FDR's new deal

What were the three R’s of the new deal

Relief

Recovery

Reform

Who was FDR support team

Brain trust - young academics who aided and advised FDR

What did FDR do in his 1st 100 days

• Bank holiday

• Emergency banking act

• Fireside chat

• Passed 15 bills to counteract great depression

When was the start of the 4 day bank holiday

6th March

7 bills passed by FDR in first 100 days

• Emergency banking act

• The Civilian Conservation Corps

• Federal Emergency relief act

• Glass-Steagall act

• National industrial recovery act

• Agriculture adjustment act

• Tennessee Valley Authority

What was the emergency banking act?

• Attempt to stabilize banking system & restore faith in banks

Declared bank holiday, gave president power to act independently from the Federal Reserve in times of a financial crisis.

What was the civilian conservation corps

a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18-25

What was the federal emergency relief act

established the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, a grant-making agency authorized to distribute federal aid to the states for relief.

December 1935 it had distributed over $3.1 billion and employed more than 20 million people.

what was the Glass-Steagall act

effectively separated commercial banking from investment banking and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

What was the National industrial recovery act

authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery.

What was the Agriculture adjustment act

helped farmers by raising the prices of crops and paying them for land not used

What was the Tennessee Valley Authority

providing jobs and electricity to the rural Tennessee River Valley, an area that spans seven states in the South

When was the second new deal?

1935-36

3 acts of the second new deal

• National labor relations act

• Social security act

• Emergency Relief Appropriation Act

National labor relations act

established the National Labor Relations Board and addressed relations between unions and employers in the private sector.

Social security act

established a system of

• old-age benefits for workers,

• benefits for victims of industrial accidents,

• unemployment insurance

• aid for dependent mothers and children, and persons with disabilities

emergency relief appropriation act

4 billion spent on creating jobs for 8.5 million people building schools, roads, electifying cities, and aircraft

Who was Francis Townsend

• Handworker who failed at most endeavors

• Activist at 66

• Created Townsend plan

  • Every citizen above 66 to receive $200 a month

• 3400 Townsend clubs established

• He opposed the social security act as he felt it wasn’t generous enough

Who was Charles Coughlin

• 1926 - Set up radio league of little flower

• Led tirades against soviet communists

• Supported FDR in 1932

• Formed national union for social justice in 1934 (didn’t think new deal policies went far enough)

• Violent rants against Jewish people, and for fascism led to his career over.

Who was Huey Long

• Senator and wing populist member of the Democratic Party

• vocal critic of FDR and New Deal (deemed insufficiently radical.)

• Proposed share our wealth plan in 1934

  • The Share Our Wealth program called for massive federal spending, a wealth tax, and wealth redistribution. - Followed in the 2nd new deal.

• Popular speaker and senator but not organized

Unemployment 1933 → 1937

fell to 14%, with 8 million getting jobs

Supreme court opposition to new deal

• Mainly republican, reliance on swing vote

• Struck down AAA, NRA ect…

• Forced FDR to be more constitutional

• FDR tried to introduce court packing

What was court packing

adding justices to the Supreme Court or lower courts to shift the balance in a liberal direction

• Justices to retire by 70 or he could add more

What was the new deal coalition

included labor unions, blue-collar workers, big city machines, racial and religious minorities - maximize support for new deal

What was the conservative coalition

unofficial alliance of members of the United States Congress

• brought together the conservative wings of the Republican and Democratic parties to oppose New Deal

• Never formal alliance

Why was hoover limited on how he could respond to the great crash

• All laws had to pass through congress

• Senate was conservative in economic matters

• He didn’t see intervention as his job

• Saw other countries as the root issue

Hoover’s lack of response + federal reserve bank

• Persuade the federal reserve bank to increase supply of money (Reverse deflation)

What did Hoover sign to hurt the economy

Smoot-Hawley tariff

What was the Smoot-Hawley tariff

High import taxes on imports, on agricultural and manufactured goods.

• Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand retaliated.

How much did US exports drop between 1929-1932

$5.2 billion → $1.1 billion

Hoover and the gold standard

Hoover insisted on staying with the gold standard unlike the UK, this limited investment cut money supplies, and led to further deflation.

Hoover and the US budget

• Concerns about unbalanced budget

• Cut money supplies and public spending

• Increased taxes

Balanced budgets with no money.

Hoover and welfare

• Opposed senate attempt to bring in unemployment insurance

• Feared creation of welfare class

• Blocked public works programs that could’ve boosted jobs and construction

What was pump priming?

Providing a stimulus to increase the amount of money in the economy, by putting money into people’s pockets.

manufacturing output between 1929-33

decreased by one third

how much did prices fall in general?

20%

how many jobs became part time

1/3

number of non-farm mortgage foreclosures

844,000 / 5 million

Who was the secretary of labor

Frances Perkins

• 40 hr working week

• minimum wage

• workers compensation

• unemployment compensation

• ban child labor

• social security

How many banks failed between 1929 and 1933

40% of all banks (9,490 out of 23,697 banks)

when did Roosevelt stop using the gold standard

April 1933

how did FDR stop the gold standard economy

• stop the outflow of gold (forbid the export of gold except under license from the Treasury.)

• Anyone holding significant amounts of gold coinage was mandated to exchange it for the existing fixed price of U.S. dollars.

• The Treasury no longer paid out gold for dollars and gold would no longer be considered valid legal tender for debts in private and public contracts.

the Securities Act of 1933

the first federal law to regulate the securities industry. It requires companies that sell stocks or bonds to the public to disclose certain information, such as their assets, financial health, executives, and a description of the security being sold.

Repeal of prohibition

• 21st amendment

• states and cities gained new revenue

why were the democrats successful in 1934

• New deal success

• Roosevelt travels and publicity

• Fire side chats

Why did FDR win the 1936 election

• Wanted to attack big business, appealing to middle class

• Alf Landon offered little domestic policy

• New deal was popular + Roosevelt was engaged

• Support from 4 million home owners who he saved + PWA workers

Reasons for Roosevelt depression in 1937

• A part of normal business cycles

• Businesses reacted to policies by failing to invest

• Tried to cut gov spending and balance budget

• Federal reserve banks told banks to stop lending money to businesses

• Economical issues were so bad even new deal couldn’t save

How far did share values in 1937 fall

35%

How far did GNP fall in 1937

6%

How far did average corporate profits fall in 1937

40%

How many workers lost jobs in 1937 + what percent of people were unemployed

2 million - 14%