1. The Hundred Days ■When FDR took over in 1933, the U.S. economy was on the brink of collapse: –Unemployment was at 25% –38 states had total bank failure ■FDR requested from Congress broad executive power to begin his “New Deal” program of economic relief, recovery & reform FDR asked for “broad executive power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.”

2. the only thing we have to fear is fear itself; “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.”

3. The Hundred Days ■In his 1 st hundred days, FDR began his 1 st New Deal (1933-35) ■FDR’s 1 st order of business was to restore confidence in banking: –Declared a 4-day bank holiday: closed or funded weak banks & opened new gov’t-aided banks –Glass-Steagall Act –Glass-Steagall Act created the FDIC which guaranteed all bank deposits up to $5,000 Banks were regulated (not nationalized); the economic system was reformed (not drastically changed) Emergency Banking Act of 1933 Now, the FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000

4. The Hundred Days ■The greatest success of the First New Deal was its ability to offer relief to unemployed citizens via the Reconstruction Finance Corps –Modest relief checks were doled to 15% of Americans –Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) –Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) pumped $500 million into state welfare programs

5. The Hundred Days ■Relief efforts of the First New Deal created more “alphabet agencies” –Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) –Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed urban men –Civilian Works Admin (CWA) –Civilian Works Admin (CWA) hired 4 million men & women Public Works Admin (PWA) –Created the Public Works Admin (PWA) to build public roads, bridges, & buildings

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

7. The Hundred Days National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) ■The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was the 1 st attempt at economic recovery: National Recovery Admin (NRA) –Created the National Recovery Admin (NRA) set max hours & minimum wages for workers & stimulated industry by fixing prices & setting production limits ■Agricultural Adjustment Admin (AAA) ■Agricultural Adjustment Admin (AAA) subsidized farmers Additional attempts to stimulate the economy include taking the U.S. off the gold standard & ending prohibition (21 st amendment)

8. National Recovery Administration The NRA ended up being too bureaucratic; business cooperation gave way to self-interest & greed

9. The Hundred Days ■Some of FDR’s First New Deal focused on long-term reforms –Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) –Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the stock market & prevent another stock market crash –Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) –Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) created dams in 7 states to provide cheap hydroelectric power & create jobs

10. The Tennessee Valley Authority Critics claimed the TVA was too socialistic; Competing electric companies attacked the TVA for selling cheaper electricity & eliminating competition

11. The Hundred Days ■The 1 st hundred days of FDR’s administration were temporary solutions to solve problems, but… ■…psychologically, Americans believed that FDR was actively responding to the Great Depression

12. Franklin Roosevelt & the Second New Deal (1935-1938)

13. Criticism of the First New Deal ■The failure of the New Deal to end the depression led to growing frustration among Americans –From 1933-1934, the New Deal focused on immediate problems & did very little to help unskilled workers & sharecroppers –In 1935, FDR shifted approach from economic relief to reform

14. Challenges to FDR ■By 1935, signs of discontent with the New Deal were evidenced as 3 critics gained national attention: –Father Charles Coughlin –Father Charles Coughlin called for nationalizing U.S. banks; used anti-Semitism in radio sermons –Francis Townsend –Francis Townsend appealed to the elderly with a $200/mo payment plan to anyone over 60 in order to stimulate the economy

15. Challenges to FDR Share the Wealth ■Louisiana Senator Huey Long proposed his Share the Wealth plan to: –Take from the rich—a 100% tax on all personal income over $1 million –Give to the poor—give every American $2,500 per year Huey Long threatened to run as a 3 rd Party candidate but was assassinated in 1935

16. The Second New Deal Works Progress Admin (WPA) ■The 1 st act of the 2 nd New Deal was Works Progress Admin (WPA), the most comprehensive, direct- assistance program of the New Deal –The national gov’t hired 10 million Americans in an attempt to stimulate the economy –WPA created building projects, funded artists, & pumped $10 billion into the economy WPA helped but never employed enough people to stimulate consumer purchase power—it made the Depression bearable

17. WPA Public Work Project WPA cared less about what got done as long as work was done: built hospitals, schools, airport fields… but also moved leaf piles & dug ditches

18. Social Security ■Social Security Act ■Social Security Act (1935) was the 1 st U.S. welfare program for the aged, disabled, & unemployed –Old-age pensions to be funded by employers & workers –Unemployment compensation to begin in 1942 funded nat’l taxes but administered by states –Welfare payments for the blind, handicapped, & needy children

19. ■Liberal critics argued that SS did not do enough ■Conservative critics argued that SS violated individualism & self-reliance ■Social Security created America’s 1 st welfare program to help individuals

20. Labor Legislation ■Wagner Act ■Wagner Act (1935) created the Nat’l Labor Relations Board to oversee labor-management affairs –Mandated management to negotiate with unions regarding pay, hours, conditions if majority of workers vote for a union ■Fair Labor Standards Act ■Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) created 1 st minimum wage & maximum hour laws (aimed at helping non-unionized workers) 40¢ per hour 40 hours per week The “Magna Carta” for labor

21. Conclusions reliefrecoveryreform ■The New Deal was made up of 3 parts: relief, recovery, & reform –New Deal was most successful in providing immediate relief to ease economic suffering –The New Deal did not bring economic recovery, redistribute wealth, or end the depression –The New Deal brought major reforms that changed America Keynesian economics For the 1 st time, the gov’t used Keynesian economics (deficit spending & gov’t spending to stimulate the economy) The gov’t assumed responsibility for the health of the nation's economy & citizens The New Deal signaled the beginning of the welfare state

22. The End of the New Deal

23. End of the New Deal ■New Deal reached its high point when FDR was re-elected in 1936 ■FDR’s experienced more setbacks in his 2 nd term than is 1 st term but he still remained a popular leader The 1936 election saw the birth of a new Democratic coalition that would last for 30 years: South, West, urban, labor, ethnic groups, blacks, & the poor

24. Packing the Supreme Court ■The Supreme Court was FDR’s last obstacle to overcome: –The Court ruled the NRA & AAA were unconstitutional –FDR’s solution was to ask Congress to appt 1 new justice for each justice over 70 yrs old –This controversial “court packing” plan would add 6 new justices Justice Willis Van Devanter planned to retire in 1932, but stayed on because he felt FDR was “unfitted & unsafe for the presidency” All 9 justices were old, white men; Only 3 were sympathetic to the New Deal; 2 were unpredictable; 4 wanted to block New Deal Schechter v. U.S. (1935) U.S. v. Butler (1936)

26. Packing the Supreme Court ■The court-packing scheme was legal but set a scary precedent: –The Senate strongly resisted FDR & the Court defended itself against “ageism” attacks –The crisis ended when the Court declared the Wagner Act & Social Security constitutional & Judge Van Devanter resigned FDR eventually appointed 5 justices to the Supreme Court in his 4 terms

27. The End of the New Deal ■1938 saw the end of the New Deal –Other than the Fair Labor Standards Act, FDR’s 2 nd term saw no new New Deal programs –FDR’s court-packing plan hurt his relationship with Congress –The “Roosevelt Recession” of 1937 was the result of FDR’s attempt to reduce gov’t spending & balance the budget

28. Unemployment, 1929-1942

29. The Impact of the New Deal

30. The Impact on Women ■The New Deal brought few economic benefits to women: –The New Deal allowed for unequal wages; Social Security, the NRA, & minimum wage laws offered little help for women ■But, women did see gains in gov’t: –The 1 st female cabinet member, Senator, ambassadors, & judges were appointed under FDR

31. The 1 st female cabinet member: Francis Perkins (Dept of Labor) The 1 st female Senator: Hattie Caraway (D-Arkansas)

32. The Impact on African-Americans ■The New Deal did little for blacks: –Racism & segregation remained strong during the Depression –The NRA allowed lower wage scales for black workers; The AAA allowed for the eviction of sharecroppers & tenant farmers –Minimum wage & SS did not apply to farmers & domestic servants (65% were black) AAA is a “continuation of the same old raw deal” Social Security “looks like a sieve with the holes just large enough for the majority of Negroes to fall through” —NAACP Blacks experienced 50% unemployment rate Blacks were the last hired & first fired

33. The Impact on African-Americans ■Despite the inequalities of the New Deal, blacks supported FDR: –FDR hired African-Americans to key gov’t positions –Eleanor Roosevelt spoke out against racial discrimination –The RFC brought assistance to 40% of unemployed blacks through the WPA “While relief & WPA are not ideal, they are better than the Hoover bread lines & they’ll have to do until the real thing comes along”

34. The Impact on Mexican-Americans ■Mexican-Americans fared even less than African-Americans: –The Dust Bowl led to a flood of whites into the agricultural fields in the southwest –Congress created immigration restrictions & allowed for the deportation of illegal residents to reduce state welfare payments –Received few New Deal benefits

35. The Impact on Native Americans ■Native-Americans remained the poorest of all U.S. residents but did benefit from the New Deal Indian Reorganization Act –The Indian Reorganization Act shifted U.S. Indian policy from Indians as yeoman farmers to unified & autonomous tribes –Many gained employment in the Indian Bureau

36. The Impact on the South & West ■The South & West benefited the most from the New Deal: –The AAA helped end Southern dependence on sharecropping in favor of a wage labor system –The West received more work relief & welfare than any region –Hydroelectric power & irrigation programs helped residents

37. Conclusion Conclusion: The New Deal & American Life

38. The New Deal and American Life ■The New Deal lasted only 5 years (1933-1938); The majority of laws came in 2 bursts in 1933 & 1935: ■The New Deal was not very successful economically: –Helped relieve suffering but did not end the Depression –American wealth remained unequally distributed First Hundred Days Second Hundred Days 10 million were still unemployed in 1939 12 million were unemployed when FDR took office in 1933

39. The New Deal & American Life ■The New Deal was more successful socially: –Social Security, Wagner Act, & the Fair Labor Standards Act helped elderly & disabled citizens, labor unions, & workers –The New Deal did not help women, minorities, domestic workers, or small farmers

40. The New Deal and American Life ■The New Deal was most successful politically: –FDR’s leadership unified a new Democratic voting bloc –FDR used his leadership & optimism to provide a vital psychological lift to help citizens endure the Great Depression