FDR and the New Deal Homework AssessmentAnswers to the quiz: Check your work carefully!

C. FDR was crippled by polio.

Franklin Roosevelt had been afflicted by polio in the early 1920s, just as his political star had started to rise. Polio is a water born illness that often kills its victims within 24 to 48 hours; those who survive the illness frequently suffered partial paralysis. Roosevelt attempted to rehabilitate his legs, but was never successful in doing so.

B. Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover was so despised by the year 1932, that the Democrats could have trotted out Kaiser Wilhelm II and probably defeated him in a fair election. Against FDR, he didn’t stand a chance. His perceived lack of compassion – a product of laissez-faire economics and the brutal methods he authorized against the Bonus Army – could not be overcome. He should have quit politics after the Food Administration!

D. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself! – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. An I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.”

D. Banks

The Federal Bank Holiday was a nice euphemism; however, everyone in America realized that in 1933, the banking system in our nation was badly broken. Roosevelt literally closed every bank in America and insisted that none of them would be re-opened until they had agreed to new rules that would ensure the safety of depositors money. Later reforms would make bank deposits even more secure: the FDIC.

B. “Fireside Chats”

Using the most forward thinking technology of the day – the radio broadcast – Franklin Delano Roosevelt would explain in the simplest terms all of the legislation and proposals that he an his administration made. Families gathered around the radio and were lifted up by his optimist outlook and confident, forward planning. Unlike Hoover, FDR was actually doing something!

The Goals of the New Deal

The New Deal was created in order to provide relief for the poor and unemployed – women, children, and the disabled were targeted for assistance.

The New Deal was created in order to stimulate the economy through jobs programs and direct aide to ailing businesses.

The New Deal was created in order to prevent future depressions through government regulation.

C. The Federal Deposit Insurance CorporationAt the time, FDIC guaranteed all bank deposits up to around $5000. Today, your bank deposits are secure up to $250,000. The government insures the deposit, guaranteeing to replace the money if – somehow – the bank manages to lose your savings. There are some downsides to the program, notably, that the government can sort of take its sweet time getting you your money back. However, in general, the promise of the FDIC provides Americans with great confidence in our banks.

F. The Public Works AdministrationThe PWA was set up to provide jobs for men and women in construction and other municipally funded projects. Some were extremely large in scope, like the Grand Coulee Dam. Other projects were much smaller in scale – town halls, school building, or airports, for example. Overall, the program employed hundreds of thousands of people – providing jobs and spending money for much of the nation’s population, and helping to restore the economy.

A. Federal Emergency Relief AdministrationThe FERA was set up in order to provide direct relief to the states. Federal money was distributed to state agencies who were better able to target areas of need and to identify the organization who might best be able to help those in dire straights. Church groups, charitable organizations, and food banks who were known to be effective distributors to the needy would thereby receive government funding to help the people in the most immediate need.

This FERA food bank was an effective way to provide for the needy. These men and women benefited from FERA funding.

C. The Works Progress AdministrationThe WPA offered jobs to skilled laborers like teachers, artist, musicians, and writers. Some of the most outstanding works of literature during the 1930s started off as WPA projects, including novels by Zora Neale Hurston, James Agee, and John Steinbeck and the photography of Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. Young writers and artists scoured the landscape collecting the stories of average Americans during the Great Depression, and the nation benefited both economically and culturally.

E. The National Recovery AdministrationThis agency had nothing at all to do with guns. It was a program to encourage businesses to cooperate with the federal government in order to reduce layoffs, keep wages at a reasonable level, and control the price of goods. It placed many restrictions on free market capitalism, for FDR believed that some of the excesses of laissez-faire economics had been causes of the Great Depression. Later, the Supreme Court would rule the NRA unconstitutional, much to the chagrin of Franklin Roosevelt and his followers.

D. Tennessee Valley AuthorityThe TVA is one of the more successful programs instituted during the New Deal – especially if you consider longevity as a part of the criteria. The Tennessee Valley Authority is still around, damming river and producing electricity. In Appalachia, one of the poorest areas of the South, the agency was able to dam up the frequently flooding river, produce electricity using hydroelectric power, and use the proceeds in order to build schools, municipal buildings, and public works projects.

B. The Civilian Conservation Corps

The CCC provided jobs for young men across the nation in national parks. The men were provided with jobs grading trails, building park shelters, camp sights, and small dams and bridges, or planting trees in forested areas. While the program put money in the pockets of many families, it may have been most beneficial simply because it took some of the most unruly characters – young men without jobs or money – out of the communities where they might be most likely to cause trouble.

B. Roosevelt’s Court Packing Plan

14. The political cartoon above is criticizing President Franklin Roosevelt for –

A. being a socialist agitator.

B. his “Supreme Court Packing” plan.

C. abandoning his New Deal programs.

D. attending too many ballgames.

The Enemies of FDR: Huey Long

Known as the “Kingfisher,” Huey Long was a proto-fascist Senator from Louisiana who introduced the “Share Our Wealth” plan to the nation in the early 1930s. A fierce critic of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Long was ambitious to become President of the United States himself, and he was willing to say anything to get into power. He believed that by capping income at $1 Million and seizing all of the remaining profits for redistribution, everyone would benefit.

The Enemies of FDR: Father Charles Coughlin

This “radio priest” from Detroit, Michigan was well known for his anti-Semitic rants and his criticism of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As his vitriolic sermons became increasing politicized and cluttered with bigoted comments, his audience and his influence shrank.

Critics of FDR: Frances Townsend

Dr. Frances Townsend was a critic of the President who’s suggestions were ultimately adopted – at least in part. Noting that many elderly people felt that they were an economic drag on their families and that many were depressed as a result, Townsend proposed a pension system for anyone over the age of 60. They should receive $200 a month, as long as they pledged to spend every dollar. This idea, while viewed suspiciously at first, eventually was folded into the Social Security Act. It was viewed as a way to increase business sales and assist the elderly all at once.

Ralph the Republican!