1933-1940. The New Deal-1933-1940 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt The Election of 1932—A New Deal FDR builds hope for Americans Key programs.

The New Deal1933-1940

The New Deal-1933-1940

Franklin Delano RooseveltEleanor RooseveltThe Election of 1932—A New DealFDR builds hope for AmericansKey programs of the New DealEffects of the New DealForgotten AmericansCritics of the New DealCourt-packing planResults of the New Deal

Essential QuestionsHow did FDR build hope among Americans during

his first days in office?What were the key programs of the New Deal &

what problems were they trying to solve?How did the New Deal affect Americans?How did Eleanor & FDR help “forgotten” Americans?Who were the critics of the New Deal & what plans

did they want to put into action?Why did FDR try to “pack” the Supreme Court?

What were the results of his efforts?What were the most important results of the New

Deal?

The New Deal

The New DealPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan for

overcoming the Great DepressionGave government jobs to the unemployedIncreased government regulation of the

economyMixed results of success

Dewey Woodward, WPA worker

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Distant relative of Theodore Roosevelt

Assistant Secretary of the Navy under Wilson

Stricken with Polio in the 1920s

1929 governor of New YorkImpressive relief program

for New York depression victims

1932 Democratic candidate for president

Roosevelt with his dog Fala

1932 Presidential Campaign Roosevelt promised:

relief for the poor public works

programsGovernment-

funded building projects

Roosevelt won 57% of popular vote

Democrats gained control of both houses of Congress

FDRGreat personality

Cheerful, optimistic, & confident

Warm & charmingOvercame his

disability & used it as a strength

Fireside ChatsRadio addresses that

FDR made to Americans

Spoke plainly to people

FDR shortly after giving one of his famous fireside chats

Roosevelt’s PhilosophyReform-minded

DemocratBelieved it was the

government’s job to take direct action to help people

Had faith in the ability of government to solve economic & social problems

Eleanor RooseveltFDR’s distant cousinServed as FDR’s eyes

& earsStrong First LadyInvolved in social

issuesWomen & minorities

Wrote a newspaper column

Had many admirers & critics

Roosevelt takes officeFDR inaugurated

March 1933Lame Duck Hoover

had been unable to do much

The Depression had grown worse

FDR tried to help the confidence of Americans

“So, first of all, 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, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

Bank Crisis•Executive order closing all banks

▫“Bank Holiday”▫To stop panic, run on banks, & bank failures

•Emergency Banking Act, 1933▫Gave government power to examine

soundness of each bank before it could reopen▫Banks began to reopen

•Glass-Steagall Act, 1933▫Created Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation (FDIC) Government insurance of depositors’ savings

The Hundred Days

FDR’s first 100 days in office

Critical period in which Roosevelt pushed Congress to put in place many of the key parts of his program he called the New Deal

The New Deal

•Three goals:▫Relief for those suffering the effects of the

Great Depression▫Recovery of the depressed economy▫Reforms that would help prevent serious

economic crisis in the future▫The Three Rs

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 1933

Reform program for unemployed men 18-25 yrs. old

Paid to work on a variety of conservation projects Planting trees,

improving parksLived in army-style camps

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)• Recovery program• Gave farmers a subsidy to

grow fewer crops▫ Subsidy—government

payment

National Industrial Recovery Act, (NIRA)• Recovery program• Mandated that

businesses in the same industry cooperate with each other to set prices & levels of production

• Created the Public Works Administration (PWA)▫ $3.3 billion for public

works• Labor unions got

federal protection for the right to organize

More Reforms

•Federal Securities Act▫Forced companies to share certain financial

information with the public To help investors & restore confidence in the

market•Securities and Exchange Commission

(SEC)▫Government watchdog over the nation’s

stock markets

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)•One of the most far-reaching & ambitious

New Deal programs•Built dams & other projects along the

Tennessee River & its tributaries▫Controlled floods, aided navigation &

shipping along the river, & provided hydroelectric power

Tennessee Valley Authority

Only water source on farm

Flood damage

Tennessee Valley Authority

Civil Works Administration (CWA)• Provided winter

employment to 4 million workers

• Built miles of highways & sewer lines, hundreds of airports, & more

Rebuilding a sewer

Road Construction

Indian Reorganization Act

•“Indian New Deal”•Reversed previous policies by recognizing

the tribe as the key unit of social organization

•Limited the sale of Indian lands •Provided assistance to native groups in

developing their resources, economy, & culture

•Granted some limited rights of self-rule

New Deal Critics

•Reformers & radicals didn’t believe that the New Deal had gone far enough▫They wanted a complete overhaul of

capitalism

•Conservatives attacked the New Deal as a radical break with traditional American ideals

Senator Huey P. Long, Louisiana•Believed FDR’s policies were too friendly

to businesses & banks•Share Our Wealth Society

▫“Every Man a King”▫To give every family $5000 to buy a home & $2500/year income▫Financed by heavy taxes on the wealthy▫Millions of followers

Father Charles Coughlin

• Catholic priest• One-time FDR supporter who turned

against him• “radio priest”

▫One-third of the nation listened• Critical of nation’s bankers & financial

leaders▫Believed FDR wasn’t doing enough

against them• Radio addresses became increasingly

anti-Semitic ▫Catholic Church shut him down

Dr. Francis Townsend

•Criticized the New Deal for not doing enough for older Americans

•Proposed a pension plan for Americans over the age of 60▫$200 per month

•Attracted millions of followersTownsend supporters rally in

Columbus, Kansas in May 1936.

•Spoke for Conservatives who believed the New Deal went too far

•Included members from both parties•Included wealthy business leaders who

felt New Deal was anti-business

Opposition from the Supreme Court

•Critics believed New Deal gave president too much power

•Several cases reached the Supreme Court

Supreme Court decisions

•Schechter Poultry v. United States▫Supreme Court found NRA’s industry codes

for production, prices, & wages unconstitutional

•United States v. Butler▫Found a key part of the AAA

unconstitutional The tax used to raise the money for farmer

subsidies•Put major programs of the New Deal in

shambles

The New Deal

The Second New Deal

1934 Congressional Elections

First time in history the party in control of Congress gained seats in both houses

Democrats now held three-quarters of all seats

Liberals were demanding that FDR do more

Second New DealSpring 1935Congress passed laws extending

government oversight of the banking industry & raising taxes for the wealthy

It funded new relief programs

Works Progress Administration, 1935Largest peace-time jobs

program in US history◦Employed 8.5 million

Built roads, subways, airports, etc.

Worked in offices, schools, museums, factories

Funded artists, writers, composers, actors

People worked instead of getting a handout

1935

Social Security Act, 1935FDR hoped Social Security would undermine the attacks of Dr. Francis Townsend

A pension, or guaranteed, regular payments, for many people 65 & older

Unemployment insurance

Congress passed new taxes to fund the program

Wagner ActNational Labor Relations Act

Stronger than the NIRA

Outlawed some anti-labor practices

Established National Labor Relations Board ◦NLRB could conduct polls in workplaces about unions & could force employers to accept voting results

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

•Founded in 1886▫Samuel Gompers

•Created as a federation of smaller unions representing the interests of skilled workers

•Looked down upon unskilled factory workers

Committee for Industrial Organization

•Broke away from the AFL in 1935

•Led by John L. Lewis—head of the United Mine Workers

•Devoted to the interests of industrial workers

John L. Lewis

Young striker off sentry duty sleeping on assembly line of auto seats

• December 1936 United Auto Workers began a sit-down strike at General Motors in Flint, Michigan

• Workers stayed in the factory day & night

• Created a complicated situation for GM

• After 6 weeks GM agreed to recognize the union

• Helped establish the CIO as a major force ▫ US Steel strike in 1937

Rural Electrification Act

•Rural Electrification Administration (REA) loaned money to farm cooperatives to bring electricity to rural areas

•Number of rural homes with electricity grew from 10% to 90% within 10 years

Election of 1936• Republicans attacked New

Deal for being overly bureaucratic & creating a planned economy

• Republican candidate Alf Landon

• Union party formed by Father Charles Coughlin & Dr. Francis Townsend

• FDR won 48 states• Democrats gained seats in

both houses

Court-Packing Plan• FDR frustrated with

attacks on the New Deal by Supreme Court

• Presented Congress with plan to increase members of the Supreme Court

• Most saw it as an attempt to “pack” the Court with friendly justices

Farm Tenancy Act 1937Aided tenant farmers & sharecroppers Gave them a chance to buy land of their own

Sharecropper’s wife and children

Recovery in doubt• 1937 economy had a

setback• FDR had hoped to cut

back government programs he feared the growing deficit▫ Deficit—when

government spends more money than it takes in

• John Maynard Keynes▫ British economist▫ Argued that deficit

spending could provide jobs & stimulate the economy

• Summer of 1938 the economy was improving

WOMEN IN THE NEW DEAL

Eleanor Roosevelt Played major role in

husband’s administration

Actively pursued issues of importance to women

Helped leaders of women’s groups gain access to her husband

WOMEN IN THE NEW DEAL

Frances Perkins FDR’s Secretary of

Labor First woman to head

an executive department

Played a major role in the development of New Deal policies

WOMEN IN THE NEW DEAL

Ruth Bryan Owen Minister to Denmark William Jennings

Bryan’s daughter FDR appointed a lot

of women to important positions

Women still faced discrimination

Ruth Bryan Owen, Minister to Denmark, America's first woman envoy, taking the oath of office.

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEW DEAL

William Haste First black federal

judge Black Cabinet

Blacks hired to fill posts in the government

Led by Mary McLeod Bethune

Director of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration

The cabin in Mayesville, South Carolina where Mary McLeod was born.

Mary McLeod Bethune enters the White House

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEW DEAL Black Cabinet

Acted as unofficial advisers to the president

Blacks still faced discrimination in the New Deal

FDR feared southern Democrats would block New Deal if he helped blacks too much

Majority of Black Americans voted Democratic in 1934 First time since Civil

War

Dorothea Lange

Photographer Chronicler of the

Great Depression Worked for Farm

Security Administration

Took photos of jobless people, tenant farmers, rural poor

Photos raised awareness of the poor One of Lange’s most

famous photos. A destitute mother of seven children.

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men By writer James

Agee & photographer Walker Evans

Depicted the lives of sharecroppers in rural Alabama

Movies

Nearly 80 million of the US’s 127 million attended movies in 1935

Movie studios produced some 5000 films during the 1930s

Movies

Musicals Fred Astaire Ginger Rogers

Comedies The Marx Brothers Charlie Chaplin

Director Frank Capra Mr. Smith Goes to

Washington

Movies

New Techniques Walt Disney’s Snow

White and the Seven Dwarfs First full-length

animated feature The Wizard of Oz

Color photography & special effects

Gone With the Wind Color

Radio Very important role FDR—fireside chats, Father Coughlin Religion, news, music, sports, variety

The Lone Ranger Fibber McGee and Molly

The War of the Worlds Orson Welles People believed the world was under attack

Swing

New, highly orchestrated type of jazz swept the country in the 1930s

Played by big bands Duke Ellington Count Basie Benny Goodman

Sports

Baseball Joe Dimaggio Lou Gehrig

ALS –”Lou Gehrig’s Disease”

Babe Didrikson Zaharias Multisport star

Softball, golf, basketball, & track

Boxing Joe Louis

Babe Ruth hugs Gehrig at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day”. He died two years later.

Marian Anderson

Black singer who went to Europe

International star DAR refused to let

her play at Constitution Hall

Eleanor Roosevelt arranged for her to play at Lincoln Memorial

Impact of the New Deal

• Relief– Millions of people received

some sort of help

• Recovery– Less successful– Unemployment remained

high

• Reform– More successful

• FDIC• SEC• Thousands of roads, buildings,

bridges, etc.

• Changed the role of government– Bigger– People now looked to it

for help

Boys goofing off in a CCC camp

Limits of the New Deal• Relief jobs were not

permanent• Some 4.7 million people

went unserved• Pay scales were low• Assistance varied state

by state• Permitted

discriminationEvans family flees South Dakota

End of the New Deal

• Lost support• Reasons– Court-packing plan– Economic downturn of

1937-1938

• Attacks from Republicans & southern Democrats

Fair Labor Standards Act• Last major New Deal

law, 1938• Established minimum

wage– Lowest wage an

employer can legally pay a worker

• Set maximum number of work week hours at 44

• Workers had to be paid 1½ overtime

1938 Elections

• FDR attempted to get congressmen against him voted out of office

• It backfired and each of the incumbents he targeted won reelection

• Incumbent—someone who is presently in office

After the New Deal

• After the 1938 elections FDR lacked support for his New Deal

• Attention turned to Europe which was headed toward war

• Within a year, war would do what the New Deal could not do—end the Great Depression