DEPTH: 4 How successful was the New Deal? Flashcards
(35 cards)
What were the three main aims of the New Deal?
- Relief for assistance for the unemployed and poor
- Recovery and rebuilding of the American economy
- Reform and create more fair and just society
What was the first 100 days?
The first phase of the new deal and the creation of alphabet agencies between march and June 1933
What were the alphabet agencies?
Government agencies created by Roosevelt and his advisers to solve particular problems name for convenience by their initials
What were the fireside chats?
Series of 30 national evening radio broadcasts made by FDR to reassure Americans and explain the the policies of the New Deal
What did Roosevelt do to restore confidence in the banking system?
FDR ordered a 4-day national bank holiday while the Emergency Banking Act was passed through congress in March 1933. Unsound banks were closed down; good banks were backed by the federal reserve to insure 100% of deposits. When the banks opened people returned their savings and confidence was restored.
What did Roosevelt do to help the unemployed?
”- Set up the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to provide employment for young men age 18 to 25.
- Set up the Public Works Administration (PWA) which provided jobs in major construction projects such as dams, bridges, railways, schools common hospitals and houses.
- Set up the Civil Works Administration (CWA) which aimed to provide temporary work over the winter of 1933- 4.”
What was the CCC?
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided employment for young men age 18 to 25. Living in government camps that carried out conservation work, planted forests, strengthened river banks and clear scrub land. Low wages but work for over 2 million men over 9 years.
What was the PWA?
Public Works Administration (PWA) established by the National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) provided jobs in major construction projects such as dams, bridges, railways, schools common hospitals and houses. $7 billion was spent between 1933 and 1939 creating millions of jobs for skilled workers.
What was the CWA?
Civil Works Administration (CWA) which aimed to provide temporary work over the winter of 1933- 4. 4 million jobs were created building roads common airports and schools.
What was the AAA?
Agricultural Adjustment Agency (AAA) which paid farmers to take millions of acres of their land out of cultivation, reduced their livestock and modernise farming methods. Prices rose in between 1933 and 1939 farmers’ incomes doubled but many farm labourers lost their jobs.
What was the NRA?
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) established by the National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) helped to stabilise production and prices, and improve working conditions and fair pay. Voluntary codes for drawn up for each industry and 2 million businesses were able to display the NRA badge (a blue eagle with the motto ‘we do our part’) to encourage the public to buy their products and services. The scheme favoured large companies you sometimes forced small firms out of business and it was declared unconstitutional by the supreme court in 1935.
What was the FERA?
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) had $500 million to assist the poor through soup kitchens, clothing, bedding, work schemes and nursery schools.
What was the TVA?
The Tennessee valley authority (TVA) was a vast geographical area across 7 states which had been badly affected by floods and soil erosion creating a dust bowl and poverty. Newly planted forests, flood prevention schemes and dams brought irrigation, flood control, electricity, industry and jobs to the region.
What was the HOLC?
The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) took over 1 million mortgages of middle-income Americans who were struggling so the banks did not repossess their homes.
What was the Second New Deal?
By 1935 Roosevelt was facing criticism on the pace of recovery. He took radical steps between 1935 and 1937 to help victims of the depression and creative a fairer and more just America.
- The Wagner Act
- The Social Security Act
- The Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- The Resettlement Administration (RA)
What was the Wagner Act (1935)?
The Wagner Act (1935) replaced the National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) declared unconstitutional but the Supreme Court. It supported the rights of workers to form trade unions and bargain with their employers for better pay and conditions. It also made it illegal to sack workers of being in a union.
What was the Social Security Act (1935)?
The Social Security Act (1935) the Federal government provided old age pensions, unemployment benefit and help for the sick and disabled. The insurance scheme was paid for by taxes on workers and employers.
What was the WPA?
The Works Progress Administration (WPA), 1935 provided jobs building schools, hospitals, highways and windbreak of trees to prevent soil erosion. There were also schemes for artists, actors and writers along with part-time work and training for young people
What was the RA?
The Resettlement Administration (RA), 1935 helped farm labourers, sharecroppers, smallholders and who had not been helped by the AAA. 500,000 families were moved to better land and housing. It was replaced by the Farm security Administration (FSA) in 1937.
What was the FSA?
The Farm security Administration (FSA) replace the Resettlement Administration (RA) in 1937 by providing loans to small farmers and camps for migrant workers.
What laws were passed to help Native Americans in 1934?
“Indian Reorganization Act (1934) provided money to help native Americans buy and improve land.
Indian Reservation Act (1934) help native Americans to preserve and practice their traditions, laws and culture”
Why did the New Deal encounter radical opposition from the left?
The radical opposition didn’t think Roosevelt had gone far enough in applying communist or socialist solutions to nationalise industries or redistribute wealth. [e.g. Senator Huey Long, the Radio Priest, Townsend Clubs]
Why did the New Deal encounter opposition from conservatives?
Conservative Americans felt that Roosevelt was too radical and the state had become too involved in people’s lives undermining core American values. [e.g. Republicans, The Liberty League, States’ Rights campaigners]
Who was the “Radio Priest”?
Father Coughlin from Detroit believed the New Deal had not done enough to tackle the problems of the poor and broadcast his ideas on radio every Sunday evening to a national audience of 40 million. He also founded the National Union for Social Justice with a membership of 7 million.
