Texas History

Fort Burrows, B&B Ranch

17.3 - The New Deal

Main Idea:
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s – “F D R”
New Deal tried to combat the effects of the Great Depression.
32nd President of the United States
Inoffice 4 terms
March 4, 1933–April 12, 1945
/ Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Vocabulary:

Hoovervilles - camps of cardboard boxes where the homeless lived

New Deal - President Roosevelt’s plan to use the U.S. government to

reform the nation’s economy during the Great Depression

Setting the Scene:

The Great Depression grew worse. More and more people lost jobs and began to lose hope, Emma Tiller, an African American sharecropper who lived in Texas, remembered how new federal programs gave people renewed hope…

“When the WPA came in, we soon got to work. The people, their own selves, as they would get jobs on the WPA, they quit goin’ to the relief station. They just didn’t want the food. They’d go in and say, “You know, this is my last week, ‘cause I go to work next week.’ … I remember in this Texas place, they had twenty-five people come in that day saying they wouldn’t be back any more ‘cause they signed up and they gonna work on the WPA next week. But they didn’t go back after any more help.”

Herbert Hoover was President when the Great Depression began. He tried to revive the economy. He offered loans to businesses and farmers. He did not want to provide too much aid, though. He feared that people would stop looking for work. He thought private charities should meet people’s needs. Soon those charities ran out of $$ money $$. People lost their homes. They lived in 'cardboard’ shanties. Many people blamed Hoover.
In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR, was elected President. He promised to take steps to end the Depression. When he took office, he first had to halt the banking crisis. Then he launched many new programs aimed at helping people and fixin’ the economy. Together, these programs are called the New Deal. / The Federal Government gave aid to people who were hungry. It also tried to create jobs for people who needed work. Texans in the government supported this plan. They made sure that Texas got a share of government help. Four Texans played important roles in the New Deal.
The economy did improve, but, the Great Depression did not end. Roosevelt won re-election as President. In his 2nd term, the New Deal lost some support. Critics thought the New Deal had gone too far. They feared that FDR had become too powerful. They worried that the Federal Government had grown too large and would take away people’s FREEDOM.

Early Relief Efforts ( not much )

  • Herbert Hoover - President in 1929; believed that government should not

‘hand-out’ aid to citizens

  • They should look for their own way - find a job, pay their bills, etc.
  • Americans showed him what they thought about that - he was not re-elected.

FDR and His New Deal

Democratic - Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was elected President in 1932

  • FDR received 90% of the votes in Texas over Hoover
  • Government began to take a more active role fighting the depression
  • Many people had begun to take their money out of banks in fear the banks would collapse
  • FDR temporarily closed all banks

·  He did this to prevent a possible ‘Collapse of the Banking Industry’

·  Congress created new rules to make banks more stable

·  These rules guaranteed bank deposits

·  This restored people’s confidence

  • Americans also found hope by listening to FDR’s radio messages called “Fireside Chats”
  • FDR was not afraid to spend government money to provide relief
  • FDR’s program was called the ‘The New Deal’

Criticism of the New Deal Policies

  • Even though FDR was easily re-elected in 1936, he had some critics
  • Many Americans believed he was growing too powerful
  • He was accused of trying to “pack” the Supreme Court with justices who would support his New Deal programs
  • Critics also believed that the government did too much to help the needy
  • They felt that the federal government had grown too large
  • Many Texas critics resented the interference of the federal government in Texas

Powerful Leaders in US Government from Texas

John Nance Garner
born 1868, near Detroit, TX in Red River County
Nicknamed - Cactus Jack
Speaker of the House 1931. FDR’s Vice-President 8 years / Jesse Jones
born in Tennessee, lived in Houston, TX Harris County
as a banker and Chairman of Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
This helped bring steel & chemical industries to Texas
Sam Rayburn
born in Tennessee 1882, lived in Bonham, TX Fannin County
Friends with LBJ, House of Representatives for 48 years March 4, 1913– November 16, 1961
Speaker of the House, Majority Leader 1937-1940
Chairman of Interstate & Foreign Act
/ Lyndon Baines Johnson
born in Stonewall, TX, in 1908, Gillespie County
36th President of the United States
Nickname LBJ
Vice President to JFK and elected by the people
in 1964
Congressman, Senator, Vice-President of US

New Deal in Texas

See Chart Below for some TEXAS size benefits of the New Deal in Texas

New Deal Agencies

FERA
Federal Relief Agency / Provided relief to unemployed / Provided relief to almost 300,000 Texans; spent more than $100 million in our state
WPA
Works Project Administration / Provided jobs to unemployed heads of families,
mostly in construction jobs. / Employed about 600,000 Texans; built Parks, Swimming pools, Highways, Bridges, Stadiums, & other public Buildings
CCC
Civilian Conservation Corps / Provided Conservation Project jobs to single young men. / Employed 50,000 Texans; built 31 State Parks, and Many City & County Parks
NYA
National Youth Administration / Part-time Jobs, Education, Recreation, & Counseling for Ages 16-25 / Employed 250,000 Texans; Highway & Roadside Park projects,
Playgrounds, Schools, & Rec Parks
PWA
Public Works Administration / Large Scale Public Works Projects - Dams, Bridges, & Gov’t Buildings / Spent $100 million in Texas;
Rainbow Bridge Highway 52
over South Platte River in Colorado and the Red Bluff Dam & Reservoir
Over Pecos River in Loving & Reeves County
REA
Rural Electrification Administration / Provided Electrical Power to Rural Communities / Electrical Power for Texan Farmers, Ranchers, and Rural Residents for the first time!!!!!!!
SSA
Social Security Administration / Provided Old-Age pensions, Disability payments, & Unemployment benefits / Thousands of Texans; Pensions, Disability, Unemployment benefits. The agencies first field office opened in Austin in 1936.

1. Who did President Hoover believe should provide relief to those in need ?

A. the federal government

B. private charities and local governments

C. rich individuals

D. religious and civic groups

2. What was the name of President Roosevelt’s plan to heal the economy ?

A. the New Reform B. the New Plan

C. the New Program D. the New Deal

3. How did President Hoover respond to the Depression ? ______.

4. How did President Roosevelt give people Hope and Relief during the Great Depression ?

1.______2.______3______

5. Which of FDR’s Agencies built the Red Bluff & Reservoir ? ______.

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