THE NEW DEAL

AMERICA GETS BACK TO WORK

SECTION 1: A NEW DEAL FIGHTS THE DEPRESSION

• The 1932 presidential election showed that Americans were clearly ready for a change

• Republicans re-nominated Hoover despite his low approval rating

• The Democrats nominated Franklin Delano Roosevelt

ROOSEVELT WINS OVERWHELMING VICTORY

• Democrat Roosevelt, known popularly as FDR, was a 2-term governor of New York

• FDR was a distant cousin of Teddy Roosevelt

• The Democrats also won huge victories in the house and senate

• Greatest Democratic victory in 80 years

FDR easily won the 1932 election

FDR LAUNCHES NEW DEAL

• FDR promised a “new deal” for the American people

• He took office with a flurry of activity known as “The Hundred Days”

• The 100 Days lasted from March to June 1933

FDR’s Inaugural Address & the First Hundred Days• “This Nation asks for

action, and action now. “

• “Our greatest primary task is to put people to work…. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war.”

Three Competing and Conflicting Goals

 – Relief – Immediate End to Human Suffering

– Recovery – Bring US Out of Depression

– Reform – Make Sure Depression Cant Happen Again

THE NEW DEAL• this was the name FDR gave to his new program to

fight the Depression

• it was a revolution in American society - changed completely the way the government functions

• the first phase of the New Deal dealt exclusively w/ economic reform - unlike Hoover, FDR believed government legislation/involvement was crucial to stimulate the economy

CONGRESS GETS BUSY

• FDR’s philosophy was to get people help and work through “deficit” spending

• During the 100 Days, Congress passed more than 15 major pieces of legislation that significantly expanded government’s role in the nation’s economy and welfare

TO DO LIST: #1- HELP BANKS

• First order of business was to get the banking system in order

• On March 5, one day after taking office, FDR declared a bank holiday

• He persuaded Congress to pass the Emergency Relief Act, which authorized the Treasury Department to inspect the nation’s banks

THE NEW DEAL

• step 1 - dealt w/ the banking crisis -

BANKING HOLIDAY- banks shut

down and subject to government

inspection, allowed to open when

"healthy"- people's confidence

returned they re-deposited $,

allowing banks to invest in the

economy

AMERICANS GAIN CONFIDENCE IN BANKS

• Next, FDR passed the Glass-Steagall Act which established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

• The FDIC insured account holders up to $5,000 and set strict standards for banks to follow (today = $100,000)

New Deal Program Summary Relief, Recovery or Reform?

Glass-Steagall Act FDIC -- government insures deposits up to $5,000

Recovery/Reform

• step 2 - stock market reform- Security Exchange Commission est. to police the NYSE (first chairman.was Joseph P. Kennedy)- practice of buying on margin was regulated

• step 3 - to put more $ in circulation, FDR went off the GOLD STANDARD (government could print more $ than Fort Knox gold reserves would allow)- w/ more $ in circulation, wages and prices increased(= inflation), causing dollar value to lower- gave government spending power (Keynesian economics)

MORE 100 DAYS ACTIVITY

• Federal Securities Act: Required stock info to be accurate and truthful

• Agricultural Adjustment Act: (AAA) Raised crop prices by lowering production

• Tennessee Valley Authority: (TVA) Focused on direct relief to hard hit area– created ambitious dam projects

New Deal Program Summary Relief, Recovery or Reform?

Home Owners’ Loan Corporation

(HOLC)

Government loans money to homeowners so that they can pay mortgages

Relief/Recovery

Agricultural Adjustment Act

(AAA)

Government loans money to farms so they can pay mortgages

Relief/Recovery

• AGRUCULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT (AAA) -

passed in 1933 to aid formers- its objective

was to restore farmers' purchasing power

and to restore the family farm - AAA had

farmers cut back on crop production by

paying them equivalent SUBSIDIES (paid not

to produce) - bad side:

• 1) food production down when millions were

starving

• 2) Black sharecroppers were hurt: white

landowners paid not to farm so they got rid

of Black tenant formers

• in 1935, AAA was declared

unconstitutional by courts (too much

control over individual states), so it was

revised and introduced as new

legislation

• EX: Food Stamp Act of 1939 - gave away

surplus food to poor, also guaranteed

(small) farmers a market

• TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (TVA) - used to promote hydroelectric power, control flooding - lower rates private industry, manufacture fertilizer federal government took ownership (nationalization v. privatization)

• UNEMPLOYMENT - still a major problem

• FDR like Hoover was wary of government handouts - he wanted people to earn their keep so government agencies were created - temporarily - to address the unemployment problem

• CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS (CCC) - in 1933 - set to establish work for young men (18-25) in areas of reforestation, soil conservation, flood control, road construction - also took them out of urban labor markets - but Blacks not permitted to enroll

ALPHABET AGENCIES

• CCC – Civilian Conservation Corps put young men to work

• Men ages 18 to 25 worked building roads, parks, planting trees (200 million trees in Dust Bowl areas)

• By 1942 three million men worked for the CCC

New Deal Program Summary Relief, Recovery or Reform?

Civilian Conservation Corps

(CCC)

Environmental projects to give jobs to young men

Relief/Recovery

ALPHABET AGENCIES

• PWA – Public Works Administration was part of the NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act)

• The PWA provided money to states to construct schools and community buildingsPWA workers construct a public

building in Hartford, Connecticut

ALPHABET AGENCIES

• CWA – Civil Works Administration built 40,000 schools and provided salaries for 50,000 teachers in rural America

• Also built 500,000 miles of roads CWA School in Woodville, CA

ALPHABET AGENCIES

• FHA – Federal Housing Administration provided home loans, home mortgages and repairs

Repaired business in Childersburg, Alabama

ALPHABET AGENCIES

• FERA – Federal Emergency Relief Agency provided $500 million in direct relief to the neediest Americans

Citizens wait outside a FERA in Calipatria, CA for relief checks

CRITICS EMERGE• Despite the renewed

confidence of many Americans, critics from both political spectrums emerged

• Liberals (left) felt FDR’s program was NOT doing enough

• Conservatives (right) felt that government intervention was TOO much and interfered with our free market economy

WINSTON CHURCHILL “Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is

over 30, and is not a conservative, has no

brains.”

SPECIFIC PIECES OF LEGISLATION (direct government intervention in the economy)

(called "Alphabet Soup")

• NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY

ACT (NIRA) and NATIONAL

RECOVERY ADMIN (NRA) were

established to end animosity

between labor and business all was

redirected to industrial growth fair

labor codes established - wages, no

child labour, shortened work hours

New Deal Program Summary Relief, Recovery or Reform?

National Recovery Act (NRA)

Minimum wages, maximum hours/week, the Blue Eagle

Relief/Recovery

SPECIFIC PIECES OF LEGISLATION

• Business people challenged the

NRA, claiming it was communist

• They formed the LIBERTY LEAGUE -

at LL's urging, the Supreme Court

overturned the NIRA & NRA,

claiming that federal government

was exceeding its authority (by

interfering with state jurisdiction)

SUPREME COURT REACTS

• By the mid-1930s, the Supreme Court struck down the NIRA as unconstitutional (citing too much government control over industry)

• The Court also struck down the AAA on the grounds that agricultural was a local matter -- not a federal matter

The Supreme Court -- 1935

New Deal Program(Date)

Summary

21st Amendment (1933)

Repeal of prohibition

Reactions to the New Deal

A. Political Opposition1. Conservatives Complain

About Dictatorship & Deficits

ANOTHER CRITIC

• Huey Long was a Senator from Louisiana who was a constant (and effective) critic of FDR

• Long was setting up a run for president

• A lone gunman assassinated Long at the height of his popularity in 1935

Huey Long made effective use of radio to promote his views

• Huey Long Lobbies to Share the Wealth

Liberals Argue FDR Must Do More

MORE CRITICS

• Every Sunday, Father Charles Coughlin broadcast radio sermons slamming FDR

• He called for a guaranteed annual income and nationalized banks

• At his height of popularity, Coughlin had 45 million listeners

• His increasingly anti-Semitic remarks ultimately cost him supportCoughlin

Father Coughlin

Calls for a Guaranteed

Income

-- Dr. Townsend Promotes

Pensions for the Elderly

FDR EASILY WINS 2ND TERM

• The Republicans nominated Alfred Landon, Governor of Kansas, while the Democrats (of course) nominated Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• Again the Dems and FDR won an overwhelming victory in the presidential election and in both houses

FDR wins 1936 election

FDR wins in 1936

• ELECTION OF 1936 - FDR won easily (v Repub. Alf Landon - Kansas governor)

• this victory gave FDR a mandate to continue his New Deal policies

• first objective: to reorganize the Supreme Court - they disallowed some New Deal legislation

• FDR wants # of judges changed from 9 15 (to "pack the court") - great opposition, so FDR w/drew this proposal

• but judges retired & FDR got to appoint new ones they approved all New Deal legislation

New Deal Program(Date)

Summary

Court Packing Plan Add one justice for every justice over age 70

FDR REGAINS CONTROL OVER SUPREME COURT

• From the mid to late 1930s, FDR was able to appoint 7 new judges to the Supreme Court, thus assuring that his programs would carry on unabated

SECTION 2: THE SECOND NEW DEAL

• Although the economy had improved during FDR’s first term (1932-1936), the gains were not as great as expected

• Unemployment remained high and production still lagged

Economic Disappointment: The Great Depression Continues

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1929 1931 1933 1935 1937 1939

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (%)

THE SECOND HUNDRED DAYS

• FDR launches the “Second New Deal” also called the “Second Hundred Days”• First priority was the farmers – FDR reinvigorated the

AAA which provided aid for migrants, sharecroppers, and poor farmers

• FDR authorized more than $1 billion to help tenant farmers become landowners

WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION

• Helping urban workers was critical to the success of the Second Hundred Days

• The WPA set out to create as many jobs as possible as quickly as possible

• Between 1935-1943, the WPA spent $11 billion to give jobs to 8 million workers

WPA BUILDS AMERICA

• WPA workers built 850 airports, 651,000 miles of roads and streets, and 125,000 public buildings

• The WPA also hired artists, writers and photographers to create art

The Davis Street School Extension in Atlanta under construction as part of the Works Progress Administration Program, November 2, 1936

NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION

• The National Youth Administration (NYA) was created to provide education, jobs and recreation for young people

• Getting young people off the streets and into schools and jobs was a high priority for the NYA

• other agencies had specific mandates too

• NATIONAL YOUTH ADMIN. (NYA) - created jobs for

young in urban areas

• FED. EMERGENCY RELIEF ACT (FERA) - aimed at older

workers- these and other similar agencies worked well,

but unemployment was still at 6 million in 1941(solution

for this would be the industrial boom of WW2)

• National Labour Relations Act (aka Wagner Act)- it

legitimized unions and labor tactics such as collective

bargaining & collective action (strikes, etc...) - it

outlawed BLACKLISTS & other anti-union practices

IMPROVING LABOR RELATIONS

• In the Second New Deal FDR helped pass the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)

• This legislation protected workers, ensured collective bargaining, and preserved the right to unionizeThe NLRA was also called the

Wagner Act

New Deal Program(Date)

Summary

Wagner Act (1935) Protects workers and unions – no more blacklists and yellow dog contracts

CONGRESS PROTECTS WORKERS

• In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act which set maximum hours at 44 per week and minimum wage at 25 cents per hour

• NEW DEAL - SOCIAL REFORM ASPECT-

after 1935, w/ immediate economic relief &

reform addressed, New Deal turned to

Social Welfare - more legislation…

SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

• One of the most important achievements of the New Deal era was the creation of the Social Security System

• The Social Security Act, passed in 1935, had 3 parts:

Old-Age Pension Unemployment

compensation Aid to families with

dependent children & disabled (welfare)

New Deal Program(Date)

Summary

Social Security Act (1935) a) Pensions for elderly b) Insurance for unemployed c) Aid to dependents (kids)

• Social Security Act (1935)- feared by opponents as "creeping socialism"- this act typifies the WELFARE STATE - unemployment insurance, old age pensions

• Problem: it took some $ out of circulation (payroll deductions) at a time when purchasing power was already low- also, it only covered the unemployed

• 1936 - "Soak The Rich" tax

NEW DEAL AFFECTS MANY GROUPS

• First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt helped women gain higher political positions during the New Deal

• Eleanor was influential in her role as advisor to the president

• Frances Perkins became America’s first female cabinet member (Labor)

Eleanor & Franklin

AFRICAN AMERICANS DURING THE NEW DEAL

• The 1930s witnessed a growth of activism for black Americans

• A. Philip Randolph became head of the nation’s first all-black union – the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

AFRICAN AMERICANS GAIN POLITICAL POSITIONS

FDR appointed over 100 African Americans to positions within the government

• Mary McLeod Bethune headed the division of Negro Affairs of the NYA

• Despite these gains, FDR was never fully committed to Civil Rights Bethune

NATIVE AMERICANS MAKE GAINS

• Native Americans made advances during the 1920s & 1930s

• Full citizenship granted in 1924

• The Reorganization Act of 1934 gave Natives more ownership of reservations

• Policy was moving away from assimilation towards autonomy

FDR WINS IN 1936 . . . AGAIN

• FDR had wide appeal in the United States, especially in urban areas

• African Americans, Jews, Catholics and immigrants all supported the popular president

FDR & Eleanor campaign by rail in 1936

SECTION 4: CULTURE IN THE 1930s

MOVIES:• By the late 1930s, 65% of

Americans were attending the movies at least once per week at one of the nation’s 15,000 movie theaters

• Comedies, lavish musicals, love stories and gangster films dominated the movie industry

    Movies provided an escape from the hardships of the Great

Depression

MOVIE

• A new era of glamour in Hollywood was launched with stars like Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich and James Cagney

STARS

1930s

FAMOUS FILMS OF THE 30s

• One of the most famous films of the era was Gone with the Wind (1939)

• Other notable movies of the era included The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

RADIO: THE ORIGINAL ENTERTAINMENT

• Sales of radios greatly increased in the 1930s, from 13 million in 1930 to 28 million by 1940

• Nearly 90% of American homes owned a radio

Families spent hours listening to the radio

ROOSEVELT’S FIRESIDE CHATS

• FDR communicated to Americans via radio

• His frequent “Fireside Chats” kept Americans abreast of the government’s efforts during the Depression

POPULAR RADIO SHOWS

• Popular radio shows included comedies with Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and the duo of Burns and Allen

• Soap operas (named because they were sponsored by soap companies) ran in the mornings, kids shows in the afternoon and entertainment at night

Hope

Burns Allen

Benny

FAMOUS RADIO MOMENTS

• Orson Wells created a radio special called War of the Worlds

• It was an epic drama about aliens landing in America

• Unfortunately, many thought it was a news broadcast and panicked

LIVE NEWS COVERAGE

• Radio captured news as well as providing entertainment

• One of the first worldwide broadcasts was the horrific crash of the Hindenburg, a German Zeppelin (blimp), in New Jersey on May 6, 1937

• Such immediate news coverage became a staple in society

The Hindenburg caught fire and was utterly destroyed within a minute Of the 97 people on board, 13 passengers and 22 crew-members

were killed

ART DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION

• The Federal Art Project (branch of the WPA) paid artists a living wage to produce art

• Projects included murals, posters and books

• Much of the art, music and literature was sober and serious

WPA Art – “Democracy . . .a Challenge” – artist, date unknown

ARTISTS HERALDED

• Painters like Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, and Iowa’s Grant Wood were all made famous by their work in the WPA program

• Photographer Dorothea Lange gained fame from her photos during this era (featured throughout this presentation)

Wood’s American Gothic is perhaps the most famous piece of the era (1930)

GUTHRIE’S MUSIC CAPTURES ERA

Singer Woody Guthrie used

music to capture the hardship of the Great Depression

• Guthrie traveled the country singing about America

Guthrie

WRITERS DEPICT AMERICAN LIFE

• The Federal Writers’ Project (branch of WPA) paid writers to write

• Richard Wright’s acclaimed Native Son was written for the project

JOHN STEINBECK RECEIVES ACCLAIM

• American writer John Steinbeck received assistance from the Federal Writers’ Project

• He published his most famous book, Grapes of Wrath (1939), as part of the program

• the late 1930's – new Qs arose…• FDR concerned w/ int'l issues• in 1939 he proposed no new major

domestic reform measures (1st time in his pres.)

• ELECTION OF 1940 - FDR broke with tradition & ran a 3rd time

• FDR v. Wendell Wilkie - the big issue here was American support of the Allies (G.B.), now embroiled in WWII v. Nazi Ger.

• both U.S. pol. parties wanted to support G.B. but to remain neutral - in fact a CONSENSUS had developed b/n the Dems. and Repubs.

• both parties approved of (most) New Deal legislation & wanted an isolationist foreign policy- FDR won in 1940 (and again in 1944)

IMPACT OF THE NEW DEAL

• New Deal helped in stimulating the

U.S. economy, but only WWII

would solve any lingering

problems unemployed found

jobs in munitions factories and the

military as the U.S. became the

ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY

SECTION 5: THE IMPACT OF THE NEW DEAL

• Over time, opinions about the merits of the New Deal and FDR have ranged from harsh criticism to high praise – usually along partisan lines

• Conservatives felt FDR made government too large and too powerful

• Liberals countered that FDR socialized the economy because Americans needed help

LEGACIES OF THE NEW DEAL

• FDIC – banking insurance critical to sound economy

• Deficit spending has became a normal feature of government

• Social Security is a key legacy of the New Deal in that the Feds have assumed a greater responsibility for the social welfare of citizens since 1935

III. The Long Term Legacy of the New Deal

A. African-Americans Become Democrats

B. The Creation of National Welfare

C. The Growth of Taxes and Debt

IMPACT OF THE NEW DEAL

• a 3rd revolution in American culture and politics- more government involvement but within the context of traditional U.S. democracy (not socialist…)

• New Deal saw expansion of U.S. government in :1) eco. - constant government intervention/deficit spending 2) social reform - welfare state - after this

point the U.S. government was expected to play a role in any

economic crisis • so FDR fundamentally reformed

(not transformed) American society…

Conclusion

• The Great Depression and the New Deal mark a major divide in American history, casting doubt on traditional economic, social, and political attitudes, policies, and practices.

• The New Deal brought partial economic recovery but also expanded the roles of the federal government and the presidency.– Presidency now at the center of the political system

• The New Deal also revitalized the Democratic Party.– The “New Deal Coalition” of minorities, urban

workers, white southerners

• Changed the relationship between government and the people (“social contract”– Changed expectations

• Moved the economy toward a “mixed economy”– No longer laissez-faire capitalism– Now “regulated” capitalism

• Dramatically expanded federal government authority– Reduced role of states & local governments

• Economic policies became barriers against another depression– FDIC, SEC, unemployment compensation,

social security, farm price supports, minimum wages

– Began using counter-cyclical spending to moderate the business cycle (Keynesian economics)

– Provider of social welfare

• What might have happened?• An alternative scenario

– Fascism– Germany in the 1930s?

• Adolph Hitler and the National Socialists

– Socialism / communism