The New Deal Affects Many Groups Chapter 15-3

The New Deal Brings new Opportunities The New deal would provide new opportunities for many including women & minorities Even though gains were made they still had to deal with traditional prejudice & discrimination

Women Make Their Mark One of the most notable changes was the appointment of several women to key government positions Frances Perkins became the first female cabinet member as Secretary of Labor She would play a key role in the establishment of the Social Security system Women still faced discrimination in the workplace as many believed that the woman was taking a job away from a man who was trying to support a family In other forms of discrimination women were paid less, fewer were hired, & in some cases forbidden to be hired: CCC The number of women in the workplace would grow during this period despite the discrimination & the numbers would increase as the years went on

African Americans Take Leadership Roles The 1930’s witness a growth of activism for African Americans Leading the way was A. Philip Randolph who would organize the first all black trade union: The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car porters Mary Bethune was hired to head of the Division of Negro Affairs of the NYA She was to ensure that young African Americans were hired & provided with the proper opportunities She even help create the “Black Cabinet” which would help advise FDR on racial issues Never before had African Americans had such a prominent voice in the White House Much of the credit for this falls at Mrs. Roosevelt's feet as she would prod the President for advances

The President Fails To Support Civil Rights Despite giving African Americans more of a voice & role within the government FDR would not support full civil rights for them He was afraid of upsetting white Democratic members of the South He would also fail to support an antilynching law as well as a law to end poll taxes, two key goals of the Civil Rights movement In addition many federal programs openly discriminated against African Americans as they were the last to e hired & were paid considerably less In general the majority of African Americans would support FDR & the New Deal as they saw it as their best hope for the future

Mexican American Fortunes Mexican Americans also tended to support the New Deal even though they received less than did African Americans Many Mexicans had come to the Southwest to work on the large farms When the depression hit their wages would fall to low as $.09 an hour Many of the federal programs would discriminate against them by disqualifying them as migrant workers who had no permanent address

Native Americans Gain Support Native Americans received strong support from the New Deal as they were granted citizenship by 1933 John Collier would head the Bureau of Indian Affairs & would help create the Reorganization Act of 1934 This would move policy to Native American autonomy rather than assimilation Economically it gave land ownership to the entire tribe prohibiting the government from coming in & selling unclaimed reservation lands Culturally it would allow Indian children to attend schools on reservations helping to preserve the Indian way of life Politically the Indian tribes were given permission to elect tribal councils to govern their reservations

FDR Creates The New Deal Coalition Although the New Deal had mixed results for many minorities these groups generally backed him & his New Deal policy In fact one of FDR’s great achievements was the creation of the New Deal Coalition This was an alignment of diverse groups dedicated to supporting the Democratic Party As a result of the success of this group the Democrats would dominate the political front for throughout the 1930’s & 1940’s

Labor Unions Flourish As a result of the Wagner Act & other pro labor legislation passed under FDR union members enjoyed better working conditions, better working hours, & better pay Because of these gains the unions & their members would show great support for FDR By 1941 labor membership had grown to over 10 million members strong Within the many unions a struggle would develop for dominance within the labor movement itself Unions such as the American Federation of Labor would compete against unions such as the United Mine Workers or the Ladies Garment workers Many of these conflicts would lead to violent outbursts within the labor movement itself

Labor Disputes One of the main bargaining tactics of the labor movement was the sit down strike Here workers would simply sit down refusing to do any work & effectively stopping production Many of the strikes would lead to clashes of striking workers, police, strikebreakers, & scabs In all the union was a vital cog in the effort to gain better conditions & wages for the American worker The benefits we enjoy today are the result of the sweat & blood that was spilled in the 1930’s

FDR Wins In 1936 FDR would cruise to an easy victory in the 1936 election FDR enjoyed the support of labor, many minorities, women, African Americans, & Native Americans The support of so many key groups coupled with the growing improvement of the economy the Republicans stood no chance of regaining the White House