Launching the New Deal

1. Launching the New Deal Why did FDR easily win the 1932 election? What was the nature of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s political partnership? What were the 3 R’s and explain the purpose of each R? List and describe at least 4 of Roosevelt’s first New Deal policies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Pls1Xc3bw What does the quote at the end of the video mean?

2. Americans blamed President Hoover for the country’s economic woes. Franklin Delano Roosevelt**won the Democratic Party’s nomination. Came from wealthy family He was Theodore Roosevelt’s cousin He survived polio. (What effect does polio have on Roosevelt’s life?) He was governor of New York. (sound familiar?) Roosevelt promised relief for the poor and more public works**, government funded building programs to provide jobs. He attacked Hoover and the Republicans for their response to the Great Depression. (Why?) Roosevelt won a landslide victory B. Why did Roosevelt win the election of 1932 so easily? The Election of 1932

4. The Roosevelts Franklin Delano Roosevelt had an incredible personality and believed that it was the government’s job to take direct action to help its people. Eleanor Roosevelt** was a powerful political force in her own right, and she helped to change the role of the First Lady… How do you think she did this? Franklin and Eleanor’s marriage played a central role in Franklin Roosevelt’s political success.

5. Franklin Roosevelt Appealing blend of cheerfulness, optimism, and confidence An effective communicator (ex. fireside chats)** “I never saw him, but I knew him.”???? A reform-minded Democrat Believed the government could solve economic and social problems Eleanor Roosevelt “Eyes and ears” of her husband Directed efforts to solve several major social issues (ex. lynching of African Americans) Wrote her own newspaper column Had the trust and affection of many Americans Why did FDR need Eleanor so much? A Political Partnership

8. Franklin Roosevelt as President the First 100 Days • 1st Hundred Days** • Critical period of government activity • Roosevelt pushed Congress to put most of his New Deal** into practice. • The New Deal promised to achieve 3 goals relief, recovery and reforms**. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvcWeNf9g6A • Banking Crisis • Temporarily closed all the nation’s banks Why? • Then Congress met and Passed the Emergency Banking Act** (Govt. had power to investigate banks • Then more banking reforms were created: The Glass-Steagall** Act created the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) Can’t trade! • Within a month $1B in new deposits. • Beyond the Hundred Days • FDR and Congress continued to pass important legislation after the Hundred Days • Created the Civil Works Administration (Winter Jobs: Highways, sewer lines, airports) • Passed the Indian Reorganization Act (limited sale of Indian lands and granted some rights to self rule)

11. New Deal programs were intended to offer some relief, but the pay was too low for people to live comfortably. This is b/c the relief programs were only meant to be temporary… Why were they intended to be temporary. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)** Helped unemployed young men 18 to 25 years old Agriculture Adjustment Act (AAA)** Helped farmers by paying them NOT to grow crops. WHY??? National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) Helped business by requiring that businesses in the same industry cooperate with each other to set prices and output. $3.3 Billion for pwp Started Public Works Administration (PWA)** Labor received federal protection for the right to organize labor unions (changed the relationship b/w business and labor) Federal Securities Act Helped investors, restored confidence in the markets Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)… regulated stock market Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)** Helped build dams and other projects along the Tennessee River The New Deal – Relief!

12. Civilian Conservation Corps

16. Huey P. Long** (senator from Louisiana) Started the Share Our Wealth Society ($5K to build homes, and a $2,500/year income Father Charles Coughlin (the “radio priest”) Believed Roosevelt was not doing enough to curb the power of bankers and financial leaders Dr. Francis Townsend Criticized the New Deal for not doing enough for older Americans (wanted pensions for people over 60) The American Liberty League Believed that the New Deal went too far and was anti-business Opposition from the courts Critics of the New Deal feared that it gave the president too much power over other branches of government. Opposition from the Military? Why? While we were reducing our military who was building up theirs? https://youtu.be/gcmeV83K02E Trouble for the New Deal and the Leading Critics of the New Deal

18. F. What is the artist saying about FDR and the New Deal???

19. Section 2: The Second New Deal • How was the Second New Deal different from the First New Deal, and what program exemplified this new deal? • How did New Deal programs help to revive organized labor? • Why was 1937 a troubled year for Roosevelt and the Second New Deal? • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyAbVmAhc9g • According to the video, what was the Second New Deal?…

20. The Second Hundred Days • Roosevelt launched the Second New Deal** in the spring of 1935. • During the Second New Deal, the government’s focus shifted from aid to the people to aid to government funded employment (recovery goal) • Congress passed laws extending government oversight of the banking industry and raised taxes. Who did they raise taxes on? • Congress continued to fund more and more relief programs. Second Hundred Days • Emergency Relief Appropriations Act – stopped direct payments to Americans in need (from now on people should work for their pay) • Works Progress Administration (WPA)** – largest peacetime jobs program in U.S. history (employed 8.5 M people cost $11B) Emergency Relief • Provided guaranteed, regular payments for many people 65 and older • Provided aid for people with disabilities • Included a system of unemployment insurance Social Security**

21. B. What is the artist’s message in this picture?

24. One of the big achievements for labor during the 1930s, was the fact that they gained the ability of collective bargaining through the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) Difficult to enforce, fatally weakened by Supreme Court’s ruling in Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States Roosevelt backed the Wagner Act, or the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Outlawed a number of anti-labor practices, established the National Labor Relations Board and gave it authority to conduct voting in workplaces to determine whether employees wanted union representation Unions gained more power during FDR’s presidency The Committee for Industrial Organization** (CIO) was born in 1935. John L. Lewis led this group to break away from the American Federation of Labor (AFL). CIO helped unskilled workers more (people who worked in mass production lines) The United Auto Workers (a part of the CIO) launched a successful sit-down strike in 1936. Cost GM tens of millions of dollars a week Helped establish the CIO as a true force By the 1940s ¼ of the American workforce was unionized The New Deal Revives Organized Labor

27. The Election of 1936 • Roosevelt • Passed the Rural Electrification Act**, which provided electricity to millions of farmers (10% - 90% in a decade) • Showcased his achievements: unemployment cut in half, (16%) income and business earnings were up, New Deal programs provided hope and help • Spoke out against big business • His Critics • Republicans argued that the New Deal was overly bureaucratic (not ran by representative but by state officials) and was creating a planned economy. • American Liberty League tried to stop Roosevelt’s attack on big business. • Republican Alf Landon did not pose a serious threat. • The Results • A tremendous victory for Roosevelt • Alf Landon carried only two states. • The Union Party candidate polled less than 2 percent of the popular vote. • The Democrats again gained seats in both houses.

28. C. What psychological affect do you think the new deal had on the people of America?

29. Roosevelt’s Plan The Supreme Court had struck down many New Deal Programs This court packing plan** gave the president power to appoint many new judges and expand the Supreme Court by six more judges Roosevelt argued that changes were needed to make the courts more efficient. What do you think Roosevelt was really trying to do with his Court Packing Plan?? The Result Plan did not pass; however, the Supreme Court made rulings that favored New Deal legislation. Supreme Court upheld a minimum wage law in Washington state. Court ruled in favor of a key element of the Wagner Act. Court declared Social Security plan to be constitutional. Why do think so many people were against the Court Packing Plan?? 1937!! The Court-Packing Plan

31. Economic Downturn of 1937 The Nation’s Economy • Roosevelt had hoped to cut back on government spending, for he feared the growing federal budget deficit**. (Govt. was spending more than it was making) (America was in bad debt.) • 1937 witnessed an economic downturn and by the end of the year, about 2 million Americans had lost their jobs. • As unemployment rose during 1937 and 1938, the government spent large sums of money to help the unemployed. • F. So, what do you think was a major reason for the economic problems of 1937?? Economic Theory • British economist John Maynard Keynes argued that deficit spending could provide jobs and stimulate the economy. • FDR embraced the theories of John Maynard Keynes b/c he believed deficit spending could stimulate the economy. • The economy did begin to rebound in the summer of 1938. • However, Positive feelings about Roosevelt and the New Deal were beginning to fade.

32. G. What would be a good analogy for FDR’s government spending during the Great Depression?

34. H. Which economist do you agree with the most? Why?

35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsw4B1PWZLQ • New Deal Summary

36. Section 3: Life during the New Deal • How did the public roles of women and African Americans change during the New Deal? • How and why did artists and writers of the era tell the story of the Great Depression? • What forms of entertainment were popular during the Great Depression?

37. Women Roosevelt promoted and recognized women greatly during his presidency… Frances Perkins** – Secretary of Labor – was the first woman to head an executive office. (what does the secretary of labor do?) Ruth Bryan Owen served as minister to Denmark. Roosevelt appointed women to such posts as director of the U.S. Mint and assistant secretary of the Treasury. Women served as leaders in several New Deal agencies. Why do you think FDR was so willing to give women a greater role in America’s future? Still, women faced challenges and discrimination. Lower wages Less opportunities Hostility in the workplace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V24_r3OKWJ8 New Roles for Women

39. Roosevelt’s administration also appointed many African Americans. William Hastie** became the first black federal judge. A group of African Americans hired to fill government posts were known as the Black Cabinet**, and they served as unofficial advisors to the president. The Black Cabinet met under the leadership of Mary McLeod Bethune**, director of African American Affairs in the National Youth Administration. Still, African Americans continued to face tremendous hardships during the 1930s. Severe discrimination Thousands of African American sharecroppers and tenant farmers were not helped by New Deal programs. B. Why didn’t Franklin Delano Roosevelt do more for Black people during his presidency? (EX: Why didn’t he pass more legislation for equality?) (Think about congress??) Many African American switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party during the 1930s due to Roosevelt’s support of African American equality. What effect does this change have on America. New Roles for African Americans

40. Became the first black federal judge in American History?

41. Helped President Roosevelt Understand what the Black People of America Needed during the Great depression?

42. Federal Project Number One** provided work to artists in the fields of writing, theater, music and the visual arts. Why? Painters and sculptors fashioned works depicting the struggles of the working class. Authors and playwrights focused on the plight of the rural and urban poor. Writer John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath Songwriter Woody Guthrie celebrated the lives of ordinary people. Writer James Agee’s Let Us Now Praise Famous Men Photographers Dorothea Lange** recorded images of sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Why?? Art of the Great Depression

49. Why do you think this image became the most famous photograph of the Great Depression?... “Migrant Mother”

50. Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange was a celebrated chronicler of the Great Depression. She recorded images of jobless people in her hometown of San Francisco. Lange worked for the Farm Security Administration. She was hired to document the plight of the poor and, through her images, gain public support for New Deal programs. Lange’s photographs immortalized the poor in the hearts and minds of the American people and therefore led to the poor getting greater financial support from the government. In 1937 the federal government finally began to provide help to sharecroppers and tenant farmers. https://youtu.be/_5R7cl_CsWA