Unit 5—Chapters 8 – 9 The Great Depression and the New Deal CSS 11.6
Jan 03, 2016
1936
D Franklin Roosevelt 27,752,869 523
R Alfred M. Landon 16,674,665 8
U William Lemke 882,479 --
531
Second New Deal (1935 – 1938)
• Central Valley Project• created series of dams and
canals for N. California• provides water, electricity and
recreation for millions in CA• 3,000,000 acres of irrigated land• $300 billion revenue, as of about
2000• 7 million acre feet of water
annually• electricity for 2 million
Californians
Second New Deal (1935 – 1938)
• Works Projects Administration (WPA)• $11 billion to provide 8 million jobs• economist John Maynard Keynes
argued government should spend money to end the depression
• focused on big projects • also funded art and music
• 650,000 miles of roads• 78,000 bridges• 125,000 buildings• presented 225,000 concerts for 150
million+• commissioned almost 475,000 works of art• wages varied from $19-94/month
Second New Deal (1935 – 1938)
• Social Security, 1935• new tax on income to
raise money for old-age pensions
• money also given to the unemployed and the disabled• some groups like farmers
and homemakers were excluded
• the program has been expanded over the years and still exists today• Medicare and Medicaid
Organized Labor and the New Deal
• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)• created to look into workers’
complaints
• Wagner Act, 1935• recognized the right of unions to
collectively bargain• issues such as wages, hours, and
benefits
• Minimum Wage• originally set at 25c with a maximum
44 hour work week• Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 also
finally outlawed child labor
Organized Labor and the New Deal
• AFL-CIO, • John L. Lewis led
negotiations with big companies like General Motors
• used sit-down strike to avoid violence
• union membership rose dramatically
Controversies from the New Deal
• Court Packing, 1937• some New Deal
programs were thrown out by the Supreme Court
• FDR wanted to appoint 6 new S.C. judges so they would support him
• public opinion turned against him and he dropped the idea• FDR will eventually
appoint 8 justices due to retirements and old age
Controversies from the New Deal
• Government Regulation of the Economy• laissez-faire was gone
forever• the government today
regulates or influences almost every aspect of the economy
• interest rates, money supply, business mergers,
• FDR’s supporters said he saved capitalism from itself
Controversies from the New Deal
• Welfare State• government is responsible for the welfare of:
• the children• the elderly • the disabled • the poor
• since the New Deal, the US has debated not whether the government should help but how
• Deficit Spending• under FDR the government spent more than it
had • this created a national debt
Controversies from the New Deal
• FDR Increased the Power of Presidency• elected 4 times ending the two-
term tradition• the 22nd amendment made two
terms the limit• used the media to get support
for his ideas• took control of the economy• created many new programs
run by the bureaucracy which worked for the President
• Social Security, SEC, WPA• raised expectations of the
presidency