The New Deal Affects Many Groups 23.3

NAMES AND TERMS Francis Perkins Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Mary McLeod Bethune John Collier New Deal coalition

OBJECTIVES Analyze the effects of the New Deal programs on women. Describe Roosevelt’s attitude toward African-American’s. Identify the groups that formed the New Deal coalition. Describe the supporter of FDR’s New Deal.

THE NEW DEAL BRINGS NEW OPPORTUNITIES ND represents an important opportunity for women/minorities gains were limited, however –patterns of prejudice and discrimination were hard to break some were resolved to prevent their full/equal participation

WOMEN MAKE THEIR MARK Francis Perkins – 1st female cabinet member –Secretary of labor –Played a major role in creating Social Security system –Supervised labor legislation FDR also appt 3 female diplomats & 1 female federal judge WOMEN STILL FACED WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION –(82% said woman should not work if husband has a job!)

BUT, there are problems… National Recovery Administration – set wages; some were lower for women Federal Emergency Relief Administration & Civil Works Admin hired fewer women than men CCC hired only men Despite these problems, women made small gains Gains: 11.7% in 1930 to 15.6% in 1940! WIDESPREAD CRITICISM OF WOMEN WORKING DID NOT CHANGE THE PROGRESSION OF WOMEN GETTING JOBS

AFRICAN-AMERICAN ACTIVISM growth of activism by AAs A. Phillip Randolph –Established 1st all-black labor union – Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement

African-Americans Take Leadership Roles Mary McLeod Bethune – educator appointed to head Division of Negro Affairs of the NYA Her job: –To make sure they hired AAs as administrators –To provide job training to AAs Organized “Black Cabinet” – advisors on racial affairs –William Hastie and Robert Weaver appt to Department of Interior NEVER BEFORE SO MANY AA VOICES HEARD IN GOVT!

Mrs. Roosevelt’s influence… Eleanor was key to keeping door open for AAs Marian Anderson in ‘39 DAR would not let her perform for them; Eleanor resigned and arranged for Marian performed at Lincoln Memorial instead

FDR FAILS TO FULLY SUPPORT CIVIL RIGHTS Feared upsetting Southern white Dems Refused to pass anti-lynching law Refused to end poll tax

Some New Deal agencies discriminated ag. AAs – NRA, CCC, TVA –Lower wages for AAs and favored whites 1934 – AAs help organize Southern Tenant Farmers Union –To protect tenant farmers & sharecroppers – black & white In North, the union organized tenants’ groups and tried to inc job ops Despite these problems, most blacks supported FDR as he was their best hope

Mexican-American Fortunes Supported ND, though they benefited less than AAs! –CCC and TVA helped some, but disqualified many migrants as they had no permanent address They had come to US during ‘20s –Mainly in Southwest Farm laborers – not governed by state or federal work laws –Wages – fell to $.09/hr! Attempts at unionization – –violence from employers & govt authorities!

NATIVE AMERICANS GAIN SUPPORT Strong support by federal govt John Collier -Commissioner of Indian Affairs– appt by FDR in ‘34 helped create Indian Reorganization Act –change govt policy from assimilation to NA autonomy! –Restored some lands to tribal ownership

Changes to Native American Policies Economic changes : lands belong to whole tribe –Govt can’t take over unoccupied lands & sell them to non- Indians Cultural changes : # of boarding schools for AAs reduced; attend school on reservation Political changes : elect tribal councils on reservations –PROS: those who valued tribal traditions. –OBJECTIONS: from those who owned land individually under Dawes Act – tired of whites telling them what was good for them (the more “Americanized”) [* Dawes Act: broke up reservations; gave land to individual Indians 1887]

FDR CREATES NEW DEAL COALITION New Deal coalition – diverse groups dedicated to supporting the New Deal Despite mixed results for minorities, they supported FDR –Southern whites –Various urban groups –AAs –Unionized industrial workers Dems dominated national politics thru ‘30s and ‘40s

LABOR UNIONS FLOUIRSH Better working conditions & increased bargaining power (Wagner Act) Unions gave $$ to FDR’s reelection campaigns Promised to vote for him Union membership grows! –1933 – less than 3 m to more than 10 m in 1942 auto, rubber, electrical, coal miners, workers in mass- production industries struggle for who will control unions! –AFL – craft unions – life carpenters, electricians –Leaders opposed industry-wide unions as in auto manufacturing.

CIO John L. Lewis (UMW) & David Dubinsky ( ILGW) team up to organize industrial unions –formed Committee for Industrial Organizations Unskilled & semi-skilled workers got auto & steel industries to recognize the unions by ’38 – these unions were thrown out of AFL!! –Committee changed its name –becomes Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) –AFL & CIO stayed separate until ’55, then teamed up

LABOR DISPUTES One main tactic of ‘30s – SIT-DOWN STRIKE –DON’T WALK OFF THE JOB – sit down in the plant, but do not work! –You can’t carry on working w/strikebreakers if people are occupying the plant! –Some opposed the sit-down as a violation of private property It was very effective!

More labor disputes... OTHER DISPUTES WERE NOT PEACEFUL Republic Steel plant, Chicago, 1937 Police attacked the strikers, including women 10 killed, 84 wounded called “Memorial Day Massacre” NLRB requires head of co. to negotiate w/labor union THIS RESULTS IN A GAIN OF STRENGTH ON THE PART OF LABOR IN THE ‘30s

1937, May 30: Memorial Day Incident, Strikers Killed at Republic Steel 10 people received fatal injuries when city police dispersed a large group of striking steel workers and their sympathizers who were marching in the direction of the plant of the Republic Steel Corporation near Burley Avenue and One Hundred and Sixteenth Street in that city. This encounter occurred 4 days after the outbreak of a strike of union employees of the corporation and while picketing was in progress in front of the plant. In addition to the fatalities, none of which was suffered by the police, approximately 90 members of the group were injured (30 by gunfire) and 35 police sustained injury

FDR WINS IN ‘36 Support for FDR was huge in Northern cities NY, Chicago, Boston, Philly – all had powerful political machines –they provided jobs in exchange for votes –In ’36, FDR won the nation’s 12 largest cities Support came from a wide variety of religious & ethnic communities: –RC, Jews, Polish, Italians, and Irish, and other Slavic peoples –His appeal based on ND labor laws and work-relief programs that helped poor President appointed many officials of urban-immigrant background, especially Roman Catholics and Jews, to important govt jobs

Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivering a radio address, Our thirty-second president was the first Chief Executive to make extensive use of radio to communicate with American voters.

SUM UP ND had huge impact on women, AAs, Mexican- Amercans, and workers and a huge impact on American society and culture