1. Essential Question:
In what ways did President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” provide relief, recovery, & reform during the Great Depression?
Warm-Up Question: ?

2. Hoover & the Depression
From 1929 to 1932, President Hoover was criticized for not doing more to end the depression
Unemployment reached 25%
U.S. banking collapsed
Hoover offered gov’t intervention (job programs) but it was seen as too little, too late
By the election of 1932, Americans wanted hope & strong leadership

3. The Election of 1932
“The country needs and ... demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another: But above all, try something.”
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Campaign Speech, 1932

4. The presidential campaign of 1932 was not merely a clash of two personalities. President Hoover himself said:
"This campaign is more than a contest between two men. It is more than a contest between two parties. It is a contest between two philosophies of government."

5. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Appeal
1932 presidential election
FDR was perceived as a man of action
Hoover was viewed as a “do-nothing president.”
Results: a landslide for Democrats
Mandate
government as an agency to help people in NEED

6. FDR & the New Deal
In 1932, Democrat Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) defeated Hoover

7. Situation When FDR Entered Office
March 1933
country was virtually leaderless
banking system had collapsed

8. "It is my contention that no one should be allowed to write about FDR who did not experience that era. It really is one of those cases of you had to be there. Roosevelt may be a myth...today, but 60 years ago that myth looked more like hope. In his fireside chats, he turned our Philco radios into shrines, and when he said that America could not afford to live with one-third of a nation ill-housed and ill-fed, we
thought he would do something about it. And he did"
-- Daniel Schorr, "The FDR 'Myth': You Had To Be
There," Christian Science Monitor, 25 October 1996

9. FDR’s inaugural address in 1933 inspired hope
“Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself; nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
FDR’s inaugural address in 1933 inspired hope

10. FDR Restored Confidence
Promised:
vigorous leadership
bold action
Discipline
Cooperation
expressed faith in democracy

11. FDR’s Personal Qualities
practical politician
practiced art of the possible
charismatic person
exhibited a warmth and understanding of people
knew how to handle press
focused attention on Washington
provided dynamic leadership in a time of crisis
willing to experiment

12. FDR & the New Deal
FDR initiated his New Deal, a series of laws that were designed to fight the depression by offering:
Relief: gov’t relief checks & jobs to get people back to work
Recovery: tried to end the depression by stimulating industry & farming
“prime the pump”
Reform: long-term solutions to America’s economic problems
GOAL! -- to save Capitalism

13. The Hundred Days
In his 1st 100 days in office, FDR & Congress passed 15 major laws
FDR’s 1st action was to address the bank crisis; By 1933, people had no faith in banks
FDR declared a 4-day bank holiday after which banks were allowed to re-open only after gaining a gov’t endorsement

14. Banks recovered & Americans slowly regained confidence in banks

15. FDR’s Fireside Chats
FDR used the radio to sell his New Deal programs to the American people
These “fireside chats” used simple, clear language to explain his New Deal
programs & gain public
support for these goals
Philco Radio 1931

16. First New Deal (1933-1936) Alphabet Soup Programs
landmark legislation to begin direct relief programs to put Americans to work

17. New Deal: Relief
The greatest success of the New Deal was its ability to offer relief to unemployed citizens:
The gov’t provided relief checks to 15% of Americans
The gov’t created jobs for Americans

18. Percentage of American Families Accepting Government Relief in 1933

19. New Deal: Relief
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work program for young men aged 18-25:
The CCC built roads, soil erosion projects, & parks
The CCC employed 3 million young men

20. CCC workers paved roads, planted trees, built bridges

21. New Deal: Reforms
The New Deal created long-term reforms to address weaknesses in the American economy
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) was created to regulate the stock market & prevent another stock market crash

22. New Deal: Reforms
To help restore public confidence in banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created:
The national gov’t insures money in bank accounts (up to $250,000 as of 2008)

23. New Deal: Reforms
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) created hydroelectric power plants in the South
TVA created dams in 7 states to provide cheap hydroelectric power & create jobs

25. New Deal: Recovery
New Deal programs tried to stimulate the economy & end the depression
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) tried to help farmers by paying them not to produce
By lowering supply, the gov’t hoped to increase crop prices

27. Unemployment in America, 1929-1942
The New Deal began in 1933, but by 1935 the Great Depression had not yet come to an end

28. FDR’s Critics
The failure of the New Deal to end the depression led to frustration & criticism of FDR’s programs:
The most vocal critic was Louisiana Senator Huey Long
Long’s Share the Wealth plan suggested taxing all personal income over $1 million to give each family $2,500 per year ($40,000 in 2011 $s)

29. Huey Long
How many men ever went to a barbecue & would let one man take off the table what's intended for 9/10th of the people to eat? The only way you'll ever be able to feed the balance of the people is to make that man come back & bring back some of that grub that he ain't got no business with!
…then we've got to call Mr. Morgan & Mr. Mellon & Mr. Rockefeller back and say: “Come back here, put that stuff back on this table here that you took away from here that you don't need. Leave something else for the American people to consume.”
Now, how are you going to feed the balance of the people? What's Morgan & Baruch & Rockefeller & Mellon going to do with all that grub? They can't eat it, they can't wear the clothes, they can't live in the houses.
But when they've got everything on God's loving earth that they can eat & they can wear & they can live in, & all that their children can live in & wear & eat, & all of their children's children can use,…
Huey Long threatened to run as a 3rd Party candidate but was assassinated in 1935
Kingfish
“The Kingfish”

30. Court Packing
The Supreme Court declared 2 recovery programs unconstitutional
FDR feared that the Supreme Court would weaken the New Deal
FDR’s solution was to called court-packing: He wanted to increase the number of justices from 9 to 15
Congress rejected his radical plan

32. Election (1936) Mandate???
Results of 1936 election indicate most Americans wanted government to take more responsibility for the welfare of nation

33. FDR’s Second New Deal In 1935, FDR launched the Second New Deal
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the biggest New Deal program
Created 8.5 million jobs in a variety of professions & cost the gov’t $11 billion

34. WPA (Works Progress Administration)
offered work to artists, musicians, theater people, and writers
“I am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash, of market baskets, of a few hours of weekly work cutting grass, raking leaves, or picking up papers in the public parks. We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destruction but also their self-respect, their self-reliance, and courage and determination.” FDR, early 1930s

35. WPA Public Work Project

36. WPA Initiatives

37. WPA Arts Project

38. Artists of the WPA

39. Kansas City from Politics, Farming, & the Law
Thomas Hart Benton, 1936

40. The Annual Move by Otis Dozier, 1936

41. Construction of the Dam by William Gropper

42. Dorthea Lange

43. “Migrant Mother”

44. WPA Music Projects

45. WPA Theater Projects

46. FDR’s Second New Deal
Social Security was America’s 1st welfare program; It created
Old-age pensions to be funded by employers & workers
Welfare payments for the blind, handicapped, & needy children

47. FDR’s Second New Deal The Wagner Act:
Protected workers right to strike & collectively bargain
Outlawed unfair practices used by companies to discourage union membership

48. Conclusions FDR’s New Deal created a new role for the U.S. government:
For the 1st time, the gov’t used deficit spending (going into debt) to stimulate the economy
For the 1st time, the gov’t took responsibility for the people & created welfare programs
New Deal successfully offered relief to ease peoples’ suffering, but it did not end the Depression