The New Deal

Chapter 23

A New Deal Fights the Depression

Section 1

Americans Get a New DealDemocratic candidate Franklin Delano

Roosevelt-FDR-beat Hoover in the presidential election of 1932 by a landslide. (23million-16million)

Roosevelt and his advisors planned programs to end the Depression.

These programs became known as the New Deal- it had three goals:Relief for the needyEconomic recoveryFinancial reform

ContinuedIn the first Hundred Days, Congress quickly

passed many important laws.Roosevelt declared a “bank holiday.” He

closed the banks to prevent more bank failures.Then Congress passed the Emergency Banking

Relief Act, which allowed healthy banks to reopen.

The Glass-Steagall Act established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in which protects the savings people put in banks.

ContinuedCongress also passed the Federal Securities

Act-this law made companies give accurate information in its stock offerings.

Later, Congress created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate stock markets.

FDR spoke directly to the American people in radio talks called “fireside chats.”

He explained the New Deal measures and asked for public support.

These chats did a lot to restore the nation’s confidence.

Helping the American PeopleThe Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

helped to raise crop prices by lowering production.

The New Deal included programs that gave relief through work projects and cash payments.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) put young men to work building roads and planting trees.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided direct relief for food, clothing, and cash to the needy.

ContinuedThe National Industrial Recovery Act

(NIRA) set codes of fair practices for industries.

The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) was set up to provide government loans to homeowners who faced foreclosure because they could not make their loan payments.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided direct relief to the needy.

The New Deal Comes Under AttackRoosevelt reluctantly financed the New

Deal through deficit spending-spending more money than the government receives in revenue.

The most serious challenge to the New Deal came from Senator Huey Long of Louisiana.

He was an early supporter of the New Deal.Long proposed a program called “Share

Our Wealth.”

The Second New Deal Takes Hold

Section 2

The Second Hundred DaysFDR launched a second wave of reforms—

sometimes called the Second New Deal.These programs were designed to help poor

people.The president’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt,

traveled around the country. She was a reformer and political advisor.

She reported to the president on the suffering of the poor. She spoke up for women & minorities.

The 1936 election was an overwhelming victory for Roosevelt, the Democrats, and the New Deal.

ContinuedIt also marked the first time most African

Americans voted Democratic. And it was the first time that labor unions supported a single candidate. They supported Roosevelt.

The 1936 election was the most lopsided in history.

Helping FarmersThe first Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

had helped some farmers before it was struck down by the Supreme Court.

Other laws helped sharecroppers and tenant farmers. They provided loans to help farmers buy land.

New laws also helped migrant workers by providing better housing for them.

Roosevelt Extends ReliefA new agency called the Works Progress

Administration (WPA) set out to create jobs as quickly as possible. The WPA used millions of workers to build airports, roads, libraries, schools, and hospitals.

The WPA also employed teachers, writers, artists, actors, and musicians.

It made special efforts to help women, minorities, and the young.

The National Youth Administration (NYA) provided aid and part-time jobs to many high school & college students.

Improving Labor and Other ReformsThe second New Deal created important reforms

for labor.The Wagner Act supported workers’ rights to

collective bargaining and also banned unfair labor practices.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set maximum hours and minimum wage for the first time for workers.Passed in 1938

1938 Minimum wage 0.25 cents1939 raised to 0.301956 raised to $1.00Set the work week of 44 hoursBanned child labor

Improving Labor and Other Reforms (cont.)The Social Security Act was one of the most

important achievements of the New Deal. It was to aid to people with disabilities and pensions for retired workers.1. Old-age insurance—Supplemental retirement plan

that provided funds from what workers and employers paid into the system.

2. Unemployed compensation—Payments to workers who lost their jobs.

3. Aid to the disabled and families with children—This helped people who could not be expected to work.

The Second New Deal also extended electricity to rural areas through the Rural Electrification Administration.

The New Deal Affects Many Groups

Section 3

The New Deal Brings New OpportunitiesWomen made some important gains during the

New Deal. More women were appointed to important federal jobs.

Francis Perkins became the first female cabinet member as secretary of labor. She also helped to create the Social Security system.

Many New Deal agencies did not discriminate in hiring. This gave women more opportunities. But, some government agencies did not hire as many women as men.For example, the Civilian Conservation Corps hired

men only. And women were almost always paid less than men.

African-American ActivismPresident Roosevelt gave a number of African

Americans a voice in government.Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator who

became head of the Minority Affairs Office of the National Youth Administration.Worked to ensure that the NYA hired some African

Americans.Helped organize the “Black Cabinet,” which was a

group of influential African Americans that advised Roosevelt on racial issues.

However, President Roosevelt did not push for full civil rights of African Americans. He was afraid of losing the support of white Southerners.

Mexican-American Fortunes;Native American GainsMexican Americans tended to support the New

Deal. But they received few benefits from New Deal programs.

Native Americans got support from the New Deal.

1933, Roosevelt made John Collier commissioner on Indian affairs.

The was a strong supporter of Native Americans rights.

Collier helped pass the Indian Reorganization Act. This law strengthened Native American land claims.

FDR Creates the New Deal CoalitionRoosevelt got votes from Southern whites, city

people, African Americans, and workers who belonged to unions.

Together these groups of voters formed a coalition that supported FDR.

It became known as the New Deal Coalition-voters from different groups that supported the Democrat party because of the New Deal.

Divisions emerged between labor unions.The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was

made up of mostly crafts unions, such as plumbers or carpenters.

ContinuedOther unions wanted to represent workers in a

whole industry, such as the automobile industry.

These unions broke away to form the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO).

Labor employed a new kind of strike in the 1930s-a sit down strike.

Workers did not leave their workplace.They remained inside but refused to work.That prevented factory owners from using

strikebreakers or scabs to get the work done.Some strikes led to violence.Roosevelt appointed people of urban-immigrant

backgrounds to important government jobs.

Culture of the 1930s

Section 4

The Lure of Motion Pictures and RadioThe 1930s were a golden age for the radio and

film industries in spite of the hard economic times.About two-thirds of Americans went to a movie

once a week.One of the most popular films of all time was

Gone With the Wind (1939).Other popular movies in the 1930s included The

Wizard of Oz, and the Disney animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Audiences flocked to see comedies starring the Marx Brothers and also to see dark, gritty gangster movies.

ContinuedRadio showed the democratic spirit of the times.There were radios in nearly 90 percent of

American homes.The radio offered inexpensive entertainment.There were comedy and variety shows, news

programs, soap operas, and children’s shows.There were also excellent dramas and mysteries.Radio made people like Bob Hope, Jack Benny

and George Burns, and Gracie Allen stars long before they had success on television.

In order to reach the greatest number of people, President Roosevelt went on the radio during his famous fireside chats.

ContinuedThe most famous radio broadcast was by

Orson Welles. Welles was an actor, director, and

filmmaker. His fictional radio show “The War of the Worlds” was so realistic that it convinced many Americans that Martians had landed in New Jersey.

The Arts in Depression AmericaSOL: The Federal Arts Project was part of the

WPA. It paid artists to create posters, murals, and other works of art for public places.

800,000 people put to work through the WPA.Artists such as Thomas Hart Benton and

Grant Wood painted mid-western subjects.Wood’s American Gothic, a portrait of a

serious-looking man and woman standing in front of their farmhouse, remains symbolic of life during the Depression (pg. 719).

ContinuedRichard Wright was an African-American writer.

He receive financial help while writing Native Son.This novel shows the problems racism caused for a

young African-American man.John Steinbeck also got help from the FWP. His

novel The Grapes of Wrath is one of the most famous books about the Depression.

It shows the problems faced by Oklahoma farmers who were forced from their homes during the Dust Bowl.

They became migrant workers.They made it to California, but their hardships

continued.

The Impact of the New Deal

Section 5

New Deal Reforms EndureRoosevelt was also more and more worried about

events in Europe, particularly the rise of Hitler.Conservative critics say that the New Deal made

the government too big and too powerful. They say that it got in the way of free enterprise.

They feel that government should not be so involved in the economy.

Liberal critics say that the New Deal did not go far enough. They think that Roosevelt should have done more to end the differences in wealth between the rich and the poor.

ContinuedThe New Deal expanded the power of the

federal government.The government also created agencies such as

the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (insurance for savings) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate banking and investment activities.

To do all this, the government went deeply into debt. In the end, what really ended the depression was the massive spending for World War II.

ContinuedToday the National Labor Relations

Board (NLRB) (regulates business) still mediates labor disputes. And the FDIC and SEC help regulate the banking and securities industries.

Social and Environmental EffectsOne of the most important and lasting benefits

of the New Deal is the Social Security system. It provides old-age insurance and unemployment benefits.

It also help families with dependent children and those who are disabled.

The Second Agricultural Adjustment Act made loans to farmers. The loans were based on the parity (equal or fair price or amount) value—a price based on 1910-1914 levels—of farmers surplus crops. Projects that spread electric power to rural areas also helped farmers.

ContinuedThe Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

helped prevent floods and provided electricity.The TVA was a federal agency that constructed

dams and power plants on the Tennessee River and its tributaries (dozens of dams). They created the “Great Lakes of the South.”

New Deal programs also added to the national park system. They set up areas to protect wildlife. However, the TVA did contribute to pollution through strip mining.