1. PROSPERITY, DEPRESSION, & THE NEW DEAL
American History II - Unit 4
Ms. Brown

2. Review Why did FDR believe a Second New Deal was necessary?
Unemployment was still high and production still lagged – Americans still needed reform
What did the Works Progress Administration (WPA) do?
Created millions of jobs in construction of airports, roads, and other buildings, also created murals, theatres, and travel guides
What 3 types of aid did the Social Security Act provide?
Old-age insurance, unemployment compensation, and aid for the disabled and families with dependent children

3. 4.10 – EFFECTS OF THE NEW DEAL

4. Women Women in Government
Frances Perkins – first female cabinet member (major role in Social Security Act and supervising labor legislation)
Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged FDR to appoint women to positions which would hopefully garner the female vote  2 female diplomats and 1 female federal judge

5. Women Women in the Workplace
Faced discrimination from men seeking jobs  1936 Gallup poll showed 82% of Americans said a wife should not work if her husband had a job
Lower minimum wages
New Deal labor acts hired far fewer women than men (CCC = only men)
Despite these obstacles, married women in the workplace increased from 11.7% to 15.6% by the end of the 1930s.

6. African Americans African Americans in Leadership Roles
A. Philip Randolph – organized first all-black trade union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Mary McLeod Bethune
appointed to the National Youth Administration to head the Division of Negro Affairs  worked to hire black administrators and provided education and job training to minority students
Helped organize the “Black Cabinet” of influential African Americans to advise the FDR Administration on racial issues (included black appointees in the Department of the Interior)
Most African American voices in the White House at that point in history

7. African Americans Civil Rights and the New Deal
FDR was cautious not to upset white Democrat voters in the South (large percentage of vote)
Promoted racial equality but never fully committed to civil rights
Refused to approve a federal anti-lynching law and an end to poll tax
New Deal labor acts gave black workers lower wages
However, blacks supported FDR and the New Deal seeing this as their best hope for the future of civil rights.

8. Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans tended to support the New Deal even though they received even fewer benefits than blacks.
Settled mostly in the Southwest, laboring on farms  Depression lowered farm wages to 9 cents/hour
Farmers who tried to unionize met violence from employers
The CCC and WPA discriminated again Mexican Americans and migrant workers by denying aid to those without permanent addresses

9. Native Americans 1924 – full US citizenship for Native Americans
1933 – FDR appointed John Collier as commissioner of Indian Affairs
Indian Reorganization Act of moved away from assimilation toward Native American autonomy, restored some reservation lands to tribal ownership

10. Labor Unions
New Deal labor legislation (Wagner Act)  better working conditions and increased union power
FDR = “A Friend of Labor”
Unions donated campaign money and pledged votes
Undivided support in 1936 election

11. New Deal Coalition
New Deal Coalition – an alignment of diverse groups dedicated to supporting the Democratic Party
Southern whites
Farmers
African Americans
Unionized industrial workers
Women
Contributed to the eventual party shift…
FDR reelected in 1936,1940, and thanks to diverse support

12. The End of the New Deal
By 1937, the economy had improved enough to allow many Americans to believe that the Depression was ending
FDR did not favor increased deficit spending
Congress pressured FDR to scale back New Deal programs  industrial production dropped again, unemployment increased…
1939 – New Deal effectively over and FDR needed to switch focus to affairs in Europe (Hitler’s rise to power)

13. New Deal Supporters and Critics
FDR struck a balance between unregulated capitalism (what caused the Great Depression) and overregulated socialism
Conservatives
New Deal and FDR gave federal gov’t too much power
Gov’t suppressed free enterprise and individual initiative
Liberals
New Deal didn’t do enough to socialize the economy and eliminate social and economic inequalities

14. Legacy of the New Deal
FDR expanded the power of the federal gov’t and the POTUS
Infusing money into the economy
Creating federal jobs
Attempting to regulate supply and demand (economy)
Increased role in settling labor and management disputes
FDR practiced a great deal of deficit spending putting the US deeply in debt (furthered by US involvement in WWII in the early 1940s)