Responses to the

Great Depression

& New Deal

Hoover vs. Roosevelt

Hoover Presidency

1929-1933

FDR’s Presidency

1933-1945

Hoover Presidency 1929-1933

FDR’s Presidency

1933-1945

Hoover’s Response Hoover believed charity & government

programs would just make people dependent

He believed that government shouldn’t intervene to help businesses either

Instead, he predicted that things would get better

When FDR came into office…

¼ of the nation’s workforce was unemployed

¼ million families had defaulted on their mortgages

1.2 million Americans were homeless

FDR elected in 1932 Promised to help people

The New Deal

FDR Enacted The New Deal FDR demanded "broad executive power to wage

a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe."

FDR’s Fireside Chats

FDR began weekly radio addresses called “fireside chats”

In these addresses he tried to reassure and unite the nation

The First 100 Days

In FDR’s first 100 days in office, he pushed 15 major bills through Congress

Reshaped every aspect of the economy – from banking and industry to agriculture and social welfare

He called his approach “The New Deal”

The New Deal

Goals of the New Deal Relief – Stop the pain Recovery – Fix the problems Reform – Make sure it never

happens again

Fixing Banks Declared a bank holiday

Glass-Stegall Banking Act of 1933 Created the FDIC to insure banks Guaranteed all bank deposits under

$5,000

Providing Relief Federal Emergency Relief Administration

(FERA) Sent funds to local relief agencies $500 million for those organizations Created public works programs

Regulating the Market

Federal Securities Act Required companies to provide info

about their finances if they sold their stock

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Regulated the stock market

Jobs Programs

Public Works Administration (PWA) In 6 years, spent $6 billion Built dams, ports, Chicago’s sewer system

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Men between 18-25 were hired to restore the

nation’s parks and forests

Civil Works Administration (CWA) Put 2.6 million men to work in its first month FDR got rid of it a year later

Public Works Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

Helped farmers Created jobs in underdeveloped rural areas Provided electricity and flood control Often seen as the key precursor to the Civil

Rights Movement

WPA

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Parks/bridges/schools/etc

Jobs for 3 million at its peak

Rural Electrification Rural Electrification

Administration (REA) By the 1930s, 90% of people in

urban areas had electricity, while only 10% in rural areas did

REA provided electricity – eventually 98% of U.S. farms had it

Social Security

Aimed to help America’s poor – the elderly, dependent children, the handicapped

Provided monthly stipends

Legacy:

Still America’s largest and most important safety net

Most Americans depend on Social Security to retire

Helping Homeowners & Farmers

Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) Refinanced mortgages

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) Gave farm subsidies

Helping Labor Wagner Act

Legalized union practices Collective bargaining Closed shops – some

workplaces only open to union members

Ultimately…

What finally ended the Great Depression was WWII, which provided millions of jobs and boosted the economy

1940-America selling arms

1941-America enters WWII

Monday…

You will examine whether the New Deal was a success or failure

This is something historians still debate today

Draw this chart in your notes

RELIEF RECOVERY REFORM

Challenges

Most historians believe that the New Deal helped

It did stabilize the economy, which was in free fall

But WWII was what formally ended the Great Depression

Politicians and historians still debate…

Was the New Deal a success or a failure?

New Deal: Success or Failure?Document Success

(Reason & Evidence)Failure(Reason & Evidence)