1. Chapter 26 FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT & THE NEW DEAL
America Past and Present

2. The Great Depression
1920s optimism drove increase in expectations of continual improvement
Stock market collapsed, factories closed, unemployment went up, optimism shattered
p.750

3. The Great Crash
Productive capacity of the automobile & appliance industries grew faster than the demand
Each yr after 1924, the rate of sales of cars, refrigerators, ranges, etc. slowed
If corporate leaders had understood the warning signs, they would have raised wages & lowered prices, both effective ways to stimulate purchasing power
Those w/ excess cash began investing heavily in the stock market, betting prices would bring them windfall profits
The basic explanation for the Great Depression lies in the fact that US factories produced more goods than the American people could afford to consume p

4. The Great Crash
Factory productivity had increased 43%, but wages had gone up only 11%. If the $Bs that went into stock market speculation had been used instead to increase consumer purchasing power; production & consumption could have been brought into balance
The law of supply & “affordable” demand
Layoffs lowered purchasing power even further
p.752

5. Unemployment ~ 1929–1942
p.751

6. Effects of the Depression
Difficult to measure the human cost
People lived in lean-tos made of scrap wood & metal ~ families went without meat & fresh vegetables for months, existing on diets of soup & beans
Crops rotted in the fields because prices were too low to make harvesting worthwhile
Af Ams who left the South for factory jobs in the North were among the first to be laid off
Missouri Pacific RR reported 200k vagrants riding the rails in 1931 p

7. Fighting the Depression
The Great Depression presented an enormous challenge
The inability of the Republicans to overcome the economic catastrophe provided the Democrats w/ the chance to regain power
Although they failed to achieve full recovery before the out break of WWII, the Democrats did succeed in alleviating some of the suffering & establishing political dominance
p.754

8. Hoover & Voluntarism
HH was the Great Depression’s most prominent scapegoat
He rejected proposals for bold action & relied instead on voluntary cooperation within businesses that said “yes” & then reneged
HH believed that unemployment relief should come from private charities & local govt
By 1932, after some too little, too late govt programs, his efforts had clearly failed
p.754

9. Hoover & Voluntarism
HH’s public image suffered its sharpest blow when he ordered Gen Douglas MacArthur to clear out the Bonus Army, a group of 22k WWI vets who marched on Washington to pressure the Senate to pay them a bonus that was due them in 1945
After the Senate turned them down, some of the vets stayed in DC, living in ramshackle huts along the Potomac River ~ 1932
p.754

10. Hoover & Voluntarism
Mounted troops drove the vets out of the capital, blinding them w/ tear gas & burning their shacks
p.754

11. Bank Failures ~ 1929–1933
p.754

12. The Emergence of Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Born to wealth & privilege
1921 ~ Crippled by polio
1928 ~ Elected governor of New York
Talented & persuasive politician
1932 ~ Defeated Hoover
Farmers & workers, immigrants & native born, Protestants & Catholics rallied behind the new leader who promised to restore prosperity
p.755

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15. The Hundred Days When FDR was inaugurated, unemployment stood at 25%
Speaking on the steps of the Capitol, he declared “First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”
He called Cong into special session & requested “broad executive power to wage war against the emergency”
New govt supervision & aid to banks prevented impending collapse p

16. The Hundred Days
FDR sent 15 requests to Cong & received 15 pieces of legislation
The creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was one of the most ambitious of the New Deal measures
Called for a program to build a series of dams in 7 states to control floods, ease navigation, & produce electricity
Brought modernization & jobs to desolate areas of the upper rural south p

17. The Tennessee Valley Authority
p.757

18. Roosevelt & Recovery National Recovery Administration (NRA)
Aimed at achieving economic advance thru experimentation w/ planning & cooperation among govt, biz, & labor
Companies asked to cooperate in writing codes of fair competition, production limits, price guidelines, & protection of labor (max hrs/min wages)
Rules too complicated to easily enforce, big biz took advantage ~ didn’t really work
1935 ~ SC ruled NRA unconstitutional p

19. Roosevelt & Recovery Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
Farmers paid to reduce their production
Prices increased, mainly because of govt payments, but Dust Bowl helped by cutting supply
Farm income rose for the first time since WWI
Measures most beneficial to larger farms
Sharecroppers, tenant farmers did not fare as well
Received very little of the govt payments & had their land taken out of production
3M people left farms & crowded into the cities where they swelled the relief rolls p

20. Roosevelt & Relief
1933 ~ Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) estab’d to provide direct relief ($500M)
Enabled many to avoid starvation & stay out of breadlines
1933 ~ Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided employment to young males from city families on relief
Clear land, plant trees, pave roads, build bridges
p.759

21. Roosevelt & Relief
1935 ~ Works Progress Administration (WPA) placed unemployed on fed payroll
Similar to CCC in that it did construction projects, etc.; it also tried to preserve the skills of American artists, actors, & writers by producing plays, circuses, etc. p

22. Roosevelt & Relief
1935 ~ Works Progress Administration (WPA) placed unemployed on fed payroll p

23. Roosevelt & Reform 1935 ~ Focus shifted from relief to reform
Early New Deal programs tried to assist bankers, & industrialists, large farmers, & members of of the labor unions, but it did little to help unskilled workers & sharecroppers
The continuing depression & high unemployment began to build pressure for more sweeping changes p

24. Social Security
Democrats (FDRs Party) made significant gains in the 1934 Congressional mid-term elections
They were ready to enact virtually any proposal FDR made
At that time, the US, alone among the modern industrial nations, had never developed a welfare system to aid the aged, disabled, & unemployed
1935 ~ Social Security Act passed
Established pattern of govt aid to aged, unemployed, handicapped, needy elderly, & dependent children
Old age pensions scheduled to begin in 1942 were paltry: $10 to $85 per month
Farmers, domestic servants not covered p

25. Labor Legislation 1935 ~ National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act
Compelled companies to allow workers to organize & bargain collectively
Outlawed union busting tactics
1938 ~ Fair Labor Standards Act
Estab’d maximum hrs/minimum wage
40 hrs/wk & $0.40/hr
Rural Electrification Administration brought electricity to 90% of farmers who did not have it in 1930 p

26. Impact of the New Deal
There was a broad influence on the quality of life in the US in the 1930s
Many programs brought long-overdue improvements
Most important advances came with the growth of labor unions
Conditions for working women & minorities in non-union industries showed no comparable advance
p.765

27. Rise of Organized Labor
Trade unions were weak at the onset of the Great Depression
<3M belonged, mostly to the AFL which organized craft (skilled) workers
Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) formed by John L. Lewis to organize the steel & auto industries
1940 ~ CIO membership hit 5M
Still, only 28% of labor force unionized p

28. The New Deal Record on Help to Minorities
AAA crop reduction program led to eviction of 1000s of black tenants & sharecroppers
Relief employment programs helped a little
Despite the bleak record, Af Ams rallied behind FDR & began a change from the Republican to the Democratic party
Overall, relatively little federal assistance for Mexican Americans
1934 ~ Indian Reorg Act attempted to help
Native Ams remained the most impoverished p

29. Women at Work Position of women deteriorated in ‘30s
Jobs lost at a faster rate than men
Few New Deal programs help women
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
Marion Anderson
p.768

30. End of the New Deal
1936 ~ New Deal reached its high point when Roosevelt was overwhelmingly re-elected & Demo party strengthened its hold on Congress
In spite of his past success, FDR met with resistance in Congress after 1936
p.769

31. The Election of 1936 FDR’s campaign
Opposed wealthy industrialists who formed the Liberty League & saw the New Deal as an attack on property rights
Promised further reforms
Reps nominated governor Alfred Landon of Kansas, a moderate, colorless figure
He refused to campaign against the New Deal programs
FDR appealed to the “common man”
p.769

32. The Election of 1936
p.769

33. The Supreme Court Fight
During FDR’s first term, the SC ruled several New Deal programs unconstitutional (e.g., NRA & AAA)
FDR thought the SC was too old & to conservative, so he asked Congress to replace each member >age of 70
Called a “Court Packing Scheme”
Cong did not go along
Surprisingly, after the scheme failed, the SC issued rulings approving several New Deal programs p

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36. The New Deal in Decline
Aside from the minimum wage & maximum hour law passed in 1938, Cong did not extend the New Deal into any new areas
The slow improvement in the economy suddenly gave way to a 1937 recession
The political result was a strong upsurge for the Republicans in the 1938 mid-term elections
Resulted in the formation of a new bipartisan Congressional conservative coalition that would prevail for a quarter century p

37. The New Deal & American Life
New Deal lasted only five years
Impact on American life enduring
Roosevelt’s success at relieving human suffering must be balanced w/ his failure to achieve complete economic recovery during the 30s
With adoption of Social Security, the govt acknowledged for the first time its responsibility to provide for those who could not care for themselves
The Wagner Act enabled the labor unions to balance their power against the industrial corporations & the min wage law provided a base for many workers
FDR was the leader America needed in the 30s p

38. Chapter 26 FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT & THE NEW DEAL
America Past & Present
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