Responses to the Great Depression & New Deal Hoover vs. Roosevelt

 Hoover Presidency   FDR’s Presidency 

 Hoover Presidency  FDR’s Presidency

Hoover’s Response  Hoover believed charity & government programs would just make people dependent  He believed that government shouldn’t intervene to help businesses either  Instead, he predicted that things would get better

When FDR came into office…  ¼ of the nation’s workforce was unemployed  ¼ million families had defaulted on their mortgages  1.2 million Americans were homeless  FDR elected in 1932  Promised to help people

The New Deal

FDR Enacted The New Deal  FDR demanded "broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe."

FDR’s Fireside Chats  FDR began weekly radio addresses called “fireside chats”  In these addresses he tried to reassure and unite the nation

The First 100 Days  In FDR’s first 100 days in office, he pushed 15 major bills through Congress  Reshaped every aspect of the economy – from banking and industry to agriculture and social welfare  He called his approach “The New Deal”

The New Deal  Goals of the New Deal  Relief – Stop the pain  Recovery – Fix the problems  Reform – Make sure it never happens again

Fixing Banks  Declared a bank holiday  Glass-Stegall Banking Act of 1933  Created the FDIC to insure banks  Guaranteed all bank deposits under $5,000

Providing Relief  Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)  Sent funds to local relief agencies  $500 million for those organizations  Created public works programs

Regulating the Market  Federal Securities Act  Required companies to provide info about their finances if they sold their stock  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  Regulated the stock market

Jobs Programs  Public Works Administration (PWA)  In 6 years, spent $6 billion  Built dams, ports, Chicago’s sewer system  Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)  Men between were hired to restore the nation’s parks and forests  Civil Works Administration (CWA)  Put 2.6 million men to work in its first month  FDR got rid of it a year later

Public Works  Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)  Helped farmers  Created jobs in underdeveloped rural areas  Provided electricity and flood control  Often seen as the key precursor to the Civil Rights Movement

WPA  Works Progress Administration (WPA)  Parks/bridges/schools/etc  Jobs for 3 million at its peak

Rural Electrification  Rural Electrification Administration (REA)  By the 1930s, 90% of people in urban areas had electricity, while only 10% in rural areas did  REA provided electricity – eventually 98% of U.S. farms had it

Social Security  Aimed to help America’s poor – the elderly, dependent children, the handicapped  Provided monthly stipends  Legacy:  Still America’s largest and most important safety net  Most Americans depend on Social Security to retire

Helping Homeowners & Farmers  Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC)  Refinanced mortgages  Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)  Gave farm subsidies

Helping Labor  Wagner Act  Legalized union practices  Collective bargaining  Closed shops – some workplaces only open to union members

Ultimately…  What finally ended the Great Depression was WWII, which provided millions of jobs and boosted the economy America selling arms America enters WWII

Monday…  You will examine whether the New Deal was a success or failure  This is something historians still debate today

Draw this chart in your notes RELIEFRECOVERYREFORM

Challenges  Most historians believe that the New Deal helped  It did stabilize the economy, which was in free fall  But WWII was what formally ended the Great Depression  Politicians and historians still debate…  Was the New Deal a success or a failure?

New Deal: Success or Failure? DocumentSuccess (Reason & Evidence) Failure (Reason & Evidence)