FD Roosevelt + New Deal Flashcards
(40 cards)
1
Q
Why is the 1932 election often defined as ‘turning point election’
A
- the end of the long Republican ascendancy + beginning of the New Deal
2
Q
What were the themes of Roosevelt’s election campaign?
A
- govt. intervention was badly needed
- America had to come off the gold standard
- businesses should be reformed + regulated
- give a sense of hope + enthusiasm for the future
3
Q
Why did the Republicans lose the 1932 election?
A
- extremely unpopular due to the perceived failures of Hoover
- leading to the Democrats having a dominated victory - strong majorities in the House of Representatives + in the senate
4
Q
What was happening early 1933?
A
- banking crisis got worse
- unemployment rising
- farming crisis got worse
5
Q
Criticisms of FDR’s New Deal?
A
- conservative business leader through the went too far
- farmers+ workers thought he did not do nearly enough
- ran in troubles with Supreme Court - aspects of his new deal were regarded unconstitutional
6
Q
When did the New Deal start?
A
- as soon as FDR was inaugurated March 1933 his New Deal was launched
- FDR was given unprecedented powers by congress for 100 days to implement a programme of reform that would get American people back to work
- the ND policies in 1833 were both economic + political = aim was to rescue the economy from collapse
7
Q
How did the Hundred Days began?
A
- Emergency Banking Act passed 9 March = a banking holiday for 4 days
- the federal reserve was given power to issue currency + to supervise the reopening of banks
- Roosevelt gave his first radio ‘fireside chat’ - reassuring Americans their money would be safe + encouraging them to deposit it in banks again
8
Q
Aims of the New Deal?
A
- relief - helping the victims of the depression
- recovery - trying to get the economy going again
- reform - solving problems that caused the depression in the first place
9
Q
What were Alphabet Agencies?
A
- new organisations + federal recovery programmes
- 59 were created 1933-38
10
Q
Relief + recovery alphabet agencies (first new deal)
A
- AAA (1933) = agricultural adjustment Administration
- CCC (1933) = civilian conservation corps
- FCA (1933) = farm credit administration
- FERA (1933) = federal emergency relief administration
- PWA (1933) = public works administration
- TVA (1934) = Tennessee valley authority
11
Q
What was the role of the AAA?
A
- provided farmers with federal subsidies to compensate them for cutting back the overproduction of basic commodities
- e.g. pork, wheat, cotton
12
Q
What was the role of the CCC?
A
- provided work for young men (18-25) working on conservation projects
- e.g. planting trees for windbreaks + improving national parks
13
Q
What was the role of the FCA?
A
- helped farmers manage their debts by loans from federal funds to pay for seed, machinery etc.
14
Q
What was the role of the FERA?
A
- provided $500 million to state + local agencies for relief payments to the unemployed
15
Q
What was the role of the FHA?
A
- provided govt. funding to help people keep up with mortgage payments
16
Q
What was the role of the PWA?
A
- provided more than $3 billion for work-creation projects, such as roads
17
Q
What was the role of the TVA?
A
- coordinated schemes for conservation + regeneration in southern + western states
- e.g. built dams to provide hydroelectric power, flood control + irrigation
- also social projects such as education
18
Q
What was the purpose of reform + regulation agencies?
A
- aimed to protect the rights of unions + workers
- to use govt. intervention to impose reforms on private companies
- e.g. Bank Act = regulate banking + credit to protect savers
19
Q
Reform + regulation agencies (first new deal)
A
- NRA (1933) - National recovery act
- ERTA (1934) - Emergency Railways transportation act
- FCC (1934) - Federal communications commission
- SEC (1934) - Security + exchange commission
20
Q
What was the role of the NRA?
A
- to foster co-operation between the different sides of industry by developing agreed codes of practice
- these codes were about issues such as production levels, wage rates, working hours, price + trade union rights
21
Q
What was the role of the ERTA?
A
- regulated railroad companies
22
Q
What was the role of the FCC?
A
- set up federal regulation of radio + telegraph services
23
Q
What was the role of SEC?
A
- extended the banking act to set up federal regulation of trading in stocks + shares
- strengthened the Federal Reserve in Washington
- it was now illegal to stocks on credit
24
Q
Successes of the First New Deal?
A
- us no longer on gold standard - stabilised financial markets
- relief provided to certain groups - protecting homeowners + farmers by giving help to refinance loans
- provided employment through public work schemes - e.g. CWA provided employment for 4 million workers building roads + airports
- changed the national mood from hopelessness to optimism
25
Failures of the first new deal?
- AAA never achieved what govt. hoped - agricultural crisis intensified due to droughts
- the AAA worsened rural poverty - sharecroppers were already suffering but suffered even more because the AAA reduced the amount of land used to grow cotton
- little direct help to AA because Roosevelt didn’t want to antagonise the southern politicians + business leaders who might hv obstructed the new deal policies
- end of 1934 - 22 million unemployed
26
Overview of the second new deal?
- launched in June 1935
- relief schemes were expanded through the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- bought in federal social security benefits
- reformed labour relations through the Wagner act
27
Second new deal alphabet agencies
- FLSA (1936) - Fair Labour Standard Act
- FSA (1937) - Farm Security Administration
- NHA (1938) - National Housing Act
- NYA (1935) - National Youth Administration
- REA (1935) - Rural Electrician Administration
- SSA (1935) - Social Security Administration
- WPA (1935) - Works Progress Administration
28
What was the role of the FLSA?
- set a minimum wage + 40 hour week
29
What was the role of the FSA?
gave federal loans to farmers
30
What was the role of the NHA?
set up housing projects for poorer families
31
What was the role of the NYA?
helped youth with education + training
32
What was the role of REA?
bought electricity to rural areas
33
What was the role of the SSA?
gave federal insurance to the elderly, unemployed + disabled
34
What was the role of the WPA?
a major public works scheme to provide jobs + relief
35
What was the Wagner Act?
- 1935
- first national legislation which recognised the right of workers to elect their own representatives to take part in collective bargaining with employers
- it therefore recognised the right for workers to form trade unions - trade union membership grew from 3.7 million 1933 to 9 million 1938
36
Why did Roosevelt pass the Wagner Act if he was anti-trade union?
- support for his re-election
37
What was the NLRB?
- national labour relations board
- was set up to ensure fair play - employers were forbidden to resort to unfair practices such as discrimination against unionists
38
Limitations of the Wagner Act?
- did not apply to those already covered by the Railway Labour Act
- didn’t apply to agricultural workers , domestic employees, federal, state or local govt. workers
- Big businesses weren’t cooperating - Ford didn’t accept trade unions (Union of Auto Workers) until 1941
39
Importance of the Wagner Act?
- first piece of legislation that recognised the right of workers to elect their own representatives to take part in collective bargaining with employers = landmark development of labour rights
- gave workers the right to join trade unions
- set up the NLRB that had the power to bargain on the behalf of workers
- facilitated the growth of trade union membership
40
What was the CIO?
- Congress of Industrial Action (1935-37)
- formed due to the concern of exclusion of unskilled workers in the Wagner Act
- CIO began to organise labour in mass production industries - steel, automobiles etc.
- black workers + immigrants workers benefited from the CIO’s support for equality
- gather 3.7 mil. workers
