franklin d. roosevelt and the new deal america: past and present chapter 26
TRANSCRIPT
The Great Depression
1920s optimism drives increase in expectations of a better way of life
After 1929 despair sets in
The Great Bull Market
1928--soaring stock prices attract individual, corporate investment
1929--stock market crashes– Directly affects 3 million– Credit crunch stifles business
Businesses lay off workers Demand for consumer goods declines
The Great Depression
Hardship affects all classes The middle class loses belief in ever-
increasing prosperity Thousands of young homeless, jobless
Fighting the Depression
Republican attempts to overcome catastrophe flounder
Depression gives Democrats opportunity to regain power
Hoover and Voluntarism
Hoover initially seeks solution through voluntary action, private charity
Eventually aids farmers and bankers Resists Democratic efforts to give direct
aid to the unemployed– Perceived as indifferent to human suffering– Programs seen as incompetent
The Emergence of Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt– Born to wealth and privilege– 1921--crippled by polio– 1928--elected governor of New York– Talented politician
1932--defeats Hoover with farmer- worker-immigrant-Catholic coalition
The Hundred Days
Banking system saved from collapse Fifteen major laws provide relief New Deal aims to reform and restore,
not nationalize, the economy
Roosevelt and Recovery
National Recovery Administration– Industries formulate codes to eliminate cut-
throat competition, ensure labor peace– Codes favor big business, unenforceable– 1935--NRA ruled unconstitutional
Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933– Farmers paid to take land out of cultivation– Prices increase– Sharecroppers, tenant farmers dispossessed
Roosevelt and Relief
1933--Harry Hopkins placed in charge of RFC to direct aid to unemployed
1933--Civilian Conservation Corps provides employment to young people
1935--Works Progress Administration place unemployed on federal payroll
Programs never sufficiently funded
Angry Voices
Father Charles Coughlin advocates nationalizing banks, anti-Semitism
Francis Townsend calls for wealth redistribution from young to the elderly
Huey Long calls for redistribution of wealth by seizing private fortunes
Social Security
1935--Social Security Act passed Criticisms– Too few people would collect pensions – Unemployment package inadequate
Establishes pattern of government aid to poor, aged, handicapped
Labor Legislation
1935--Wagner Act – allows unions to organize – outlaws unfair labor practices
1938--Fair Labor Standard Act –maximum hour –minimum wage
Impact of the New Deal
Roosevelt’s leftward turn erodes support for Coughlin, Townsend, Long
Remains within mainstream of American traditions
Helps labor unions most Helps women, minorities least
Rise of Organized Labor
1932--National Recovery Act spurs union organizers
Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) formed by John L. Lewis
CIO unionizes steel, auto industries 1940--CIO membership hits 5 million,
28% of labor force unionized
The New Deal Record on Help to Minorities
Crop reduction program allows whites to fire or evict blacks, Hispanics
Public works programs help by providing employment
New Deal figures convince minorities that the government is on their side
1934--Indian Reorganization Act gives American Indians greater control
Women at Work
Position of women deteriorates in ‘30s– Jobs lost at a faster rate than men– Hardly any New Deal programs help
Progress in government– Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor, the
first woman cabinet member– Women appointed to several other posts– Eleanor Roosevelt a model for activism
End of the New Deal
1936--New Deal peaks with Roosevelt’s reelection
Congress resists programs after 1936
The Election of 1936
FDR’s campaign– Attacks the rich – Promises further reforms – Defeats Republican Alf Landon
Democrats win lopsided majorities in both houses of Congress
FDR coalition: South, cities, labor, ethnic groups, African-Americans, poor
The Supreme Court Fight
Supreme Court blocks several of FDR’s first-term programs
1937--FDR seeks right to "pack" Court Congressional protest forces retreat FDR’s opponents emboldened
The New Deal in Decline
1936--cutbacks for relief agencies 1937--severe slump hits economy Roosevelt blamed, resorts to huge
government spending 1938--Republican party revives