MR. WILLIAMSON SOMERVILLE HS The New Deal

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), Governor of NY, is the Democratic Nominee for President in 1932  Known as a reformer  Pledged a “New Deal” to combat the Depression 1932 Election – Hoover vs. Roosevelt  Roosevelt’s platform – Depression needed strong action/leadership from federal gov’t Roosevelt wins in a landslide, no public faith in Hoover

The New Deal FDR presents the “First New Deal” to Congress with plan addressing 3 R’s  Relief – immediate assistance  Recovery – long-term economic health  Reform – sought to prevent future depressions FDR believed he needed to calm people’s fears  Held radio “fireside chats”, brief broadcasts where FDR explained his plans, ask for citizen support  Was upbeat, had a soothing voice; greatly appealed to people

The New Deal First restores banking system  4-Day Bank Holiday for banks to shore up accounts Creation of FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation  Insured bank deposits up to $5,000 Establishes the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  Regulate stock market/safer for investments All done to restore citizen confidence in financial system

The New Deal Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) – gave financial aid/subsidies to farmers Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – built series of damns to control floods/generate electric power Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) – provided jobs planting forests, building trails Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) – unemployment aid to local/state governments

The New Deal National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)  Designed to increase production while boosting wages/prices  Goals – make more goods available, give consumers $ to buy them Public Works Administration (PWA) – built bridges, dams, power plants, government buildings  Improved nation’s infrastructure/created jobs

The New Deal New Deal Debate Conservatives (Republicans) say “Too Much”  Made gov’t too powerful, was telling business how to operate, spending too much gov’t $/high debt Liberals (Democrats) say “Not Enough”  Claimed Roosevelt was only saving the banking system and ensuring profits for big business, needed to do more How do you feel? Compose a short-paragraph on which side you would take. You must chose 1!

The New Deal Jigsaw Activity – The Second New Deal 1. Quickly summarize and create short bullet points on your program/Identification  A. Works Progress Administration (WPA)  B. John Maynard Keynes  C. Social Security Act  D. Rural Electrification Administration (REA)  E. Wagner Act/National Labor Relations Act  F. Fair Labor Standards Act  G. Collective Bargaining 2. Place summary on the board, we will review as a class

The New Deal Election of 1936 – FDR easily re-elected but faces challenges from Supreme Court Congress/President are from Democratic Party  Need the approval of Supreme Court to pass New Deal programs Schechter Poultry v. US, Supreme Court decision  NIRA was unconstitutional, president could not regulate interstate commerce Later ruled the AAA was unconstitutional as well

The New Deal FDR responds - unveils a plan to dilute power of sitting justices on Supreme Court Called for a bill adding 6 new Justices to 9-member court Believed current justices were overworked/elderly, Constitution did not specify # of justices Critics, realizing new appointees would be New Deal supporters, called the plan “court packing”

The New Deal FDR accused of increasing presidential power, upsetting the balance of powers Given his popularity, he may have convinced Congress to vote for his plan  However, Court starts to rule in his favor  Due to fear? Court-packing weakened FDR politically  He wasn’t challenged before, now will face more critics