The “New Deal”

How the greatest economic crisis in American history shaped American

politics, culture and society

The Response of the Hoover Administration

• Positive statements aggravate the Depression crisis

• Hoover’s background

• Hoover’s actions to stem the economic crisis

• Creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932)

Hoover’s Response (cont.)

• Unemployment continued and farm prices dropped dramatically

• Violent farm protests by 1932

• Hoover was limited by his own governmental philosophy

• Hoover championed “voluntarism” as a solution

Hoover’s Response (cont.)

• Growing inability to compromise with Congress

• Hoover’s unpopularity grows

• His name becomes synonymous with the Depression

Bonus March• In the late spring of 1932 some

20,000 jobless World War veterans, many with their wives and children, descended on Washington, dumping the Depression on the doorstep of the Capitol and the White House. Two months later, when they had overstayed their grudging welcome, they were driven out of the city.

Hoovervilles

Crudely built camps put up usually on the edge of a town to house the dispossessed and destitute during the depression of the 1930s.

The Election of 1932

• Democrats nominated Franklin Roosevelt

• FDR’s background wealthy

• Republicans nominated Hoover

• FDR projects the image that he will take action as President

• Results of the Election

“The New Deal”: A “Revolution”?

• Origins of the phrase• Major success =

restoration of confidence• FDR’s “Brain Trust”• Reliance on Social

Workers--Frances Perkins and Harry Hopkins

The “New Deal”: A “Revolution”? (cont.)

• Bi-partisan support for FDR publicly and in Congress

Changes Made

• Federal government directly provided services to the American people -- “welfare state”

• Vast centralization of national power

• Increase in power of the presidency

• Democratic party becomes majority party

• Blacks vote for Democrats

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Man

• Strong president who enjoyed leading

• Great politician• Used the radio effectively

-- “fireside chats”• Great ability to project

empathy• Many Americans think of

FDR as part of the family• More loved and hated than

any other president

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt

• Creates model for the active first lady

• Activist, especially for Blacks and women

• Real concern for the poor

• FDR’s “eyes and legs”• Reputation for being

constantly on the go

The Culture of the 1930’s

• Return to political and social concern in ‘30’s literature--John Reed Clubs

• John Dos Passos-- U.S.A. (1938)

• John Steinbeck--Grapes of Wrath (1939)

• Richard Wright--Native Son (1940)

The Culture of the 1930’s (cont.)

• I’ll Take My Stand (1930)• Thomas Wolfe• William Faulkner

--Absalom! Absalom! (1936)• James Agee and Walker

Evans--Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941)

• 1930’s Movies-- “The Wizard of Oz”--The Marx Brothers

Roosevelt’s Second Term (1937-1941)

• Election of 1936• FDR vs. Alf Landon

(R-Kan)• Biggest landslide since

1820• The “Roosevelt

Recession” of 1937-1938

• Harsh CIO strikes

The Court Reorganization Act (Spring, 1937)

• Supreme Court attack on the “New Deal” (1934-1936)

• FDR’s proposals for change• Court fight eroded public confidence in

Roosevelt administration• Supreme Court suddenly begins to

reverse itself on the “New Deal”• Congressional opposition takes shape• Wanted to “load” the Supreme Court_• FDR wanted to write a new Bill of Rights

and change the US Fundamentally

Summary of the Results of the “New Deal”

• Did not end the Depression• Many agricultural problems unsolved, especially for

southern Blacks and tenant farmers• Did restore national hope• Controls were built into the economy to avert future

crises--Federal Securities Act of 1933 and SEC (1934)

• The Government as “broker state”• Restoration of confidence in U.S. government and

economy—but both different than before 1932

The “New Deal” and Organized Labor

• FDR’s sympathy with union concerns grows

• Growth in union membership

• Wagner Act (1935)--Creation of NLRB

• Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) created in 1935

The “New Deal” and Organized Labor (cont.)

• The Leadership of John L. Lewis and others

• Use of the “sit down strike”

• Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)

--minimum wage: 40 cents

--prohibition of child labor

--maximum work week of 40 hours

The “New Deal” and American Banking

• Emergency Banking Act (March 6, 1933)

• Use of the “fireside chat” to explain the bank holiday to the American public

• Initial success• Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation (1933)• US abandoned the gold

standard

The “New Deal” and the Problem of Individual Economic Relief

• Justification for the “alphabet soup” agencies of the “New Deal”

• Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA—spring, 1933)

--directed by Harry Hopkins

• Civil Works Administration (1933-34)

Problem of Individual Economic Relief (cont.)

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC—spring, 1933)

• Public Works Administration (PWA—June, 1933)

--Directed by Harold Ickes

• Works Progress Administration (WPA—1935)

The “New Deal” and the American Farmer

• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA—spring, 1933)

• Commodity Credit Corporation (1933)

• “Dust Bowl” migrations-- “Okies”

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA—spring, 1933)

• Farm Security Administration (FSA—1937)

The Social Security Act (1935)

• Myth of poor being lazy exposed

• 13 weeks of unemployment insurance

• Pension fund for retired people over 65

• Funds also for disabled and single parent families

• Response to more radical schemes

The Social Security Act (cont.)

• Huey Long’s “Share Our Wealth” program

• Revenue Act of 1935 (“Soak the Rich” Tax)

• Health insurance pulled due to congressional resistance

• Problems with Social Security initially and long-term

• Important “New Deal” legacy

Problem of Individual Economic Relief (cont.)

• WPA directed by Harry Hopkins

• Federal Writers and Artists projects

• National Youth Administration (NYA)

• National Recovery Administration (NRA—1933)