chapter 2.4 to what extent had FDR brought recovery by 1938 Flashcards
(20 cards)
what was unusual for the November 1934 election
-normally, halfway through a president’s first term, his political party loses seats in congress and midterm elections
-however in november 1934, the democrats greatly increased their support in both houses and also in state government elections
-congress was now filled with new deal democrats who wanted fdr to be more radical in dealing with the depression
why was the wagner act 1935 seen as necessary
-the 1930s saw the greatest increase in trade union membership in US history
-in autumn of 1935, a new, more militant organisation was created, called the congress of industrial organisations, which organised members in the steek, textile, coal and rubber industries
what did the wagber act 1935 do
-gave the right to collective bargaining back to the unions
-individual workplaces were given the right to join trade unions following a secret ballot of their members
-established the national labor relations board, consisting of three independent members to make sure both employers and trade union members acted correctly
what were downsides to the 1935 wagner act
-excluded agricultural and service workers, public employees and those employed outside interstate commerce
-due to opposiiton within congress
-therefore many BAs, HAs, women received very little benefit from the act
why was the social security act of 1935 different
- in response to francis townsend’s critisims of the new deal
-role of the dirst female cabinet member, francis perkins
what was the social security act of 1935
=the social security system was to be funded by equal contributions from workers and employers and would provide minimal payments to unemployed, elderlt and dependents on deceased breadwinners
-pensions were to be paud out on a rate of between 10 and 85 dollars a month
-unemployment benefit was i=ro be paid at a maximum of 18 dollars a week for 16 weeks only
why was the social security act of 1935 seen as a break through
-until 1935, pensions and unemployment were seeb as a state government responsibility
why was the social security act of 1935 not completely comprehensive
it excluded farm workers, domestic servants and the self employed, those who needed it most!!
what did the 1935 revenue act do
-increased the rate of income tax from 63 to 79% on incomes over 5 million
-this raised an additional 250 million dolars a year, a tiny sum compared to what the govt spent on new deal projects
-increased taxes on property and introduced undistributed profit tax to force large companies back into the stock marker to raise money for more investment in the economy
why was the revenue act 1935 not that good
-more of a political showpiece than a fundaental change in the tax system
-it was a move to thwart Huey P Long’s share our wealth campaign
-huge criticism from the rich, including william randolph hearst, a major newspaper owner, called FDR a class traitor
what did the resettlement administation of 1935 do
helped relcocate 45,000 farming families from Oaklohoama, Texas and Kansas most badly affected by the dustbowl
so how successful was the second new deal
-november 1936 elections, 27.8 million votes against republican candidate alfred landon who had 16.7 million
how did the works progress administration get people back to work
-spent over 11 billion getting 8 million people back to work
-thousands of schools. hospitals, parks, and rural roads were constructed
-helped women, BAs, artists and musicians
-set up she she she camps
-federal writers project and the theatre project employed 12,000 performers
why did socialists and communists not like the second new deal
-wanted to replace it with an economic system they regarded as more fair
-believed the USAs economic system allowed wealth and economic power to be concentrated within a small number of people, like henry ford and the du pont family
-the gap between rich and poor in the USA was immense
-in 1937 FDR claimed that one third of the USA was still poor
what impact did these socialists and communists have on elections
-1936, communist candidate Earl Browder got 79,000 votes #weak
-socialist candidate Norman Thomas 187,000
why did trade unions start to not support the democrats anymore
-industrial unrest grew
-led by the CIO unions organised strikes
-many union leaders were socialist or communist
-in flint, michigan, auto workers occupied the factory owned by the cleveland fisher company
-a month long sit in by workers prevented the factory from operating
-in 1936, 2,000 strikes, 788,000 workers
-in 1937 this rose to 4,470 strikes involving 1.9 million workers
what was the roosevelt recession
-in 1937, at the beginning of his second term, fdr ordered substantial cuts to government spending
-the federal reserve board also feared a rise in inflation and limited the supplu of money in the economy
-ocotber 19 1937, another stock market crashed where 17 million shares were offloaded by investors
-employment in maufacturing fell 23%
-GNP fell 13%
what was the judicial procedures reform bill
-aim was to force all supreme court justices to retire at 70
-in 1937, 6 out of 9 of the supreme court justices were over 70, so if passed thus would have allowed fdr to appoint six new justices, transforming the political balance of the supreme court
-wanted to increasse number of justices to 9 to 15, this change would have given fsr immense power
why was the judicial procedures reform bill unsuccessful
-massive criticism in the media
-fdrs popularity suffered a major decline
-even though the democrats had a majority in the senate, that body rejected his plan by 70 to 20
fortunately for fdr, how did supreme court begin to allow progressive legislation
-minimum wage act in 1937
-uoheld the wagner act in 1937
