Context: The U.S. was experiencing the Great Depression (1929–1939), the worst economic crisis in history.
Candidates:
Herbert Hoover (Republican): Incumbent president, unpopular due to his ineffective response to the depression. Warned that electing a Democrat would worsen the crisis.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat):
Governor of New York, promised a "New Deal" for the American people.
Advocated for the repeal of Prohibition, aid for the unemployed, and cuts in government spending.
Running mate: John Nance Garner (Texas, Speaker of the House).
Results:
Roosevelt won by a landslide (nearly 60% of the popular vote).
Democrats gained majorities in both houses of Congress.
Many former Socialist supporters of Norman Thomas voted for Roosevelt, desperate for change.
Hoover remained president from November 1932 to March 1933, but was powerless as the depression worsened.
Roosevelt refused to collaborate with Hoover’s policies.
20th Amendment (1933):
Moved the presidential inauguration from March 4 to January 20, reducing the lame-duck period.
Background:
Distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt.
Served as a New York state legislator, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and Governor of New York.
Paralyzed by polio (1921) but remained politically active.
Key Traits:
Charismatic, an excellent public speaker, and able to inspire confidence.
Eleanor Roosevelt:
Most active First Lady in history.
Advocate for civil rights, women’s rights, and social reform.
No clear plan, but committed to action and experimentation to combat the Great Depression.
The Three R’s:
Relief – Direct aid to the unemployed.
Recovery – Programs to stimulate economic growth.
Reform – Long-term changes to prevent future depressions.
Advisers:
Brain Trust: Group of university professors who helped shape New Deal policies.
Louis Howe: Chief political adviser.
Frances Perkins: First female Cabinet member (Secretary of Labor).
Emergency Legislation: Congress passed every request from FDR, enacting more laws than ever before.
Key Programs & Laws (often referred to by initials):
Bank Holiday (March 6, 1933): Closed all banks to stop mass withdrawals and restore confidence.
Emergency Banking Relief Act (March 9, 1933): Allowed banks to reopen if financially stable.
Repeal of Prohibition (1933):
Beer-Wine Revenue Act: Legalized alcohol to raise tax revenue.
21st Amendment: Officially ended Prohibition.
Fireside Chats (March 12, 1933): FDR’s radio broadcasts reassured the public, helping restore trust in banks.
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
Gave direct grants to state/local governments for soup kitchens and unemployment aid.
Director: Harry Hopkins (one of FDR’s closest advisers).
Public Works Administration (PWA)
Funded construction projects (roads, bridges, dams) to create jobs.
Director: Harold Ickes.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Employed young men to work on federal land conservation projects (forests, parks).
Families received small monthly payments.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Government-controlled program in the Tennessee Valley.
Built dams, power plants, and flood control systems.
Provided cheap electricity to a previously underserved region.
Emergency Banking Relief Act
Allowed the government to inspect bank finances before reopening after the bank holiday.
Glass-Steagall Act
Separated commercial and investment banking to prevent risky speculation.
Created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which guaranteed bank deposits.
Farm Credit Administration
Provided low-interest loans to farmers to prevent foreclosures.
National Recovery Administration (NRA)
Attempted to stabilize industry by setting fair wages, prices, and hours.
Gave workers the right to unionize.
Declared unconstitutional in Schechter v. U.S. (1935).
Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)
Paid farmers to reduce crop production to increase prices.
Also declared unconstitutional (1935).
Expanded federal government power over the economy.
Changed the role of the presidency: FDR increased executive power and used fireside chats to communicate directly with Americans.
Democratic dominance:
Democrats controlled Congress and the presidency for most of the 1930s and 1940s.
Helped stabilize the economy, but the depression persisted until World War II (1939–1945).
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935): Declared the NRA unconstitutional (violated separation of powers).
United States v. Butler (1936): Struck down the AAA, ruling that the government could not force farmers to reduce production.
The Election of 1932 marked a major political shift in response to the Great Depression.
FDR’s New Deal transformed the role of the federal government.
The First Hundred Days saw unprecedented legislative activity.
New Deal programs focused on the Three R’s: Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
Some programs (NRA, AAA) were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The New Deal didn’t end the Depression, but restored public confidence in the government.
Civil Works Administration (CWA)
Created to provide jobs through temporary federal construction projects.
Aimed to employ laborers for public works such as building infrastructure.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Established to regulate the stock market and prevent speculative practices that led to the 1929 crash.
Required corporations to provide financial audits and disclosures to protect investors from fraud.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Insured bank loans for building, repairing, and purchasing homes.
Helped many families buy homes, but the FHA practiced "redlining," denying loans to African American neighborhoods, leading to discriminatory housing practices.
United States Off the Gold Standard
Aimed to halt deflation by taking the U.S. off the gold standard.
Set the value of the dollar at $35 per ounce of gold but made paper money non-redeemable in gold.
Focused on relief and reform after Roosevelt's first term, which concentrated on recovery.
Gave Roosevelt a popular mandate following the 1934 Democratic victory.
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Spent billions to provide jobs for millions of Americans between 1935-1940.
Employed people in construction of public infrastructure and in arts (writers, artists, actors, etc.).
National Youth Administration (NYA) offered part-time jobs for students to help with education.
Resettlement Administration (RA)
Provided loans to small farmers, sharecroppers, and tenants.
Helped establish federal camps to house migrant workers in decent conditions.
National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act (1935)
Replaced the National Industrial Recovery Act, which was ruled unconstitutional.
Guaranteed workers' rights to join unions and engage in collective bargaining.
Outlawed unfair labor practices, with enforcement by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Rural Electrification Administration (REA)
Provided loans to cooperatives to bring electricity to rural areas.
Federal Taxes
The 1935 Revenue Act increased taxes on the wealthy and on capital gains (profits from selling stocks or property).
Taxed large gifts from parents to children.
Social Security Act (1935)
Established a federal insurance program funded by employee and employer contributions.
Provided monthly payments to retired people over 65, as well as unemployment compensation, benefits for the disabled, and support for dependent children and mothers.
Roosevelt transformed the federal government’s role, creating a limited welfare state that regulated the economy and provided social security for vulnerable populations.
His policies laid the foundation for modern American liberalism.
Despite an unstable economy, Roosevelt ran for re-election with strong support from workers and small farmers.
Opponent: Alf Landon, the progressive governor of Kansas, who criticized Roosevelt's spending but generally accepted the New Deal.
Political Realignment and the New Deal Coalition
Roosevelt won a landslide victory, winning every state except Maine and Vermont.
The Democratic coalition included:
The Solid South
White ethnic groups in cities
Midwestern farmers
Labor unions
Liberals
African Americans (who shifted from the Republican Party to support Roosevelt)
Critics from the Left
Socialists, some unions, and liberal Democrats criticized the New Deal for favoring business over the unemployed and working poor.
Some radicals believed the New Deal was merely saving capitalism from revolution.
Critics from the Right
Many conservatives opposed the New Deal for increasing federal government power.
Complaints centered around:
Relief programs like the WPA
Pro-union laws such as the Wagner Act
Deficit financing (government borrowing to fund programs)
American Liberty League
A conservative organization formed by anti-New Deal Democrats (Alfred E. Smith, John W. Davis) and Republicans.
Aimed to stop the New Deal from undermining the U.S. economy and political system.
Father Charles E. Coughlin
Catholic priest with a large following via radio in the 1930s.
Founded the National Union for Social Justice.
Proposed ideas like issuing inflated currency and nationalizing banks.
Became increasingly anti-Semitic and fascist in his broadcasts.
His broadcasts were stopped by the Catholic Church.
Dr. Francis E. Townsend
Retired physician from Long Beach, California.
Proposed the Townsend Plan to help the elderly.
Suggested a 2% federal sales tax to fund $200 monthly payments to those over 60.
Believed that elderly spending would stimulate the economy.
His plan led to the creation of the Social Security system by Roosevelt.
Huey Long
Senator from Louisiana, known as the "Kingfish."
Created the "Share Our Wealth" program.
Proposed a minimum annual income of $5,000 per family funded by taxing the wealthy.
Challenged Roosevelt for the Democratic Party’s leadership in 1935.
Assassinated in 1935, ending his presidential ambitions.
Conservative Supreme Court Decisions
In 1935, the Supreme Court struck down the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) as unconstitutional.
These decisions frustrated Roosevelt’s efforts to end the Depression.
Court Reorganization Plan (1937)
Roosevelt proposed the judicial-reorganization bill to overcome the Court’s opposition.
Plan would allow the president to appoint one additional justice for every justice over 70½ years old.
Critics called it a "Court-packing" bill, accusing Roosevelt of trying to undermine checks and balances.
The bill was defeated in Congress, including opposition from many Democrats.
Aftermath
Despite the defeat of the Court-packing plan, the Court began to support Roosevelt’s New Deal policies.
In 1937, the Court upheld major New Deal laws like the Wagner Act and the Social Security Act.
Several justices retired during Roosevelt’s second term, enabling him to appoint more liberal justices.
The National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) and the Wagner Act (1935)
These acts legalized labor unions, leading to a massive increase in union membership from 3 million to over 10 million by 1941.
Formation of the CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations)
AFL was dominated by skilled workers and White males.
In 1935, industrial unions formed the CIO, led by John L. Lewis.
CIO sought to organize unskilled workers in industries like automobiles, steel, and textiles.
The CIO became the AFL’s rival, focusing on unskilled workers.
Automobile Strikes
The General Motors Flint, Michigan, sit-down strike of 1937: Workers refused to leave the assembly line and won recognition from GM for the United Auto Workers (UAW).
Ford plant workers were beaten and driven away by company thugs, demonstrating resistance to unionization.
Steel Strikes
In 1937, the Memorial Day massacre occurred when police shot and killed four steel workers during a demonstration at Republic Steel in Chicago.
U.S. Steel eventually recognized the CIO, though smaller steel companies resisted.
Last major reform of Roosevelt’s second term.
Established:
Minimum wage (40 cents per hour).
40-hour workweek with overtime pay.
Restrictions on child labor.
Impact on Child Labor
In 1941, the Supreme Court upheld child labor restrictions in United States v. Darby Lumber Co., reversing an earlier ruling that had declared child labor laws unconstitutional.
Economic Setback
The economy had shown improvement from 1933 to 1937, but a recession hit in 1937 due to reduced government spending.
The Social Security tax decreased consumer spending, and Roosevelt curtailed public works and relief programs to balance the budget.
Keynesian Economics
Economist John Maynard Keynes taught Roosevelt that deficit spending was needed during tough times to stimulate growth.
Roosevelt’s advisers adopted Keynesian principles, leading to a positive economic recovery starting in 1938.
Political Impact
The recession weakened the New Deal, and the 1938 elections saw a reduction in the Democratic majority in Congress.
A coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats blocked further New Deal reforms.
Dust Bowl
A severe drought in the 1930s created the Dust Bowl in the Great Plains.
Poor farming practices led to topsoil erosion, forcing many families, particularly "Okies" from Oklahoma, to migrate to California for work.
The Soil Conservation Service was created in 1935 to teach farmers better farming techniques.
Women
With many men unemployed, women entered the workforce in greater numbers, though they faced criticism for taking jobs from men.
Despite efforts by Eleanor Roosevelt to champion women's equality, many New Deal programs paid women lower wages than men.
African Americans
African Americans faced racial discrimination, with higher unemployment rates and exclusion from some relief programs.
FDR was reluctant to push for civil rights to avoid losing Southern Democratic votes.
Notable actions:
Marian Anderson’s concert at the Lincoln Memorial arranged by Eleanor Roosevelt and Harold Ickes.
Mary McLeod Bethune was appointed to a federal position to increase African American involvement in New Deal programs.
Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans faced high unemployment and were replaced by White migrant workers.
The government’s repatriation efforts deported over 400,000 people, including U.S. citizens of Mexican descent.
American Indians
John Collier, appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, promoted Native American rights and involvement in New Deal programs.
The Indian Reorganization Act (1934) repealed the Dawes Act and returned land to Native American tribes.
Critics later viewed the act as paternalistic.