The New Deal

Banking Holiday

Closed all banks nationwide to prevent further banking withdrawals

Emergency Banking Act

Empowered Treasury Department to monitor solvency of banks

Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act

Prohibited use of commercial banking for investment banking

Gold Reserve Act (January 1934)

Devalued the dollar to gold, outlawed private ownership of gold and gold certificates, and helped increased the money supply

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Built reservoirs and bridges, planted trees, road construction, reforestation, and cleared lands to provide work relief for the unemployed

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

Restore farmer purchasing power to pre-WWI levels

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)

Regulate industry for fair wages and prices to stimulate the economy

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

Intended to modernize the Tennessee Valley region after the Depression

Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

$500 million of outright direct relief to state and local public works projects

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (1934)

Regulatory agency for stock market

Farm Credit Administration (FCA)

Refinanced farm loans

Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC)

Refinance mortgages for home improvements

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

Regulate mortgage interest rates and underwrite mortgages

United States Housing Authority (USHA)

Government-owned low-income housing

Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (RTAA)

Authorized President to negotiate trade agreements

Revenue Act of 1932 (Hoover)

Increased corporate tax rates and income tax rates; estate tax

Revenue Act of 1934

Increased rates on higher incomes; top rate at 63%

Revenue Act of 1935

Wealth Tax / “Soak the Rich” Tax

Revenue Act of 1936

Levied tax on corporate undistributed profits

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

To employ unemployed people until the economy recovered; established a national work relief program through large-scale public works projects

Social Security Act

Created a fund to provide for old-age pensions, disabilities, and unemployment compensation

Rural Electrification Administration (REA)

Federal loans for installation of electrical distribution systems in isolated rural areas

Resettlement Administration (RA)

Relocated urban and rural families from unproductive lands to planned communities

Farm Security Administration (FSA)

Purpose to provide opportunity for tenant farmers

Dorothea Lange

Working as a photographer with the Resettlement Administration (RA) that documented rural poverty and exploitation of sharecroppers

Soil Conservation Service (SCS)

To combat soil erosion and preserving natural resources; provided farmers subsidies and technical advice

National Labor Relations Act

(aka Wagner Act) Guaranteed the right to join and form an independent labor union and collective bargaining

Fair Labor Standards Act

Established child labor laws, right to a minimum wage, and guaranteed overtime

National Union for Social Justice

Monetary reform through free silver

Old-Age Revolving Pension - Townsend Plan

$200 monthly stipend to retired 60 years older that must be spent it within the month

Share Our Wealth

Taxes should be more progresses - free college education and vocational training old-age pensions; veterans benefits; a month’s vacation for each workers

American Liberty League

Group of conservative businessmen, including from DuPont and General Motors

Justice Reorganization Bill

Appoint new justices for every justice over 70

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) (1935)

Organize unskilled laborers in major industries

United Automobile Workers (UAW)

Used sit-down strikes to earn recognition from General Motors (GM)

Frances Perkins

First woman to serve in presidential cabinet as the Secretary of Labor; drafted Social Security Act

Democratic Purge of 1938

FDR’s campaigns for liberal Democrats over conservative incumbents

Hatch Act (1939)

Prohibited federal government employees from using position for campaigns and lobbying for votes

Cash and Carry (1939)

Prompted military production and federal spending through defense contracts