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.