flow of consumer demand. “Priming the Pump”- FDR poured money into the economy through federal loans and government spending. Pump-priming: Economic policy of increasing government expenditures and/or reducing taxes in order to stimulate the economy to higher levels of output. Pump priming measures are supposed to be temporary, existing only until the economy spontaneously develops and sustains growth on its own.

C. REFORM 1. Permanent programs to avoid another depression and ensure citizens against economic disasters.

FDR’s New Deal continued Americans voted for Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 on the assumption that the Democrats would dole out more federal assistance than Hoover and the Republicans had. With his 100 days plan, FDR gave many people hope that the Democrats would indeed provide more aid. Immediately after taking the oath of president, FDR began warning that his measures might require an expansion of executive power (hmmm… sounds a little like his 5th cousin…)

Roosevelt drew much of his inspiration for the New Deal from the writings of British economist John Maynard Keynes, who believed that a government’s deficit spending (when the expenditures of a government are greater than its tax revenues) could prime the economic pump and jump-start the economy. With the support of a panicked Democratic Congress, FDR created most of the “alphabet agencies” of the 1st New Deal within his landmark 1st 100 Days in office.

Assignment # 2 – The 100 Days and the New Deal Stop!! Get out your books and begin… Assignment # 2 – The 100 Days and the New Deal

FDIC (reform) 1933: Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act passed to protect savings deposits. This act created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insured an individual’s savings of up to $5,000 (today, it insures deposits of up to $250,000). The act also regulated lending policies and forbade banks from investing in the stock market. Once Americans became confident that their funds would be safe, the number of bank deposits surged.

Federal Emergency Relief Administration Created in May 1933 to dole out roughly $500 million to state governments. About half of this $$ was given to bail out bankrupt state/local governments. States matched the other half and distributed it directly to the people. Also created the Civil Works Administration (CWA), which helped generate temporary labor for those most in need. Contributed money to state and local gov’ts through grants, not in loans, as Hoover had. State gov’ts were then responsible for creating work-relief projects.

CCC (relief) In March 1933, Congress created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which hired unemployed young men to work on environmental conservation projects throughout the US. For a wage of $30 a month, men worked on flood control and reforestation projects, helped improve national parks, and built many public roads. More than 2.5 million men worked in CCC camps during the program’s nine+ years of existence.

SEC (reform) Securities and Exchange Commission – created to regulate companies that sell stocks and bonds. Banks could no longer buy stocks with depositors' money. Companies that wanted to sell shares to the public had to disclose their financial information to potential investors - investors could then find out if a company was worth the price it was asking.

NIRA The 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act was the federal government’s first attempt to revive the economy as a whole. The bill created the Nat’l Recovery Admin (NRA) to stimulate industrial production and improve competition by drafting corporate codes of conduct. The NRA also sought to limit production of consumer goods in order to drive up prices. Helped set up the Public Works Administration (PWA) to construct public roads, bridges, and buildings.

AAA (recovery) Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA): created to assist America’s farmers. The AAA temporarily reset prices for farm commodities, including corn, wheat, rice, milk, cotton, and livestock, and then began paying farmers to reduce production. The AAA began paying farmers extra to plant less or destroy their surplus crops in order to raise prices again. Congress also passed the Farm Credit Act to provide loans to farmers in danger of bankruptcy.

TVA (reform) Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): goal was to modernize and reduce unemployment in the Tennessee River Valley, one of the poorest and hardest-hit regions in the country. TVA developed fertilizers, taught farmers how to improve crop yields, and helped replant forests, control forest fires, and improve habitat for wildlife and fish. The most dramatic change in Valley life came from the electricity generated by TVA dams. Electric lights and modern appliances made life easier and farms more productive. Electricity also drew industries into the region, providing desperately needed jobs.

TVA Dams (in Red)

Watts Bar Dam (TN)

The New Deal and FDR as a whole… Roosevelt’s successful application of Keynes’s economic theories transformed the Democrats into social welfare advocates. Even decades after the Great Depression, Democratic politicians would continue fighting for more government intervention in the economy, redistribution of wealth, and aid for the neediest. The president’s optimism and can-do attitude, combined with the success of his immediate relief programs, made him almost politically untouchable during his first term.