The Great Depression
Getting out of the Depression
Frances Perkins Sec. of Labor
Eleanor Roosevelt A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself. I could not at any age be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and simply look on.
Fireside Chats
F. D. Roosevelt: “You have nothing to fear, except fear itself”
TheFirst
1. Relief Immediate action to halt economy’s deterioration 2. Recovery "Pump - Priming“: Temporary programs to restart flow of consumer demand & offer jobs 3. Reform Permanent programs to avoid another depression & insure citizens against economic disasters
Workers organize to better conditions First strike 1877: Railroad American Federation of Labor (skilled/craft) Formed by Samuel Gompers Used collective bargaining Industrial Workers of the World (“unskilled”) Created by radical unionists and socialists
Renewed interest in UNIONS and collective bargaining In three years, 577 often violent strikes STEEL, AUTO, RUBBER industries
Social Security – gone by 2041
Distributes $ from poor to non-poor – Poorer generally start working earlier… – Poorer generally die earlier…
Bank Holiday Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Civilian Works Administration (CWA & PWA) RELIEF Legislation
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Works Progress Administration (WPA) National Recovery Act (NRA) Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) RECOVERY Legislation
Security & Exchange Commission (SEC) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) National Labor Relations Act / Board (NLRA/B) Social Security (SS) REFORM Legislation
Senator Huey Long (La.) “Share Our Wealth” - Socialist - FDR “too easy on rich” - Money spent on public works - Guaranteed $5,000 to all - Take millionaire’s $ and divide - Everyone gets car, house, radio - “Every Man A King, but no one wears a crown” - Shot and killed in 1935
Father Charles Coughlin -More economic & political talks on radio than religious -FDR “too friendly to bankers” - Economic reform = anti-comm. & anti-capit. - Supported fascism - Anti-semitic - Isolationist - Silenced
Unconstitutional State Gov’t to Regulate Intrastate Business… Hurt small business Congress Can’t Regulate Agr
Court Packing Changing the Supreme Court…. WHY???
FDR’s Legacy PROS - Unemploy. decreased - Increased income - Preserved resources - Cushion for elderly/sick - Supported unions - Ensured bank safety CONS - National debt increased - Doubled fed. Bureaucracy - Didn’t increase small business activity
FDR’s Legacy Set a precedent that the federal government is responsible for the economic welfare of the people