Fear Itself: FDR & The New Deal

1. Fear Itself: FDR & The New Deal Mr. Ermer U.S. History Miami Beach Senior High

2. The Rise of FDR • Franklin Delano Roosevelt, politician from New York • Takes break from politics, gets sick with polio (paralyzed legs) • Eleanor Roosevelt (wife) gets involved with politics while FDR recovers • Elected president in 1932, economy gets worse before his inauguration • People worried FDR would get rid of the gold standard—states issue bank holidays • FDR had no firm ideology, believed in “bold experimentation” • Depended on advisors for information and advice: • Some advise FDR get gov’t to help big business get out of Depression • Some advise FDR to allow the gov’t to plan the economy, exclude big business • Some advocate Wilson’s “New Freedom”, break big business up and regulate the new competition

6. The First New Deal • Inaugural Speech: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” • Prohibition Repealed • Fireside Chats: Roosevelt uses the radio to uplift nation • Help for Banks: • Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)insures bank deposits • Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)to regulate stock market • Glass-Steagall Act: separates investment and commercial banks • Home Owners Loan Corp. restructures mortgages (longer period, lower interest) • Farm Credit Administration (FCA): helps farmers refinance mortgages • Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)controls farm production • National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)authorizes the National Recovery Administration (NRA)suspends anti-trust laws and supports cooperation between business and government

8. Alphabet Soup Relief Programs • Civilian Conservation Corp. (CCC)puts young men to work with forestry service, Tenn. Valley Authority (TVA) concentrates on infrastructure • Federal Emergency Relief Admin. (FERA)funds state-level relief projects • Public Works Admin. (PWA)puts young men to work in construction • Civil Works Admin. (CWA)combines efforts of PWA and CCC • CWA puts 4 million to work (including 300,000 women) • CWA builds/improves 1,000 airports, 500,000 miles of road, 40,000 schools, 3.500 parks and playgrounds

9. Second New Deal • Conservatives believed the New Deal regulated business too much • Liberals believed did not believe the New Deal regulated or did enough • FDR abandons balanced budget and begins deficit spending, new programs • Works Progress Admin. (WPA)employs 8.5 million people and spent $11 Million on roads, airports, bridges, and parks as well as public art projects • 1935: Supreme Court strikes down the NRA in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States • Supreme Court’s decision struck down organized labor allowed by NIRA • 1935: Congress passes the Wagner Act creating the National Labor Relations Board, binding arbitration and gave unions more leverage—sit down strikes • Congress passes the Social Security Act, helping older Americans

11. FDR Reelected • Election of 1936: Democrats forge new party base (working class whites, African Americans, Women, progressives, white southerners, farmers) • Supreme Court threatens to strike down the New Deal • Roosevelt proposes court-packing plan to appoint new justices • Recession of 1937: Roosevelt ended some programs, raises taxes • Fair Labor Standards Act: minimum wage • National Housing Act: creates U.S. Housing Authority (public housing) • The New Deal allowed the U.S. to be a broker state and created a safety net while providing the infrastructure needed for future growth • The New Deal did not end the Depression, but helped America recover faster