new deal alphabet soup

CCC

CCC

• Civilian Conservation Corps

• 1933-1942

• goals (relief):

  • relieve unemployment by providing work for young men in natural conservation

  • camps + $30 cash monthly allowance

  • employed 3 million people total

  • cleared trails, built Shenandoah National Park, etc.

AAA

• Agricultural Adjustment Act

• 1933

• goals (relief):

  • offered farmers incentives to limit their production of certain crops to prevent overproduction and raise food prices again

  • eventually struck by SCOTUS

FERA

• Federal Emergency Relief Administration

• May 12, 1933

• goals (reform):

  • high command for whole New Deal

  • distributed funds to subcommittees

  • replaced FRA

TVA

• Tennessee Valley Authority

• May 18, 1933

• goals (relief):

  • infrastructure around Tennessee Valley (dams, bridges, roads, etc.)

  • provided employment in construction

Glass-Steagall Act

• June 16, 1933

• goals (reform):

  • forced commercial banks to refrain from investment banking activities to prevent depositors from potential losses through stock speculation

  • aimed to prevent repeat of Great Depression and the wave of commercial bank failures in the 1920s

PWA

• Public Works Administration

• June 16, 1933

• goals (recovery):

  • designed to reduce unemployment and increase purchasing power through the construction of highways/public buildings

HOLC

• Home Owners’ Loan Corporation

• June 13, 1933

• goals (reform):

  • created to refinance home mortgages in order to prevent things like foreclosure

NIRA/NRA

• National Industry Recovery Act/Recovery Administration

• June 16, 1933

• goals (recovery):

  • designed to bring about national industrial recovery

  • bring about healthy competition

  • better infrastructure program (PWA)

  • stimulate economic recovery

  • adjust unemployment

  • oversee creation of industry codes

CWA

• Civil Works Administration

• November 9, 1933

• goals (relief):

  • emergency employment program

  • over 4 million workers after 2 months

  • built new roads, schools, airports

  • received funding from various gov. programs

  • designed to be short-lived program to help Americans get through the winter

SEC

• Securities and Exchange Commission

• June 6, 1934

• goals (reform):

  • regulatory committee for NY stock exchange

  • prevent another depression

  • monitor stocks (buying/selling)

  • restore investor confidence in national market

WPA

• Works Progress Administration

• May 6, 1935

• goals (relief):

  • provided working class with jobs

  • over 8.5 million men employed

  • built over 600K miles of roads, 75K bridges + schools, parks, etc.

NYA

• National Youth Administration

• June 26, 1935

• goal (relief):

  • created part time jobs for millions of college/high school students

  • provide education for people ages 16-25

  • led by Aubrey Willis Williams (liberal social worker)

  • “…provide relief, work relief, and employment” for youth not attending school

  • under WPA

Wagner Act/NLRB

• National Labor Relations Board

• July 5, 1935

• goals (reform):

  • federal protection for organized labor and collective bargaining

  • prohibited various “unfair practices” by employers

  • created NLRB to enforce the law

  • guarantees employees’ right to organize

  • forced employers to fairly bargain with unionized workers

  • endorsed exclusive representation + majority rule

Revenue Act

• August 30, 1935

• goals (recovery):

  • introduced the Wealth Tax: new progressive tax that affected up to 75% of the highest incomes

  • forced tax increase to generate funds for recovery after Great Depression

  • later 1937 addition cracked down on tax evasion by revising tax laws/regulations

SSA/AFDC

• Social Security Act/Aid to Families with Dependent Children

• August 14, 1935

• goals (reform):

  • “provide for general welfare” by establishing system of federal aid

  • created AFDC as a grant program to enable states to give cash payments to needy kids who were deprived of parental care (ex. orphans, abandoned, etc.)

  • established Social Security Board