FDR’s New Deal

Alphabet Soup in Oklahoma and WWII

Recap of the financial situation

For the poor.......

mass consumption was already low (poor could afford to buy little)

unemployment rose no government assistance at first

since people could not buy, productivity was cut back = further unemployment

w/ additional unemployment purchasing power declined again reduced productivity again

In Oklahoma… Large surpluses of agricultural commodities

drove prices downward, and farm tenancy worsened as more than half of the state's farmers labored on land owned by others.

The discovery of oil and natural gas brought brief prosperity to some areas of the state, but by 1931 overproduction sent oil prices to disastrously low levels.

Then there is the Dust Bowl…

A severe drought began in 1932, and the far western part of the state became part of the Dust Bowl.

Winds blew away the top soil, forcing many farmers to leave. Known as "Okies," they fled westward to California and Arizona.

Thousands of farmers were being "blown off" or "tractored off" the land.

William H. “Alfalfa Bill” Murray

Became governor in 1930. He did not have the legislature's support and was unable to generate any kind of real relief for Oklahomans. Murray "fought" the Great Depression by sending the National Guard to try to prevent illegal oil production and by allowing the homeless to plant gardens on the Governor's Mansion lawn.

Murray's quirks attracted national attention—he entered the Democratic presidential contest in 1932 because he thought the public loved him

Murray used Public Works Administration (PWA) relief funds for political purposes and failed to obtain state matching funds for Civil Works Administration projects. Consequently, the New Dealers removed most programs from the governor's control, and Oklahoma received few federal relief dollars.

“A New Deal for America”

FDR campaigned in 1932 for the presidency with the promise to get America back on its feet

He puts the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) in place to help farmers

The AAA Sought to aid farmers by paying land owners

not to grow crops or raise livestock. Oklahoma's land-owning farmers tilled fewer acres, but they bought fertilizer and machinery, which increased output

Fewer acres to farm required fewer farmers and many landlords released tenant farmers—this made many African Americans homeless

Oklahoma says no deal

U.S. Rep. Ernest W. Marland, a former Republican and oil man, ran for governor in 1934 with the slogan, "Bring the New Deal to Oklahoma”

He proposed a lot of programs that were similar to the federal New Deal policies and they were rejected by the legislature

By 1938, the state had taken a conservative turn and rejected most New Deal programs

Some Success The Oklahoma Civilian

Conservation Corps was one of the largest in the nation.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided modest funds for constructing roads and bridges and for building schools, court houses, and National Guard armories

Only rain and World War II revitalized the agricultural economy.

Few New Deal legacies could be found in Oklahoma after 1940

The political basis for the New Deal, the "Roosevelt Coalition," simply did not exist in Oklahoma.

World War II Germany invades Poland Sept. 1, 1939—

Oklahoma’s economy is still struggling

Before the United States entered the war, federal dollars poured into the state for training pilots, establishing military installations, and constructing wartime production facilities

Selective Service Act of 1940 reduced unemployment and eventually placed so many men in uniform that women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers

Money to Oklahoma The number of clear weather days made

Oklahoma a good place to teach flying Pilots from Canada and Britain trained in

Oklahoma

28 army installations at Fort Sill

13 naval bases

All of these camps brought money and jobs! Tinker AF Base

Training and POW Camps

The Military also took advantage of Oklahoma's mild climate to establish or expand bases

As the number of prisoners of war (POWs) increased, military planners sent them to states with mild climates where construction and heating costs would be low.

OK at least 32 POW camps for approximately 20,000 Germans

The 45th Division nickname

"Thunderbird" division, from the gold thunderbird

This Native American symbol became the division's insignia in 1939. It replaced another previously used Native American symbol, a swastika, that was withdrawn when it became closely associated with the Nazi party.

War Heroes First National Guard

unit activated in WWII

Helped capture Nuremberg and Munich after fighting in Italy and Sicily

Helped liberate the Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany

The initial shock was experienced even before entering the camp. The first evidence of the horror to come was a string of about forty railway cars on a siding near the camp entrance. . .The scene near the entrance to the confinement area numbed my senses. Dante's Inferno seemed pale compared to… Dachau.

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