1. STUDENT NOTES FOR CH. 24
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2. CHAPTER 24 The New Deal Experiment, 1932-1939 Pages 716-733
The American Promise
A History of the United States
CHAPTER 24
The New Deal Experiment,
Pages

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Making of a Politician 1. Background: wealthy, connections, 5th cousin to Theodore Roosevelt, married distant cousin, Eleanor- keep strength in family 2. Polio in 1921, 39 yrs. old 3. Governor of New York, 1928-leadership, government involvement, do something! 4. Roosevelt’s appeal

6. Franklin D. Roosevelt The Election of 1932
1. Democratic Party divisions
2. A New Deal for the American people
3. The New Deal Coalition

9. Launching the New Deal 2. Meeting the emergency: guiding ideas
1. Taking action
2. Meeting the emergency: guiding ideas
-fix economic crisis
-underconsumption was problem
-govt. needed to moderate imbalance
of wealth
3. The First Lady
4. Fireside Chats

10. Launching the New Deal
Relief and Conservation Programs 1. Unprecedented government intervention 2. The Civilian Conservation Corps 3. Providing electricity to rural America Agricultural Initiatives 1. Cutting production

11. Launching the New Deal
Industrial Recovery 1. Production and unemployment 2. The National Recovery Administration

14. Relief for the Unemployed
1. Works Progress Administration—By 1935, eight million people were jobless; Roosevelt and his advisers launched a massive work relief program, creating the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to give unemployed Americans government-funded jobs on public works projects.
2. The WPA and the Public Welfare—By 1936, WPA funds provided jobs for 7 percent of the nation’s labor force; WPA officials did, however, tend to discriminate in favor of white men against women and racial minorities; about three out of four WPA jobs involved construction and renovation of the nation’s physical infrastructure; other WPA jobs employed artists, musicians, actors, journalists, poets, and novelists.

15. Empowering Labor
1. The Wagner Act—The New Deal dramatically reversed the federal government’s stance toward unions; with legislation and political support, the New Deal encouraged an unprecedented wave of union organizing among the nation’s working people; in Congress, labor leaders lobbied for the National Labor Relations Act, commonly known as the Wagner Act, in 1935; the act created the National Labor Relations Board and guaranteed workers the right to organize unions.
2. Growing Union Membership—The Wagner Act, along with renewed labor militancy, made great strides for labor unions during the New Deal era; union membership jumped from three million in 1933 to fourteen million in 1945.

17. Social Security and Tax Reform
1. The politics of Social Security 2. Eligibility for Social Security benefits 3. A graduated tax

18. Neglected Americans and the New Deal
1. Excluded workers 2. African Americans’ status 3. Formation of the “Black Cabinet” 4. Hispanic Americans face discrimination 5. Exclusion of Asian Americans 6. Indian Reorganization Act

19. The New Deal from Victory to Deadlock
The Election of 1936
New Deal Critics Look for Change—Roosevelt believed the election would test his leadership and progressive ideals; Republicans turned to the Kansas heartland and selected as their presidential nominee Governor Alfred Landon, who stressed mainstream Republican proposals to achieve a balanced federal budget.
2. Roosevelt’s Strategy—Roosevelt put his faith in the growing coalition of New Deal supporters, who he believed shared his conviction that the New Deal was the nation’s liberator from a long era of privilege and wealth for a few and “economic slavery” for the rest.
3. Democratic Triumph—Roosevelt triumphed spectacularly in the election, winning 60.8 percent of the popular vote; he pledged to use his mandate to help all citizens achieve a decent standard of living.

20. The New Deal from Victory to Deadlock
Slowing the Pace of New Deal reforms—Republicans and southern Democrats rallied around their common conservatism to obstruct additional reforms; Roosevelt himself favored slowing the pace of the New Deal and believed that additional deficit spending by the federal government was no longer necessary.
2. Economic Reversal—Roosevelt’s optimism failed to consider the stubborn realities of unemployment and poverty; reduction in deficit spending reversed the improving economy; national income and production slipped steeply backward.
3. Political Damage—The economic reversal hurt the New Deal politically; conservatives argued that New Deal measures produced only an illusion of progress, and staunch New Dealers felt that Roosevelt should revive federal spending; Congress heeded such pleas and enacted a massive new program of federal spending.

21. The New Deal from Victory to Deadlock
The Last of the New Deal Reforms:
Administrative Reorganization Act—Roosevelt gained new influence over the bureaucracy in 1938 when Congress passed the Administrative Reorganization Act; he had a Democratic majority in Congress, a friendly Supreme Court, and revived deficit spending.
2. Resistance on the Rise—But resistance to further reform was on the rise; Conservatives argued centralization had gone too far; even supporters grew weary of programs that did not seem to work; the New Deal was beginning to lose momentum.
3. Farm Reform—The last burst of New Deal reforms included farm reforms in 1937 that led to the creation of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which tried to help tenant farmers become independent; further reforms in 1938 led to a second Agricultural Adjustment Act, which moderated price swings by regulating supply.

22. 4. Helping the Urban Poor—Advocates for the urban poor also made modest gains after decades of neglect; the 1937 National Housing Act represented the federal government’s first effort to provide affordable housing in urban areas, even though it did not come close to meeting the need.
5. Setting Fair Labor Standards—The last major piece of New Deal legislation, the Fair Labor Standards Act of June 1938, reiterated the New Deal pledge to provide workers with a decent standard of living; set wage and hours standards and curbed child labor; to attract conservative support, it exempted seamen, fishermen, domestic help, and farm laborers—relegating most women and blacks to lower wages.
6. Resistance to Confronting Racial Injustice—The final New Deal reform efforts failed to make much headway against the system of racial segregation; Roosevelt would not jeopardize his southern support by demanding antilynching legislation; Congress voted down attempts to make lynching a federal crime; laws to eliminate the poll tax met the same overwhelming resistance.
7. The End of the New Deal—By the end of 1938, the New Deal had lost steam and was encountering stiff opposition; Republicans had made gains in Congress; Roosevelt signaled a halt by speaking about preserving the progress already made rather than extending it; proposed defense expenditures that surpassed New Deal appropriations for relief and recovery.