FDR Offers Relief and Recovery

• Why it Matters-Why it Matters- The Great Depression challenged the faith of Americans that democracy could handle the crisis. Faced with similar circumstances, people in Germany, Italy, and Japan had turned to dictators to deliver them from despair. The New Deal had great significance because America’s response to the Great Depression proved that a democratic society could overcome the challenges presented by the sever economic crisis.

Roosevelt Takes Charge• 1932, Hoover had no chance

of winning reelection.– Americans were ready for a

change. – A relatively unknown governor

of New York accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for President.

• America had ironically chosen a Presidential candidate who had never known economic hardship.– He grew up privileged and with

the best schooling.– 1905- He married his distant

cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, President Teddy Roosevelt’s niece.

– He rose quickly through the political ranks-NY Senate, Assistant Sec. Of Navy under Wilson, VP candidate in the 1920 election.

• Summer of 1921, while vacationing, FDR slipped off his boat into the cold Atlantic waters.– He experienced a high fever

and severe pains in his back and legs.

– 2 weeks later he was diagnosed with Polio and never fully gained the use of his legs.

• With Eleanor’s help, he made a political comeback by being elected the governor of NY and earning the reputation as a reformer.– When he became the

Presidential nominee, he campaigned on “a new deal for the American people.”

– He had been vague on how to combat the Great Depression.

America Votes• He was convinced the federal government needed to

play an active role in promoting recovery and providing relief.– “The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the

country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and to try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something!”

• Hoover wanted state and local relief and through private agencies.– Even long time Republicans deserted Hoover.– Roosevelt beat him by 7 million votes but Americans had to

wait 4 long months in between election and inauguration.

Putting Together a Winning Team• FDR sought the advice of a diverse group of men

and women.– The press nicknamed them the “Brain Trust.”– Though he was a Democrat, he displayed openness to

nominating two Republicans to serve as his Sec. Of Ag. And Sec. Of Interior.

– He nominated Frances Perkins, a social worker, to be his Sec. Of Labor and she became the first woman Cabinet member in U.S. history.

• He depended heavily on his wife.– She traveled and interacted with people while serving

as his “eyes and ears.”

The First 100 Days• Roosevelt proposed and Congress passed 15 bills.

– First New Deal had 3 goals: Relief, Recovery, and Reform– He wanted to provide relief from the immediate hardships,

and achieve long-term economic recovery. He also instituted reforms to prevent future depressions.

Restoring the Nation’s Confidence• Late 1932, banks had begun to fail in mass

numbers.– A banking panic gripped the nation as

frightened people withdrew their savings.– The day after his inauguration, he called

Congress into a special session and convinced them to pass laws to shore up the nation’s banking system.

– The Emergency Banking Bill gave the President broad powers-including the power to declare a 4-day bank “holiday”.

– Banks all over the country were ordered to close which gave them time to get their accounts in order before they reopened.

– 8 days after inauguration, he delivered an informal radio speech to the American people.• This was the first of many “fireside chats.”• They became an important way for his to

communicate with the American people.• In the first chat, he explained the banking holiday

and that Americans did not need to rush to the banks to withdraw money.

• He had convinced them that banks were a safe place to keep their money.

Reforming the Financial System• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

insured bank deposits up to $5,000.• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

regulated the stock market and made it a safer place for investments.

• Runs on banks ended because confidence in the system was being restored.– Americans now believed that they would not lost

their life savings in a bank failed. – The stock market also stabilized and regulation

reassured investors.

Helping Farmers• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) which sought

to end overproduction and raise crop prices.• AAA provided financial aid, paying farmers

subsidies not to plant part of their land and kill off excess stock.– By 1934, crop prices began to rise.

TVA• Tennessee Valley Authority built a series of

dams in the Tennessee River valley to control floods and to generate electric power.– After this, the majority of people had running

water, electricity, and a proper sewage system.– The agency also replanted forests, built

fertilizer plants, all which created jobs.• Private power companies complained that they

could not compete with the TVA because the agency paid no taxes.– Socialism? Government control of business?

Industrial Recovery• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided jobs

for more than 2 million young men.– They replanted forests, built trails, dug irrigation

ditches, fought fires.– Extended work and training to Mexican Americans

and other minority youth.– FDR’s favorite New Deal program.

• Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) granted federal funds to state and local agencies to help the unemployed.– $500 million appropriated represented the largest

peacetime expenditure by the federal government.• Civil Works Administration (CWA) provided jobs

on public-works projects.• Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) loaned

money at low interest rates to homeowners who could not meet their mortgage payments.

• Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured bank loans used for building and repairing homes.

Industrial Recovery• National Recovery Administration

(NRA) Roosevelt called the “most important and far reaching legislation ever enacted by the American Congress”– Developed codes of fair

competition to govern industries.– The codes established minimum

wages for workers and minimum prices for the goods that business sold.

– Congress wanted the codes to increase the wages of workers so they could buy more goods and raise prices so companies could make a profit.

• Public Works Administration (PWA) built bridges, dams, power plants, and government buildings.– Improved the nations

infrastructure while creating millions of jobs.

The Right Says “Too Much”• Government is too

powerful and telling businesses how operate.

• To conservatives, the New Deal was destroying free enterprise.

• Huey Long, Louisiana Senator started a “share the wealth” program that proposed high taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, and the redistribution of their income to poor Americans.– Roosevelt

actually considered Long a political threat.

The Cradle Will RockThe Cradle Will Rock, , 19371937

The Cradle Will RockThe Cradle Will Rock, , 19371937

Orson Welles & John Houseman

The theater, when it’s good, is always

dangerous!

WPA BookbindingWPA BookbindingWPA BookbindingWPA Bookbinding

The The American Guide American Guide SeriesSeries

The The American Guide American Guide SeriesSeries