1. The New Deal

2. Unit Objective
To learn the goals of the New Deal and the positives and negatives of its programs

3. What was it?
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT’S (FDR) PLAN TO GET AMERICA OUT OF THE DEPRESSION

5. The Three “R’s” RELIEF, RECOVERY, REFORM
TOGETHER THEY WERE THE THREE MAIN GOALS OF THE NEW DEAL

6. The Three “R’s” The first two “R’s” focused on:
SHORT-TERM IMMEDIATE WAYS TO GET
PEOPLE BACK TO WORK AND ON THEIR FEET
The Third “R” focused on:
LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS SO
ANOTHER DEPRESSION WOULD NEVER
HAPPEN

7. The Three “R’s” The First Hundred days:
THE AGGRESSIVE FIRST CONGRESSIONAL SESSION OF FDR’S FIRST TERM THAT FOCUSED ON RELIEF AND RECOVERY
Second New Deal:
LATER PROGRAMS OF THE NEW DEAL THAT FOCUSED ON REFORM

8. How did the New Deal impact America?
Banks: Created “bank holidays”; Emergency Banking Relief Act; Government regulation of banks (similar to what has happened in recent years)
Bank Depositors (customers): FDIC insurance to protect savings
The Stock Exchange: Creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Banks were forbidden from investing customer money in market

9. Helping businesses and home owners
Farmers: AAA paid farmers not to grow certain crops as a way to drive prices up
Industry: NIRA created; Anti-trust laws temporarily suspended
Home Owners: HOLC; Government loans

10. Putting people to work
The Unemployed: Put thousands to work on public construction projects (Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC; Public Works Administration or PWA; Civil Works Administration or CWA; Works Progress Administration or WPA
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): The federal government employed 40,000 workers to build 20 dams in the Tennessee River Valley to control flooding, conserve forestlands, and provide electricity to rural Americans who were mostly poor farmers

11. Helping Labor
Social Security Act: Created unemployment system, disability insurance, pensions, and child welfare benefits
National Labor Relations Act: Guaranteed to workers the right to organize into unions and to bargain collectively
Fair Labor Standards Act: Provided more protection for workers against employers, abolished child labor, and established the 40-hour work week
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO): New union group that focused on automobile and steel industries—eventually merged with American Federation of Labor

12. Did the programs work?

13. Did the programs work?
The New Deal failed to restore America to prosperity before WWII broke out—maybe it would have if given more time
It did inspire Americans to have hope and be optimistic
It did result in many social programs that are still with us today
Some would argue it created many social programs that are still with us today that are bad for America (Welfare, Medicare, Social Security, etc.)

15. Not everyone supported the New Deal

16. Political Right Wing (Conservatives/Republicans):
THOUGHT THE NEW DEAL HAD GONE TOO FAR—TOO MANY REGULATIONS ON BUSINESSES, EXPANDED POWER OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOO MUCH

17. Is Barack Obama the modern day FDR?

18. Political Left Wing (Liberals/Democrats)
THOUGHT THE NEW DEAL HAD NOT GONE FAR ENOUGH
Huey Long: Democratic governor of Louisiana known as the “Kingfish”;
Rival of FDR; Thought the New Deal had not done enough
Father Charles Coughlin: Catholic priest from Detroit; Impatient with
slow pace of reforms; Wanted heavy taxes on
wealthy and a national bank system
Dr. Francis Townsend: Wanted to pay citizens over 60 $200 to retire
(would increase spending and free up jobs for
other people); First organized movement to make
the elderly a political force

19. The Supreme Court ruled many New Deal programs to be unconstitutional
What did FDR try to do about it?
HE TRIED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICES FROM 9 TO 15 SO THAT AT LEAST 6 WOULD BE LOYAL TO HIM AND NOT RULE HIS PROGRAMS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

22. How did that work out for him?
The Senate saw what he was trying to do and
refused to confirm his appointments
The Supreme Court remained a powerful check against the other two branches

23. In the end it was war production related to WWII and not the New Deal that got American out of the Great Depression