The New Deal

FDR

Identification (4 Points)

• 1.Fireside Chats

Answer One

• Fireside Chats were informal talks delivered by FDR over the new medium of radio. These chats were designed to bolster the spirits of Americans suffering the effects of the Great Depression.

Identification (4 Points)

• 2.Brain Trust

Answer Two

• Brain Trust was a group of political scientists, economists and lawyers who advised FDR informally. They had much to do with the planning of the New Deal.

Identification (4 Points)

• 3.The Hundred Days

Harry Hopkins

Answer Three

• The Hundred Days was a nickname given to the first 100 days of FDR’s first term. In the “Hundred Days” a flurry of legislation was passed designed to address the problems presented by the Great Depression.

Identification (4 Points)

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDIC Building

Answer Four

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was a government agency created during the New Deal to insure depositors’ savings. This new insurance was designed to make depositors confident enough to put their money in banks across the country.

Identification (4 Points)

• 5.Securities and Exchange Commission

Joe Kennedy- The SEC’s First Commissioner

Answer Five

• Securities and Exchange Commission was a government agency set up to regulate the trading of stocks in the US. Before the SEC came into being, companies were not required to disclose information about their businesses that led to the fleecing of many investors.

Identification (4 Points)

• 6.Public Works Administration

Answer Six

• Public Works Administration was a government agency that hired unemployed people to build highways, dams sewer systems and other projects of infrastructure. This replaced the “dole” as a way if putting the unemployed to work.

Identification (4 Points)

• 7.Civilian Conservation Corps

Answer Seven

• Civilian Conservation Corps was a government agency that was designed to put people to work outdoors. They set out to put out forest fires, build reservoirs and stop soil erosion.

Identification (4 Points)

• 8.Tennessee Valley Authority

Answer Eight

• Tennessee Valley Authority was a program designed during the New Deal to help revitalize the Tennessee Valley. This agency dammed rivers in order to produce inexpensive electricity to farmers in this area who had no electricity before this.

Identification (4 Points)

• 9.Agricultural Adjustment Act

Answer Nine

• Agricultural Adjustment Act was a government program designed to help farmers make a better living. Due to overproduction that led to lowered prices for crops, farmers were not doing well. This agency paid farmers NOT to grow crops, leading to higher prices.

Identification (4 Points)

• 10.National Recovery Administration

Answer Ten

• National Recovery Administration was a government agency designed to encourage businesses to keep prices down and maintain wages. The goal was to stymie inflation but the value of the NRA was limited.

Identification (4 Points)

• 11.Huey Long

Answer Eleven

• Huey Long was a Senator from Louisiana who was very popular with the people during the Depression. He favored taking money away from the rich and distributing it to the poor.

Identification (4 Points)

• 12.Craft Unions

Answer Twelve

• Craft Unions are unions which base their membership on all of its’ members having the same skill or trade. The AFL was an example of this and they looked upon their membership as “elite”.

Identification (4 Points)

• 13.Industrial Unions

Answer Thirteen

• Industrial Unions are unions that base their membership on an industry. The CIO was an example of this. This type of union was better suited for industries like the auto industry and the steel industry.

Identification (4 Points)

• 14.”Gone With The Wind”

Answer Fourteen

• Gone With The Wind was a book written by Margaret Mitchell that portrayed the tough times in the south during and after the Civil War. People identified with the hardships shown in this popular movie because they were suffering hardships caused by the Great Depression.

Identification (4 Points)

• 15.National Labor Relations Board

Answer Fifteen

• National Labor Relations Board was a government agency designed to regulate relations between Unions and Industry. One of its’ biggest results was to allow Union members to organize workers without interference by businesses.

Short Answer One (10 Points)

• What were the three goals of the New Deal? Give some examples of how Roosevelt attempted to meet these goals.

Construction of a PWA Project in Oklahoma

Answer

• The Three Purposes (Goals) of the New Deal:• Recovery from the Depression (AAA- put more

money in farmers pockets to spend and NRA- try to keep prices in line with wages)

• Relief for Victims of the Depression- (PWA and CCC (see answers in identifications)

• Reform of the Economic System – (NLRB and SEC (see answers in identifications) and Social Security.

• Put these answers in sentence form please!

Short Answer Two (10 Points)

• List the different groups of people Roosevelt brought together to form the Democratic Coalition of voters during the 1920’s.

Voter Blocs

Answer

• a. Southern conservative Democrats• b. Urban liberal Democrats• c. Labor Unions• d. Blacks• e. Farmers• Put these answers in sentence form please!

Short Answer Three (10 Points)

• What were the provisions of the Social Security Act (1935)?

Social Security Administration

Answer

• Financing of unemployment benefits by taxing employers.

• Aid to dependent children and mothers whose fathers and/or husbands had died.

• Retirement benefits paid by taxes on employees and employers (this is the most important facet of the Social Security Act)

• Put these answers in sentence form please!

Short Answer Four (10 Points)

• What was Roosevelt’s plan to remake the Supreme Court and why did he try to make these changes?

Supreme Court Building

Answer

• Roosevelt was frustrated by the Supreme Courts’ rulings that made many pieces of New Deal legislation unconstitutional. He planned to “pack” the court by introducing legislation that would have allowed him to name an additional Justice for each Justice who was over 70 years of age. This would have raised the number of Supreme Court Justices from 9 to 15 and allowed for a majority of its’ members to be sympathetic to Roosevelt’s’ views.

• This ploy failed as people and legislators saw it as a raw “power grab”.