23-1: A New Deal Fights the Depression

FDR’S NEW DEAL  RELIEF  REFORM  RECOVERY MANY OF HIS PROGRAMS COMBINED ELEMENTS OF ALL THREE

WHAT FDR DID IN THE FIRST 100 DAYS IN 1933  MARCH 6 TH “BANK HOLIDAY” FOR FOUR DAYS  MARCH 9 TH EMERGENCY BANKING RELIEF ACT INTRODUCED, PASSED, SIGNED IN THE SAME DAY  FIRST “FIRESIDE CHAT”, FDR’S INFORMAL METHOD OF COMMUNICATING WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE USING RADIO  AAA  NRA  PWA  CCC  FERA  TVA

Emergency Banking Relief Act (EBRA) Authorized the Treasury Department to inspect and close banks if necessary To restore confidence in the Banking System FDR CLOSED THE BANKS FOR SEVERAL DAYS, A “BANK HOLIDAY” TO AVOID PANIC. THEY OPENED A FEW DAYS LATER AND THE SITUATION HAD CALMED.

Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933 Established the FDIC= insurance for bank accounts Restore public confidence in banks, so that they would use the banks again

Federal Securities Act Required Corporations to provide complete information on stock offerings Later congress created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate stock markets To restore public confidence in the stock market

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) Set prices, established labor/business standards To ensure fair business practices to promote industrial growth  ANTITRUST LAWS WERE SUSPENDED, BUSINESSES WERE ASKED TO VOLUNTARILY FOLLOW CODES TO REGULATE WAGES, HOURS, PRICES  40-HOUR WORK WEEK, 40-CENT MINIMUM WAGE  BLUE EAGLE SYMBOL OF VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE  PROTECTED THE RIGHT OF WORKERS TO ORGANIZE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING  DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL BY THE SUPREME COURT TWO YEARS LATER IN 1935

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) Paid farmers to not grow crops in order to lower production To raise crop prices (and thus farm income) Teach scientific farming practices (crop rotation) Found unconstitutional

Tennessee Valley Authority Built and repaired dams and other projects in the Tennessee Valley to provide hydroelectricity To create prosperity in the impoverished Tennessee Valley Region To provide a cheap source of electricity To provide a source for water recreation

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Put needy young men to work on road-building and conservation projects (outdoor projects/example, planting trees, building parks etc.) To reduce unemployment of young men

FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION (FERA) THIS GAVE EMERGENCY CHECKS DIRECTLY TO UNEMPLOYED PERSONS TO SURVIVE THE WINTER. IT GAVE MATCHING GRANTS TO STATES TO BOLSTER LOCAL RELIEF EFFORTS AND IT SET UP CAMPS FOR UNEMPLOYED WOMEN. CAMPS FOR UNEMPLOYED WOMEN IN MAINE UNEMPLOYED WOMEN'S CAMP To provide direct relief for the needy (food, money, shelter) To provide for the basic needs of people hit hardest by the Depression

PWA: PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION SPENT $3.3 BILLION ON PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS AS "PUMP-PRIMING” TO GET THE ECONOMY MOVING To reduce unemployment Provide money to individual states to create jobs (example, build parks, roads, stadiums)

PWA GAVE CONSTRUCTION JOBS TO THE UNEMPLOYED

CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION (CWA) TO REDUCE UNEMPLOYMENT BUT, THE CWA WAS CRITICIZED FOR “BOONDOGGLES” (WASTEFUL OR IMPRACTICAL PROJECT OR ACTIVITY OFTEN INVOLVING GRAFT). IT WAS ABANDONED IN THE CWA WAS SET UP TO PUT 4,000,000 MEN AND WOMEN TO WORK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. (FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS OF PUBLIC WORKS FUNDS WERE PROVIDED. HALF OF THE PEOPLE EMPLOYED BY THE CWA CAME FROM THE RELIEF ROLLS AND THE OTHER HALF WERE UNEMPLOYED PERSONS.)

CWA CONSTRUCTED MANY MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS THROUGHOUT THE U.S.

CWA JOBS VARIED, FROM DIGGING NEW SEWER SYSTEMS TO LEADING EXERCISE SESSIONS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

HOME OWNERS LOAN CORPORATION (HOLC) BY THE EARLY 1930’S HOMEOWNERS WERE LOSING THEIR HOMES DUE TO FORECLOSURES AT THE RATE OF 1,000 A DAY.  CONGRESS ESTABLISHED THE HOLC IN JUNE OF 1933 WITH THE INTENT OF HELPING HOMEOWNERS IN DANGER OF LOSING THEIR HOMES  HOLC BOUGHT UP MORTGAGES FROM BANKS AND REFINANCED THEM AT RATES THAT ALLOWED HOMEOWNERS TO MAKE LOWER PAYMENTS AND KEEP THEIR HOMES.  HOLC SAVED 20% OF HOMEOWNERS FROM LOSING THEIR HOMES DURING THE DEPRESSION

Huey Long “Every Man A King” A Governor of Louisiana and later a U.S. Senator. At first he supported New Deal programs but later he turned against it. He believed the New Deal was not doing enough to help the needy He proposed a “Share Our Wealth” Program = Take money from the rich and redistribute it to those in need He was assassinated in 1935 at the height of his popularity