Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and the New Deal
Election of 1932
· FDR elected as President
· Reflected the desire of many Americans to have government take an active role in solving economic problems
Three R’s
· Three different types of programs
· Relief: Help people in need
· Recovery: Restore the economy back to health
· Reform: To correct problems and injustices in society
Relief
· Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
o Put young men to work on environmental projects
· Works Progress Administration (WPA)
o Put people to work on new bridges, roads, airports, etc
o Paid artists, writers and actors to paint murals, write histories, and perform plays
Recovery
· Public Works Administration (PWA)
o Put people to work on building schools, dams, refurbishing government buildings, improving highways
§ Modernizing the nation
o Designed to stimulate industry and spur economic growth
· Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
o Government regulation of crop production
o Paid farmers to leave land unplanted and reduce the number of animals they raised
Reform
· Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
o Insured bank deposits in all member banks (up to $5,000)
· Social Security Act
o Provided unemployment benefits, pensions for older Americans and survivor’s insurance
Impact of the New Deal
· Effectiveness of the New Deal in ending the depression is difficult to measure because U.S. involvement in World War II accelerated economic growth
· Expanded federal power
o Made role of federal government much bigger
o Before the new deal, the federal government had not taken such an active role in citizens lives: Work programs, Economy
· Entitlement Programs
o Initiated programs previously not in existence
o Social Security
· Old age pensions for retired workers
· Unemployment compensation
· Aid to families with dependent children and disabled
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and the New Deal
Election of 1932
· FDR elected as President
· Reflected the desire of many Americans to have
Three R’s
· Three different types of programs
· Relief: Help
· Recovery: back to health
· Reform: To in society
Relief
· Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
o Put young men to work on environmental projects
· Works Progress Administration (WPA)
o on new bridges, roads, airports, etc
o Paid artists, writers and actors to paint murals, write histories, and perform plays
Recovery
· Public Works Administration (PWA)
o Put people to work on building schools, dams, refurbishing government buildings, improving highways
§ Modernizing the nation
o Designed to stimulate and
· Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
o Government regulation of crop production
o Paid farmers to and reduce the number of animals they raised
Reform
· Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
o in all member banks (up to $5,000)
· Social Security Act
o Provided unemployment benefits, pensions for older Americans and survivor’s insurance
Impact of the New Deal
· Effectiveness of the New Deal in ending the depression is difficult to measure because U.S.
· federal power
o Made role of federal government much bigger
o Before the new deal, the federal government had not taken such an role in citizens lives: Work programs,Economy
· Entitlement Programs
o Initiated programs previously not in existence
o Social Security
· for retired workers
·
· Aid to families with dependent children and disabled
Criticism of New Deal
· AAA
o Tenant farmers didn’t receive money (subsidy) given to the landowners by government
· Many programs excluded women, limited numbers of African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans or segregated minorities from whites
· Conservatives argued Roosevelt was interfering too much with private business and spending too much money on relief (socialist)
· Supreme Court ruled National Industrial Recovery Act and Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional
National Labor Relations Act/Wagner Act
· 1935 (2nd New Deal)
· Guaranteed workers right to join a union and a unions right to bargain collectively (as a whole)
· Outlawed business practices unfair to labor
Court Packing (1937)
· Roosevelt attempted to increase the number of justices in the Supreme Court
o Wanted to appoint judges that would favor his programs
· People reacted negatively to his tampering and Roosevelt backed down