2.2- Roosevelt and the First New Deal Flashcards
AAA
Agricultural Adjustment Administration
To stop the issue of overproduction in farming
Set a plan to get farmers to reduce the number of acres they farmed and introduced subsides for them
35m acres of fields growing crops had been removed from cultivation
EVALUATION
Farms incomes rose from $4.5bn to $6.9bn in 1935
Not all farmers benefited from the rise- sharecroppers and those affected by poverty and the ‘dustbowl’ fled the poor south in search of a better life
It was ruled unconstitutional in 1936 by the Supreme Court
CCC
Civilian Conservation Corps
Designed to help the unemployed- set up work programmes in national forests, parks and public lands
Manual labour for males 17-24 for a min of 6 months and max of 2 years
CWA
Civil Works Administration
Temporary to help millions of unemployed through a harsh winter in 1933-34
Had $400 million- with this they hired 4.2 m workers in 4 months
They built over 400 airports, 225,500 miles of road
Emergency Relief was the main reason for it
FERA
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
First attempt to help the unemployed directly
Budget of $500 million
Created over 5000 public buildings
Oversaw state relief (benefits)
Hopkins used the threat of withdrawal of federal money to force reluctant states like Georgia and Oregon
NRA
National Recovery Administration
Most controversial agency of the New Deal
Issued codes of practices for all industries, 557 in total- helped to ensure fair competition, fair wages and fair hours of work
Banned child labour under 16
Allowed unions to collectively bargain for wages
PWA
Public Works Administration
Created because of the National Industrial Recovery Act
Aimed to provide more long-term solutions
$3.3 bn budget, meant to help by pump-priming
Responsible for creating public works programmes like school and road building
TVA
Tennessee Valley Authority
Covered 7 states: Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia and Kentucky
Was known for flooding, poor infrastructure and poor standard of living
Contained 2m people and covered 40,000 sq miles
Created 20 dams to stop flooding, increase agriculture production and generate hydro-electric
FHA
Federal Housing Administration and Homeowners Refinancing Corporation
Offered new loans and mortgages at low rates of interest over longer periods
Designed to help people to keep their homes from repossession. HOWEVER these were only often covered about 50% of the mortgage
Created to stimulate the building industry by providing small loans for home construction and offering federal insurance to protect the ability to repay mortgages on new houses
The Emergency Banking Act, 1933
-A national bank holiday was ordered two days after FDR became president. This holiday was from 6 to 9 March
-Persuaded congress to pass it, happened in a record of 7 hours
-During the bank holiday, the US treasury investigated all the banks threatened with collapse and only those approved were allowed to reopen
-Monies from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation were used to prevent the banking collapse
Glass-Steagall Banking Act, 1933
-separated commercial from investment banking
-created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which guaranteed all bank deposits to the value of $5000
The Federal Securities Act, 1933
-purpose was to regulate the whole system of buying and selling shares
-all new share purchases had to be registered with the Federal Trade Commission
-in 1934, he created the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulated all share transactions and stock exchanges across the US
The Gold Reserve Act and the Silver Purchase Act 1934
-this was to bring currency stability to the US
The Gold Reserve
-devalued the US dollar against the rate of gold. Hoped to make US exports cheaper
The Silver Purchase
-hoped to raise prices by increasing the amount of silver in US coinage. The aim was to increase the money supply in order to encourage more economic activity
Opposition- The American Liberty League
-made to defend and uphold the Constitution, to foster the right to work, earn, save and acquire property
-was a mix of FDR’s enemies and those who opposed the new, active role of the federal government
-Al Smith, an old enemy within the Democratic Party, joined
-big businesses backed them, such as the Du Pont family who owned the USA’s largest chemical company, GM and Nathan Miller of US Steel
Opposition- Father Charles Coughlin
-had 35 million listeners nationwide for his weekly radio show, ‘The Golden Hour of the Little Flower’
-he formed the National Union of Social Justice as an alternative to the New Deal
-he wanted monetary reform, i.e, more silver coinage and a policy that encourage inflation
-he attacked Jewish members of FDR’s administration
Opposition- Francis Townsend
-retired doctor from California
-supported the idea of federal-funded old age pensions as a way of stimulating demand in the economy
-he wanted everyone over 60 years old to receive a pension of $200 a month
-By 1934, 500,000 people joined Townsend Club across the USA
HOWEVER
both Townsend and Father Coughlin backed William Lemke, a candidate of the Union party. He polled only 892,000 votes compared to FDR’s 27.8 million
