FDR, the New Deal (“3 R’s”)  FDR initiated his New Deal, a series of laws that were designed to fight the depression by offering:  Relief: gov’t relief checks & jobs to get people back to work  Recovery: tried to end the depression by stimulating industry & farming  Reform: long-term solutions to America’s economic problems

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal  Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs had a significant impact on American history:

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal Political Impact: FDR rejected conservative policies & began a new era of unprecedented gov’t activism to solve America’s problems Economic Impact: The New Deal helped relieve unemployment & provided long-term economic reforms, but it failed to end the Great Depression Social Impact: The New Deal helped some, but women & African Americans did not receive equal treatment

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal  Political Impact:  FDR gave citizens hope by using active gov’t programs, fireside chats, & decisive leadership  The New Deal was the 1 st attempt by the gov’t to take responsibility for the economy & welfare of the American people  FDR introduced deficit spending & welfare programs for the 1 st time

FDR’s Fireside Chats  FDR used the radio to sell his New Deal programs to the American people  These “fireside chats” used simple, clear language to explain his New Deal programs & gain public support for these goals

The New Deal and American Life  Political Impact:  FDR’s leadership unified a new voting coalition for the Democratic Party made up of unions, African Americans, immigrants, & poor voters

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal Economic Impact: The New Deal helped relieve unemployment & provided long-term economic reforms, but it failed to end the Great Depression

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal  Economic Impact:  The New Deal relieved farmers (AAA), unions (Wagner Act), the unemployed (CCC, WPA)  The stock market (SEC) & banks (FDIC) were stabilized  But, the economy was not stimulated, unemployment remained high, & wealth was still unevenly divided

The Economic Impact of the New Deal Unemployment 10 million were still unemployed in million people were unemployed when FDR took office in 1933

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal “While relief & WPA are not ideal, they are better than the Hoover bread lines & they’ll have to do until the real thing comes along.” Unemployment in America,

Banks recovered & Americans slowly regained confidence in banks

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal Social Impact: The New Deal helped some, but women & African Americans did not receive equal treatment A letter written by Eleanor Roosevelt to an African-American about her concerns regarding lynching and what the administration’s views are on the topic.

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal  Social Impact:  The New Deal offered help to groups of Americans in need like the elderly, single mothers, & disabled citizens  First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt campaigned to help minority groups & spoke out against racism in America

The Impact of FDR’s New Deal  Social Impact:  But New Deal programs allowed for unequal pay scales for women & African Americans  Black workers were often the last hired & first fired & the unemployment rate for African Americans remained near 50%  But, women & African Americans supported FDR

Conclusions  FDR’s New Deal created a new role for the U.S. government:  For the 1 st time, the gov’t used deficit spending (going into debt) to stimulate the economy  For the 1 st time, the gov’t took responsibility for the people & created welfare programs  New Deal successfully offered relief to ease peoples’ suffering, but it did not end the Depression