FDR & The New Deal

1. FDR & The New Deal

2. Roosevelt Becomes President • In 1932, it became clear to the American public that the depression was not improving • In July, Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the bid from the Democratic Party to run for President • Hoover and Roosevelt advocated very different approaches to fixing the depression: • Hoover believed that depression relief should come from state and local government and private agencies • Roosevelt believed that the federal government should institute new programs to aid the American people • In November 1932, FDR won the presidency and took over in March, 1933

3. First Hundred Days • During his first hundred days of office, FDR proposed and Congress passed 15 new bills • Collectively, these measures became known as the “First New Deal” • Main goal: relief (from the immediate hardships of the depression), recovery (a long-term economic recovery), and reform (to prevent future depressions of this magnitude) • Roosevelt would deliver informal radio speeches, known as “fireside chats” to the American people • Emergency Banking Bill  gave the President broad powers to deal with the banking crisis • Allowed Roosevelt to declare banking holidays (temporary closure of banks) • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)  insured bank deposits up to $5,000 • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  regulates the stock market and makes it a safer place for investment

4. Critics of the First New Deal • Conservatives accused FDR of supporting socialism • Socialist leaders claimed the New Deal did not do enough to end the depression • The American Communist Party described the New Deal as a “capitalist ruse.” • Populists, who viewed themselves as the voice of the common people, challenged that the New Deal was only helping the American elite • Roosevelt’s greatest opponents were Francis Townsend, Father Charles Coughlin, and Huey Long

5. Critics of the First New Deal

6. The Second New Deal • In the spring of 1935, Congress approved $5 billion for new job creation, headed by the Works Progress Administration • The WPA built highways, dredged rivers and harbors, and promoted soil and water conservation • Large expenditures by the federal government increased the national debt from $461 million in 1932 to $4.4 billion in 1936 • However, John Maynard Keynes, a British economist, argued that deficit spending was necessary to end the depression • Social Security Act (1935)  established unemployment insurance, insurance for victims of work-related accidents, provided aid for poverty-stricken mothers and children, the blind, and disabled, and created a pension system for the elderly

7. The Second New Deal • Rural Electrification Administration (ERA)  loaned money to electric utilities to build power lines • The government funded many water projects around the nation, including the Central Valley irrigation system in California and the Bonneville Dam in the Pacific Northwest • Wagner Act  recognized the right of employees to join labor unions and gave workers the right to collective bargaining (employers had to negotiate with unions about hours, wages, etc.) • Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)  established a minimum wage and a maximum work week and outlawed child labor • Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)  created by John L. Lewis, targeted lower paid workers and was more ethnically diverse than the AFL.

8. Additional Second New Deal Acts

9. “Packing” the Court • On February 5, 1937, Roosevelt gave a special address to Congress revealing a plan to add six additional judges to the Supreme Court • Why meant he do this? • Roosevelt claimed that since the US Constitution did not specify a number of justices, he was allowed to add more • The Supreme Court never needed to add the additional justices to pass Roosevelt’s Wagner Act

10. New Deal Effects on Women • Some women were provided with the opportunity to increase their political influence and to promote women’s rights • Eleanor Roosevelt, the first lady, toured the nation, visited farms, Indian reservations, and coal mines • The Roosevelt Administration appointed the first female cabinet member, Francis Perkins, as the Secretary of Labor • However, many historians argue that the New Deal also reinforced many traditional gender roles views of the time

11. New Deal Effects on African Americans • When the depression first hit, the first group of people to lose jobs were African Americans • Unemployment rate was almost 50%, compared to the national 25% • Black Cabinet  Roosevelt invited many African Americans to advise him • Mary McLeod Bethune  member of the Black Cabinet and founder of the Bethune Cookman College • However, not everything Roosevelt did was in support of black rights • He refused to support an anti-lynching act proposed by the NAACP

12. New Deal Effects on Native Americans • It became clear that the Dawes Act of 1887 was not benefitting the Native Americans • Indian New Deal  gave Indians economic assistance and greater control over their own affairs • Indian Civilian Conservation Corps  aided the construction of new schools and hospitals on reservations and Indian lands • Indian Reorganization Act of 1934  restored tribal control over Native American land

13. Creation of a New Political Coalition • By the time Roosevelt passed away in 1945, he had been elected to the presidency an unprecedented four times • His ability to unite many different facets of American live became known as the New Deal Coalition • This coalition united southern whites, northern blue collar workers, immigrants, poor Midwestern farmers, and African Americans • Roosevelt’s election shifted the traditionally republican vote of African Americans to democratic

14. Class Discussion • How did the New Deal expand the government’s role in the economy? • A welfare state is defined as a government that assumes responsibility for providing for the welfare of children and the poor, elderly, sick, disabled, and unemployed. How has American assumed this role? • How did the establishment of the New Deal change the nature of the presidency?