1. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT AND THE NEW DEAL

2. Econ Weaknesses 1920s optimism drives increase in expectations of a better way of life Low savings level Installment plans Farming depressed all decade Int’l trade weak

3. The Great Crash 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

4. Unemployment, 1929-1942

5. Effects of the Depression Hardship affects all classes The middle class loses belief in ever- increasing prosperity 1000s of young homeless, jobless Suicide rate up, fertility rate down Fathers leave

6. Fighting the Depression Hoover – moral response Asks for business cooperation Smoot-Hawley Tariff Reconstruction Finance Corporation – bailouts to big businesses

7. 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

8. Bank Failures, 1929-1933

9. 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

12. Election of 1928?

13. Al Smith Urban Wet Lost Solid South Dem Party vacillates – rural-nativist, urban-immigrant

14. The Hundred Days Banking system saved from collapse -- FDIC

15. The Tennessee Valley Authority – jobs, cheap hydro, soil conserv, flood control, etc.

16. Roosevelt and Recovery National Recovery Administration – codes to eliminate cut-throat competition, ensure labor peace – favor big business, unenforceable – 1935 ruled unconstitutional Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 – farmers paid to take land out of cultivation – prices increase – sharecroppers, tenant farmers dispossessed

17. Roosevelt and Relief 1933--Harry Hopkins in charge of RFC to direct aid to unemployed 1933--Civilian Conservation Corps employment to young 1935--Works Progress Administration place unemployed on federal payroll Programs never sufficiently funded

18. Roosevelt and Reform 1933-34--focus on immediate problems 1935--shift to permanent economic reform

19. Challenges to FDR Father Charles Coughlin advocates nationalizing banks, cheap money, anti- Semitism Francis Townsend calls for wealth redistribution from young to elderly Huey Long calls for redistribution of wealth (Share the Wealth)

20. 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

21. Labor Legislation 1935--Wagner Act – allows unions to organize – outlaws unfair labor practices 1938--Fair Labor Standard Act – maximum hour – minimum wage

22. Impact of the New Deal Had a broad influence on the quality of life in the U.S. in the 1930s Helps labor unions most Helps women, minorities least

23. 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

24. 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 govt is on side 1934--Indian Reorganization Act “Black Cabinet”

25. Women at Work Position of women deteriorates in ‘30s – jobs lost at faster rate than men – hardly any New Deal programs help Progress in government – Frances Perkins, Sec of Labor, first woman cabinet member – women appointed to several other posts – Eleanor Roosevelt a model for activism

26. End of the New Deal 1936--New Deal peaks with Roosevelt’s reelection Congress resists programs after 1936

27. The Election of 1936 FDR’s campaign – attacks rich – promises further reforms – defeats Republican Alf Landon – lopsided majorities in Congress FDR coalition: South, cities, labor, ethnic groups, African Americans, poor

29. 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

30. 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