Who was Franklin Roosevelt? • Distant cousin to Teddy Roosevelt • Rising political star until he contracted polio in

1921 • FDR began grueling exercise regimen to walk

again • Could stand and walk a little with metal leg braces,

but only for short amounts of time • Wife Eleanor helped campaign for him

The Brain Trust • The country needs bold experimentation… above all, try

SOMETHING.” • FDR, 1933

• Roosevelt did not have a firm plan to end the

Depression • His goal was “a New Deal” for the American people • He had many advisors from all walks of political, social, and

economic groups • Roosevelt’s advisors were nicknamed the “Brain Trust”

Fireside Chats • Roosevelt was an excellent communicator

• He would frequently address the nation by radio • Explained his policies in simple, conversational

terms • Presented himself as an optimist to restore public

confidence

• Bank Chat

Relief • Short-term actions designed to tide people over

until the economy recovers

Recovery • Restore the economy by increasing incentives to

produce and rebuild people’s purchasing power

Reform • Fix the defects in the American economy to

ensure another depression never happens again

Emergency Banking Relief Act AKA the Bank Holiday • All banks were closed and inspected by

regulators • The stable banks were reopened and certified

safe

Federal Emergency Relief Act • Funded state and local governments to provide

emergency relief and enabled millions to be hired on “make-work” projects

Civilian Conservation Corps • Gave jobs to young men, such as planting trees

and cleaning up forests • Most pay was sent home to their parents

Public Works Administration • Created federal jobs by building public projects,

such as school, roads, courts, post offices, and bridges

Works Progress Administration • Created jobs by hiring artists, writers, and

musicians to paint murals, produce plays, and create other artworks

• Murals!

Priming the Pump • Roosevelt believed pouring money into the

economy would get it working again • More $$ = more demand for products • More demand = more workers making products • More workers = more $$ = more demand

National Recovery Administration

• Asked businesses to follow codes which set standard prices, production limits, and minimum wages

Agriculture Adjustment Acts • Paid farmers to plant less to increase prices • Government bought farm surpluses and stored

them until prices went up

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation • Insured bank deposits so that people would not

lose their savings in the event of a bank failure

Tennessee Valley Authority • Built 21 government-owned dams along

Tennessee River, controlling floods and producing electricity

Securities and Exchange Commission • Created to watch over the stock market, prevent

fraud, and guard against another stock market collapse

National Labor Relations Act • Gave workers the right to form unions,

collectively bargain, and submit grievances (complaints) to the National Labor Relation Board

Social Security Act • Provided workers with unemployment insurance,

old age pensions, and insurance if they died early

• Workers and their employers each paid contributions to fund these benefits

American Liberty League • Who: group of industrialists opposed to the New Deal • Objectives: protect the rights of businesses to operate

without government interference • No problem with government policies that assisted or

encouraged business • No real popular support

• Seen as “organized money”

Francis E Townsend • Who: elderly physician and author of the

Townsend Plan (which he wrote in a local newspaper)

• Objective: have the government pay $200 to every American over the age of 60

• Developed a following of (about) five million nationwide

Charles E Coughlin • Who: Catholic priest from Detroit with a radio program • Objective: placed the blame for the Depression on

Jewish bankers and formed the National Union for Social Justice (a pro-labor group)

• 30 million followers, but quickly silenced and completely ignored once WWII began

Huey P Long • Who: Senator from Louisiana and “Kingfish” of

Louisiana politics • Objective: claimed administration was not doing enough

to help people and created the “Share Our Wealth” campaign • Guaranteed $2500/ year to every American, free education, a

$5000 housing allowance for families, and much much more! • Long assassinated in 1935

The Supreme Court • Who: the third branch of government • Objective: The Court ruled many New Deal programs

(AAA, NIRA) unconstitutional • Roosevelt responded with court-packing plan

• Add six new justices to the court to protect New Deal programs from judicial review

• Two anti-New Deal justices start to vote in favor of New Deal programs • Plan abandoned