The New Deal• Student will understand

– President FDR- how he changed the role of the government to become a safety net to help people in need (Government is no longer LAISSEZ-FAIRE)

– New Deal- FDR’s series of programs designed to provide RELIEF, RECOVERY, and REFORM where the Government takes responsibility for the good of the country

Goal Questions

1) Identify name of FDR’s plan to help Americans in need and explain how that plan revolutionized the role of government by providing 2 examples of how FDR provided aid for ordinary Americans?

2) Analyze why some Americans did not support FDR’s plan and identify two of the critics of FDR’s and explain why they did not support FDR

3) Identify and define 3 Alphabet Agencies and explain how they tried to provide aid to Americans.

• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)– Cheerful, cordial, attentive (the press listened to FDR’s ideas and were

able to explain how those ideas would help the American people)– FDR had Polio and could not walk

• Would the nation elect a handicapped President today? • What allowed FDR to hide his handicap in 1932 that a handicapped

President might not get away with hiding today??• How might his polio help FDR as President during the Great Depression?• EC- notice that FDR is seen sitting at his desk or in a car? What is the

motivation taking a picture of FDR behind his desk or in a car?

3R’s Roosevelt’s strategy to have the Government help Americans in need• Relief- Gov. helps people in need with aid (food, housing, money)• Recovery- Gov. creates ways to help jumpstart the economy (create

jobs and projects that will help country in long run)• Reform- Gov. creates laws that will prevent another economic disaster

from happening again• What has changed about the role of government?

• Government will provide a safety net for people in need (no longer lassaiz-faire

• New Deal- name given to FDR’s plan to have the Government provide aid to Americans (does not end depression but helps feed, house, and employ Americans )– for the first time the government provided unemployment

insurance, old age insurance, minimum wage, conservation of natural resources, restrictions on child labor

These New Deal ideas were not because Western Europe already had these ideas (Progressives and Populists already thought them up, Republicans in the 20’s ignored many of these ideas– Identify how these New Deal ideas are seen in our society today

• New Deal Agencies– Glass Steagall Act (FDIC) Depositor Insurance- if the bank

went out of business, the Gov. paid you back money deposited in the bank (insured people’s money in banks up to $5000 (today $500K))• Why was is so important for Americans to trust their money in

the bank? (Think-what makes the US economy successful?)– CCC Conservation jobs (planting trees, building

campgrounds) for young men in wilderness• ?How is this meant to help young people? • ?Why focus on young people and put them to work in woods?

Farmers- since farmers could not pay back their debts and were at risk of losing their farms, they grew even more food to pay off their debts

Why is this a bad economic strategy?

• AAA- Agricultural Adjustment Act- government destroyed crops and livestock, plus paid farmers not to grow food– How would the AAA help farmers?

• Less food would mean that food prices would go up allowing farmers to make more $

– Why would many Americans be upset at such a government agency?

Imagine a new item that you want to purchase is for sale on Sunday at 10:00 but someone else buys them all up before you can because their friend owns the shop and allowed that person in at 9:50. That person is then willing to sell

you the same item at 50% increase in cost. Is that fair? Explain. In business which economic group do you feel got the

advantage and which group was the one that was ripped off?

• SEC (Security Exchange Commission) Gov. agency designed to regulate the stock market to ensure that unfair trading and another stock market crash never happens again

WPA (Works Progress Administration)• Create jobs building infrastructure (roads, dams,

bridges, schools, libraries• What is the long term impact of the WPA? Was it worth

the government spending money it had to borrow?

WPA Theater- Gov. paid to put on plays• Is the government paying to provide entertainment through

theater a good use of money?

Social Security- Pension ($) for the elderly, handicapped, and orphaned

• What would happen today if the US did not have Social Security?

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) 20 dams built to create electricity, stop flooding, created jobs, and recreation ( enn. Valley among the poorest area in US w. 2.5 million living in poverty)

• Why might some people be against the Government building and running dams? (How is the role of government changing here?)

• FHA- (Federal Housing Authority) Gov. loans to homeowners (helping people afford a house)

• How does this provide relief and recovery for Americans (think new home?

• Fair Labor Standards Act- Minimum wage, banned child labor, 40 hour work week

• Identify the NLRA’s impact on you today!

NRA- Set a maximum number of hours a worker can be forced to work, minimum wage

• Why might limiting hours daily help create jobs?• How might minimum wage hurt job creation?• Philadelphia “Eagles” football team are named after the NRA symbol

• Critics of New Deal• Conservatives (Republicans)- some people did not like New Deal

because it made the government too large and had too much control• Liberals- did not like it because the New Deal did not do enough to

cure the gap between rich and poor– Father Coughlin- Roman Catholic priest who wanted government

to take over banks and give each person a guaranteed income• *problem- started blaming depression on Jews and became Fascist

(supported Nazis)• *had radio audience of 40 mil.• What is so dangerous about a man like Father Coughlin?

Critics of New Deal

Huey Long’s plan• “Share Our Wealth”- every family would receive $5000 from the

government every year (by confiscating incomes over $5mil a year)• Is this a good plan or n*Many felt the New Deal was an appropriate

balance between capitalism and government involvement in business• ot? Explain

Dr. Francis Townsend proposed?• Social Security (each elderly person would receive $200 a month which

had to be spent)• How is giving money to the elderly meant to help the economy?• Why should the elderly be forced to spend their money?