1. FDR & The New Deal

2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, politician from New York
The Rise of FDR
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, politician from New York
Takes break from politics, gets sick with polio (paralyzed legs)
Eleanor Roosevelt (wife) gets involved with politics while FDR recovers
Elected president in 1932, economy gets worse before his inauguration
People worried FDR would get rid of the gold standard—states issue bank holidays
FDR had no firm ideology, believed in “bold experimentation”
Depended on advisors for information and advice:
Some advise FDR get gov’t to help big business get out of Depression
Some advise FDR to allow the gov’t to plan the economy, exclude big business
Some advocate Wilson’s “New Freedom”, break big business up and regulate the new competition

5. Fireside Chats: Roosevelt uses the radio to uplift nation
The First New Deal
Fireside Chats: Roosevelt uses the radio to uplift nation
Help for Banks:
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) insures bank deposits
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate stock market
Glass-Steagall Act: separates investment and commercial banks
Home Owners Loan Corp. restructures mortgages (longer period, lower interest)
Farm Credit Administration (FCA): helps farmers refinance mortgages
Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) controls farm production
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) authorizes the National Recovery Administration (NRA) suspends anti-trust laws and supports cooperation between business and government

7. Alphabet Soup Relief Programs
Civilian Conservation Corp. (CCC) puts young men to work with forestry service, Tenn. Valley Authority (TVA) concentrates on infrastructure
Federal Emergency Relief Admin. (FERA) funds state-level relief projects
Public Works Admin. (PWA) puts young men to work in construction
Civil Works Admin. (CWA) combines efforts of PWA and CCC
CWA puts 4 million to work (including 300,000 women)
CWA builds/improves 1,000 airports, 500,000 miles of road, 40,000 schools, parks and playgrounds

8. Conservatives believed the New Deal regulated business too much
Second New Deal
Conservatives believed the New Deal regulated business too much
Liberals believed did not believe the New Deal regulated or did enough
FDR abandons balanced budget and begins deficit spending, new programs
Works Progress Admin. (WPA) employs 8.5 million people and spent $11 Million on roads, airports, bridges, and parks as well as public art projects
1935: Supreme Court strikes down the NRA in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
Supreme Court’s decision struck down organized labor allowed by NIRA
1935: Congress passes the Wagner Act creating the National Labor Relations Board, binding arbitration and gave unions more leverage—sit down strikes
Congress passes the Social Security Act, helping older Americans

9. Supreme Court threatens to strike down the New Deal
FDR Reelected
Election of 1936: Democrats forge new party base (working class whites, African Americans, Women, progressives, white southerners, farmers)
Supreme Court threatens to strike down the New Deal
Roosevelt proposes court-packing plan to appoint new justices
Recession of 1937: Roosevelt ended some programs, raises taxes
Fair Labor Standards Act: minimum wage
National Housing Act: creates U.S. Housing Authority (public housing)
The New Deal allowed the U.S. to be a broker state and created a safety net while providing the infrastructure needed for future growth
The New Deal did not end the Depression, but helped America recover faster