FDR

Question 1

What were the results of the 1932 Presidential election?

Answer 1

FDR - 472 EC votes, 42 States, 22.8 million votes, 57.4% share of the vote.
Hoover - 59 EC votes, 6 States, 15.7 million votes, 39.6% of the vote.

Question 2

What advantages did the Democrats have in the 1932 Presidential election?

Answer 2

Roosevelt had been the Governor of New York, He was a gifted orator, Republicans received blame for depression even being referred to as the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse. Roosevelt also used the song ‘Happy Days are here again for his campaign’.

Question 3

What were fireside chats and when was the first one held?

Answer 3

FDR explained his policies to the American people and took advantage of the radio to become more personal. 12th March 1933.

Question 4

What did FDR pass on the 20th March 1933?

Answer 4

The Beer act which ended prohibition.

Question 5

When was the first alphabet agency created and what did it do?

Answer 5

The CCC was established on the 31st March 1933. The Civilian Construction Corps provided manual work for men aged 18-25 to conserve and use natural recources.

Question 6

What was the National Recovery Administration? NRA

Answer 6

Founded 1933, Aimed to bring Industry, Labor and Government together in order to create codes of fair practices which enforced minimum wage and set working hours. Businesses could opt out of the NRA but the public were encouraged to support NRA aligned businesses.

Question 7

Why was the NRA unpopular with many businessmen?

Answer 7

It completely went against previous Republican policy in the sense that it interfered heavily with their operation. Businesses were also effectively forced in as NRA aligned businesses received more customers.

Question 8

What was the Agriculture Adjustment Agency? AAA

Answer 8

Founded 1933, It aimed to reduce the surplus by buying up crops, buying animals for slaughter and paying farmers not to grow crops. It also subsided farmers to grow less crops that were being overproduced.

Question 9

What was the Tennessee Valley Authority? TVA

Answer 9

Founded in 1933, It deals with matters regarding the development of in and around the Tennessee valley. It engaged in a number of public works programs such as the creation of the Norris Dam in 1933.

Question 10

What was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration? FERA

Answer 10

It aimed to set up construction projects across the country it was eventually replaced by the WPA.It aimed to get people involved in government jobs and over 20 million people recieved said jobs. It also redistributed surplus food to the poor.

Question 11

On what day did FDR ask for special powers and why?

Answer 11

He claimed that the economic crisis was war which congress agreed with and granted him special powers from the 9th March to the 16th June, 100 days.

Question 12

What was Father Coughlins stance on the New Deal?

Answer 12

He believed that the US was in need of monetary reform, he argued that the Great Depression had caused a cash famine and therefore, the Federal Reserve System should be nationalised. He also disagreed with recognising the Soviet Union.

Question 13

What was Francis Townsend’s stance on New Deal?

Answer 13

Francis Townsend believed that each person over 60 should be paid $200 per month, this would be funded by a 2% sales tax rise. FDR didn’t go as far as this in regards to pension reform.

Question 14

What was Huey Long’s stance on New Deal?

Answer 14

He believed that the New Deal had not gone far enough in terms of Wealth Distribution. He opposed the National Recovery Act as he argued that it favoured industrialists. He also opposed social security as it didn’t go far enough and discriminated against African Americans.

Question 15

What were the results of the 1936 Presidential election?

Answer 15

FDR - 523 EC votes, 46 states, 27.7 million votes, 60.8%.
Alf Landon - 8 EC votes, 2 states , 16.6 million votes, 36.5%.

Question 16

What did FDR in response to criticism from the left?

Answer 16

He launched his Second New Deal aiming to be even more radical than the first.

Question 17

What did the Second New Deal do in regards to Alphabet agencies?

Answer 17

FDR launched the Works Progress administration which were given larger budgets in order to expand Government funded infrastructure development and getting people back to work.

Question 18

Which two major acts did FDR introduce in the Second New Deal?

Answer 18

The Social Security act which introduced pensions for the elderly, and the National Labour act which gave legal recognition to Trade Unions.

Question 19

How did the Roosevelt recession start and what did it cause?

Answer 19

The Roosevelt recession began after a period of sustained economic growth, FDR decided to cut government spending which in turn led to unemployment rising by 5% and Production decreasing by 1/3.

Question 20

What did the Supreme Court do in 1937 in response to Roosevelts economic policies?

Answer 20

They declared that the AAA and the NRA were too interventionist and therefore, unconstitutional. In response FDR tried to raise the number of judges to 12 so he could stack it with allies.

Question 21

What was FDR’s initial stance on the War?

Answer 21

He stated that the USA would remain neutral in a fireside chat however, he stated that not all Americans have to remain neutral.

Question 22

In what ways did FDR provide support for the Allies prior to the USA joining the war?

Answer 22

USA supplied goods on a Cash and Carry basis, The Lend Lease act 1941 lent supplies to Britain that would be returned after the war, destroyers for bases program gave Britain 50 destroyers in return for naval bases in the West Indies and Newfoundland.

Question 23

What were the results of the 1940 Presidential election?

Answer 23

FDR - 449 EC votes, 38 States, 27.3 million votes, 54.7% of the vote.
Willkie - 82 EC votes, 10 States, 22.3 million votes, 44.8% of the vote.

Question 24

When was the attack on Pearl Harbour?

Answer 24

7th December 1941, Day of Infamy.

Question 25

What was the economic effect of the war?

Answer 25

Unemployment plummeted as both men and women joined the war effort. Industrial profits rose from 17 million in 1940 to 28 million in 1943.

Question 26

What were the American casualties as a result of the war?

Answer 26

400’000 American Soldiers died and 600’000 were wounded or captured.

Question 27

What were the results of the 1944 Presidential elections?

Answer 27

FDR: 432 EC votes, 36 states, 25.6 million votes, 53.4%.
Dewey: 99 EC votes, 12 states, 22 million votes, 45.9%.

Question 28

On what day did FDR die?

Answer 28

April 12th 1945.

Question 29

How much did building of supermarkets increase during the war?

Answer 29

It increased by over 400% despite significant building shortages.

Question 30

How much did female employment increase in the Shipbuilding industry?

Answer 30

In 1941 there were just 36 women, in 1943 there were 160’000 women.

Question 31

What was executive order 8802?

Answer 31

It desegregated the defence industry.

Question 32

Why was FDR so effective in passing legislation?

Answer 32

He was very much pragmatic in his approach which enabled him to pass a lot of legislation relatively quickly, he was also very effective in manipulating congress.

Question 33

What major changes did FDR make to the White House?

Answer 33

He created EXOP to help him manage all of his various federal programs which previous presidents had not done such as Hoover who had three assistants and some secretary’s?

Question 34

What Presidential Power did FDR utilise extensively?

Answer 34

He relied upon executive orders as it enabled him to pass policy without any opposition. He often passed general policy which may have faced opposition and he was not very educated on economics so his policies would often cancel each other out if they went wrong.

Question 35

How did FDR connect with the public more than any other previous President?

Answer 35

He instituted a series of fireside chats in which he broadcasted directly to people almost like he was in their rooms. He also received thousands of letters from the public which he would often read and reply to.

Question 36

How did FDR deal with the Media?

Answer 36

He held frequent meetings with the press and even at times give them on the record pieces of information which made sure that they were well informed at all times.

Question 37

What did the Supreme Court do in 1937?

Answer 37

They struck down both the AAA and the NRA for being unconstitutional as they interfered with state rights. In turn He proposed adding another judge for every judge over 70 of which they were 6 at the time however, this was struck down and abandoned.

Question 38

How did the role of the President change under FDR?

Answer 38

The President was expected to play a much more major role in policy creation and actively take part in suggesting legislation to congress with various federal boards and committees being set up in the White House.

Question 39

What major act did FDR pass in 1941 regarding the allies?

Answer 39

In March 1941 the Lend Lease act was passed which leased Britain supplies which would be returned after the war in turn not undermining the neutrality act. By the end of the war the value of lend lease was $54 billion.

Question 40

What are some key economic stats of the Second World War?

Answer 40

One year after the outbreak of war the US had produced $47 billion worth of war goods.

Industry profits rose from $17 billion in 1940 to $28 billion in 1943.