FDR & the Results of the New Deal

• Objective: I can examine how the power between the branches of government changed with the New Deal.

• Preview: Work on your unit page.

• Process: New Deal Notes.

• On Your Own: Movie of choice.

Who was FDR Helping?• Farmers: (AAA)

• Worst off states: Tennessee (TVA)

• Young men: (CCC/WPA), 3 million men 18-25 years old.

• Teachers: (NIRA/CWA) build schools, pay salaries.

• Workers: (NIRA/NRA) collective bargaining, ban on child labor.

• Homeless/Elderly/Unemployed/Disabled: (FERA/SSA)

• Foreclosed: (HOLC/FHA)

Under Attack• The New Deal had not ended

the Great Depression.

• FDR had agreed to a policy of deficit spending—spending more money than the government receives in revenue.

Critics of the New Deal

Liberals• Said the New Deal did not

go far enough to help the poor and to reform the economic system.

• Wanted to eliminate social and economic inequalities.

Conservatives• Said the programs gave

too much control to the government.

• Government too powerful, too big.

• Interfered with the free-market economy.

FDR Tries to Pack the Courts

• Because two of his programs had been dismantled by the Supreme Court, FDR asked for Congress to pass a court-reform bill to allow him to appoint 6 new Supreme Court justices.

• “Court Packing bill” caused great protest in Congress, separation of powers violation.

• FDR got his way, but not with the bill. 1 elderly justice retired, then over the next 4 years, 6 more retired.

American Liberty League• Father Charles Coughlin: Roman

Catholic priest, broadcast radio sermons to ~45 million people that combined economic/political/religious ideas. At first a supporter then against, he thought FDR was too friendly with bankers. Anti-Semitism caused him to lose support.

• Dr. Francis Townsend: physician and health officer, thought FDR wasn’t doing enough for the poor and elderly.

• Huey Long: Senator from Louisiana, wanted to run for president, wanted a nationwide social program called Share-Our-Wealth enacted. Take money from the rich and give it to the poor. Was assassinated in 1935.

Eleanor Roosevelt

• Social reformer & humanitarian.

• Civil rights/women’s rights activist

• Children often wrote to her about their conditions/issues.

• Traveled the country to observe social conditions and reminded the president about the suffering of Americans.

Election of 1936• Republicans pick Alfred Landon:

governor of Kansas. Only won 2 states.

• Democrats stick with President Roosevelt.

• Marked the 1st time that most African Americans had voted Democrat rather than Republican.

• Most lopsided election in American history.

The Second New Deal

• Meant to help:

• Sharecroppers/migrant workers/poor farmers

• Professionals: wrote guides to cities, collected slave narratives, painted murals, took pictures, etc.

• Women/minorities: Eleanor Roosevelt

• Young students: financial aid to continue to go to school in exchange for working part-time at that school.

Social Security Act• Passed in 1935, implemented in

1936.

• Old-age insurance: 65 years and up; half of the money from the worker and half from the employer. Helped make retirement comfortable during this time.

• Unemployment compensation: federal tax on employers from each state.

• Aid to families with dependent children and the disabled: paid for by federal tax money.