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THE NEW DEAL (1933-1939)
Chapter 21
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Born to wealth and privilege; moderate
successful politician before he was crippled by polio in 1921
Overcame the handicap and elected governor of NY; took almost absolute control of the Democratic party
Infinite charm, charisma, a good speaker, and a total hardcore politician
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Easily defeats Hoover in 1932 by assembling
southern/western farmers, industrial workers, immigrants, and Catholics against the Republican Party
Took the oath of office when the country was virtually at “rock bottom” psychologically; his primary goal was to regain their confidence in the government
FDR campaigned for fixing the country, but was vague and probably didn’t have a full plan for what he was going to do
He surrounded himself with expert advisors for virtually all aspects of government
The First New Deal
The First Hundred DaysExceptional in the amount of legislation
he got passedCCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)FERA (Federal Emergency Relief
Administration)CWA (Civil Works Administration)A total of 15 major laws
The First New Deal In the first 3 months, FDR saves the
banking system from collapseDeclares a bank holiday (Hoover thought of it,
but FDR convinced him it wouldn’t work so he could use it for his own benefit)
Temporarily halts all banking operations and calls Congress into session to pass the Emergency Banking Act
Passage of federal insurance of bank accounts (FDIC)
Slowly gets America off the gold standard
The First New Deal
FDR’s goal was not to nationalize the economy (think back to the fears of the anti-Federalists)All he was after was reforming and restoring
the US to its former glory in the early 1920s FDR as the master politician used
“fireside chats” to attempt to personally relate to Americans; making them feel like someone in government cared individually for him
The First New Deal FDR saw the New Deal as an alternative to
socialism and the conservative/totalitarian responses to the global economic crisis in Europe
FDR’s first administration was noted for conservation, regional planning, and development of public power sources (Tennessee Valley Authority)
After the first Hundred Days, FDR set his sights on long term economic recovery as his flurry of legislation provided temporarily relief
The First New Deal
FDR wanted to put “first things first”; deal with domestic issues and worry about foreign policy later; however, he did extend recognition to the Soviet Union, easing some tensions left over from WWIKept the Good Neighbor Policy in Latin
America, but Mexico tested him numerous times
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) The centerpiece of FDR’s plan for beating
the Depression Allowed FDR to gain control of industry and
business within the US to permit cartels and monopolies to operate more freely to encourage and stimulate the economy
This is just one aspect of how FDR became the most powerful figure in the Western world during the 1930s; he took Article 2 of the Constitution to new extremes
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) NRA set standards for production,
prices, and wages in the textile, steel, mining, and auto industries
This is almost a temporarily nullification of all the Progressive era legislation that battled corporate trusts
Agriculture’s New Deal
The entire South and Great Plains region had been devastated by the “Dust Bowl”; tenants and sharecroppers sought help from the federal government and even made their own union
Agriculture’s New Deal Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA);
agricultural problems were addressed and helped landowners, but did nothing for tenants and sharecroppersFDR didn’t want to touch that subject as he was
fearful that he would lose support from those more conservative because he it might look like he was being supportive of black/minority farmers
AAA helped raise farm prices and incomes for larger farms; set quotas for major crops and paid farmers not to plant more than needed
The New Deal and Housing Home ownership was becoming a mark
of respectability, but the Depression had caused many foreclosures and was devastating the housing industry
Hoover’s administration established a federally backed bank to issue home loans
The New Deal and Housing FDR quickly moved to protect
homeowners from foreclosures and stimulate new constructionHome Owners Loan Corporation
○ Purpose was to refinance homes to prevent foreclosures; amortized shorter loans to ones with longer time periods (20 to 30 years)
Federal Housing Administration○ Improve housing standards and conditions;
find funding for homeowners
Labor and Critics of the New Deal Earliest critics were members of the American
Liberty League; attempted to unseat Democrats in the 1934 election by scare tactics of big government controlling almost all facets of American life
Huey Long was FDR’s biggest challenge and critic; Governor of LouisianaPushed a radical populist/socialistic proposal to make
“every man a king” through radical redistribution of the nation’s wealth
He became so popular among FDR’s constituents that he seemed to be a real threat to run against FDR as an independent candidate, but he was assassinated in 1935
Labor and Critics of the New Deal Father Charles Coughlin; the ‘Radio Priest’
who pushed for free silver wanted to nationalize banks; sort of a kickback to William Jennings Bryan; had a tenuous relationship with Huey Long, saw him as a pseudo-political adversary
Both Coughlin and Long had one thing in common; they both thought that FDR was doing a terrible job
Labor and Critics of the New Deal Labor Movements
Previous depressions in the 1870s and 1890s had devastated the labor movements
FDR’s election helped to boost morale for labor unions; really pushing for recognition and support with the leadership of fairly militant individuals
Explosion of strikes in 1934 shook FDR’s connection with labor as radical ideas and connections with communism/socialism influenced labor movements
Labor’s goal was simple: fairer, freer, more equal America
Labor and Critics of the New Deal Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)
Labor upheaval in 1934 posed a challenge to the leadership of the American Federation League (AFL)
A walkout led by John Lewis led to the formation of the CIO
CIO contended that the Depression was caused by the imbalance of wealth and income in the nation
By 1940, union membership was close to 9 million
The Second New Deal 1935 and 1936 were trying times for FDR as
his inability to bring about full recovery of the economy led more to attack him and his policiesHis advisors argued that he should move further
to the left in order to quell the radicals To make matters worse, Americans were
realizing “first things first” wasn’t the only issue; fascism in Europe was demanding a president that would respond appropriately for the US
The Second New Deal
The election of 1936 was a total landslide; one of the most one-sided elections in American history; greatly boosted FDR’s esteem for himself, self-affirmationAfrican Americans came over in droves to
support the Democratic party due to the inclusion of blacks in New Deal policies; also social and political recognition of black leaders
The Second New Deal The Second New Deal had one goal in mind:
economic securitySocial Security Act of 1935 – what we’re still dealing
with today; national pension fund, unemployment insurance; the nation’s most expensive domestic program today; led to the idea of the “American Welfare State”
Critics argued (and still argue today) that the system will eventually kill itself by too few people being able to collect (advanced democracy socialist welfare; too many collecting and not enough young people working; our baby boom in the late 1940s is causing issues for the program today)
The Second New Deal
The Second New Deal had one goal in mind: economic securityFDR knew it wasn’t perfect, but it was the best
he could hope for at the timeHowever, this is a totally dramatic and verging
on radical departure from the traditional role of government in the US
FDR felt the best way to make money for the program was to tax workers and employers
The Second New Deal
Works Progress Administration (WPA)Led by Harry Hopkins; changed the
physical face of the USPurpose was to create “jobs, jobs, jobs!!”
according to HopkinsNotably known for the (pre-oral history)
interviews with former slaves; some of the earliest oral history work and some of it is very good research material
FDR and Foreign Policy
Adolf Hitler in Germany and Benito Mussolini in Italy posed a serious threat to the peace of Europe during the 1930sAs they became more belligerent,
Americans became more worried, wanted some type of response from FDR
Most Americans preferred to declare neutrality (there’s enough problems at home; all we need now is to get back into another war)
FDR and Foreign Policy
Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1936 Civil War in Spain contributed to divisions
within the United States; Americans were choosing sides, but the government remained neutral
America was forced again to remain neutral in 1938 as Nazi Germany grew to a greater menace, especially after Hitler began systematically targeting Jews in 1938
FDR and the Court Packing Incident FDR was growing tired of the Supreme
Court attempting to strike down his New Deal laws (executive branch trying to dominate the judicial branch)
He asked Congress to enlarge the SC because he thought that the workload was too much for the old justices, but he was really trying to pack the court with like-minded people to get his laws out of the muddy waters of constitutionality
FDR and the Court Packing Incident Public opposition quickly caused him to back
down and give up on the idea (he had been given so much control, and he was trying anything to make the executive branch dominant over the other two)The public (and Republicans) were screaming
that he was going to be the third major world dictator
However, after the incident, the SC had a new willingness to accommodate his New Deal polices
Minorities in the New Deal Era
WomenEleanor Roosevelt transformed the role of the
first lady; acted as a model for an activist woman
However, women at large saw their position and rights decline; losing jobs at faster rates than men; almost no New Deal legislation helped them
IndiansGained greater control over their own rights by
the Indian Recognition Act of 1934
Minorities in the New Deal Era
BlacksStill subject to lynching, denial of rights by
poll taxes; racism still very prevalent in the south○ Sundown Towns; Vidor, Texas; Comanche County
The “Southern Veto” helped affirm the right to a welfare state entitled to middle class or above, white Americans only
The SSA Act denied coverage to agricultural and domestic workers (blacks and poor whites)
Minorities in the New Deal Era
Blacks were easily the hardest hit by the Depression; survival in general was their rallying cry
FDR did appoint a number of blacks to federal appointments
Federal employment practices discriminated on the basis of race
Blacks would finally win inclusion in New Deal programs in the 1960s through Johnson’s Great Society program
The End of the New Deal Era After FDR’s court packing incident and
his lack of funding support for his own New Deal programs in 1936, Republicans gained enough support to win seats in Congress
FDR could no longer dominate Congress; his attempts to unseat conservative Democrats and Republicans failed
The End of the New Deal Era Roosevelt was blamed for the severe
economic slump in 1937; he had to resort to huge government spending again
By the end of 1938, the Republican party was revived and a challenge to FDR
The Depression doesn’t end here, it takes another devastating world war to do that.