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The New DealCh. 13 (1932-1941) pp. 394-432Tennessee Academic StandardsUS.33 Using multiple sources and diverse formats, summarize the impact of the mass production and widespread availability of automobiles on the American economy and society. US.49 Identify and explain the following New Deal programs and assess their past or present impact: Works Administration, Social Security, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Securities and Exchange Commission, Fair Labor Standards Act , Agricultural Adjustment Acts, Civilian Conservation Corps, National Recovery Administration and NIRA, Tennessee Valley Authority, Cumberland Homesteads, Great Smoky Mountains National ParkUS.50 Analyze the effects of and the controversies arising from New Deal economic policies, including charges of socialism and FDR’s “court packing” attempt.US.53 Evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media as in the political cartoons about the New Deal. Essential QuestionsHow did the New Deal attempt to address the problems of the Great Depression?What major issues did the Second New Deal address?How did the New Deal change the social, economic, and political landscape of the United States for future generations?How did the men and women of the Great Depression find relief from their hardships in the popular culture?Roosevelt Takes ChargeBy 1932 Americans were ready for a change.In 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt, a relative unknown, accepted the Democratic Presidential nomination.FDR was raised with the privileges of upper-class society, he believed that public service was a noble calling.In 1905 he married his distance cousin Eleanor Roosevelt.Like his cousin, former President Teddy Roosevelt, FDR rose quickly through the political rank.In 1920, FDR was the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate. In the summer of 1941 while vacationing, FDR slipped off his boat and fell into the chilly waters of the North Atlantic.Two weeks later he was diagnosed with polio, a disease that at the time had no treatment.He never fully regained use of his legs.In 1928 he was elected governor of New York.In 1932 he became the Democrat's Presidential candidate.FDR pledged a “New Deal”, but he did not really know how he intended to combat the depression.The 1932 election pitted FDR against Hoover.The two had very different approaches, Hoover believed that relief should come from the state and local level while Roosevelt believed that relief required strong leadership from the federal government. Roosevelt won the election by a landslide.Roosevelt sought the advice of a diverse team of professionals and academics whom the press nicknamed “Brain Trust”.Roosevelt nominated two Republicans to serve as his Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Interior, Henry Wallace and Harold Ickes. Roosevelt also nominated Frances Perkins, a social worker, to serve as his Secretary of Labor, making her the first female cabinet member.Eleanor Roosevelt traveled widely interacting with the American people and serving as FDR’s “eyes and ears”.The Bonus Army showed back up during 1933 asking for the bonus they had been promised.FDR told the Bonus Army the American government would be unable to give the bonus early, but unlike Hoover who used force, Roosevelt sent Eleanor.The First Hundred Days Provide Instant ActionDuring Roosevelt’s first one hundred days in office he proposed fifteen bills and Congress passed them.These were known as the First New Deal, which had the goals of relief, recovery, and reform.The day after his inauguration, Roosevelt called Congress into a special session looking to shore up the banking system.The Emergency Banking Bill gave the President broad powers, including the authority to declare a four day bank “holiday”.Eight days after becoming President, Roosevelt gave the first of what was to become known as his fireside chats.These chats became a important way for the President to communicate with the American people.One of Roosevelts acts created the, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC.The FDIC insured bank deposits up to $5000.The following year the Securities and Exchange Commission was established to regulate the stock market. These reforms helped to restore people’s confidence that a bank would fail and they would lose their savings. These New Deal programs also helped out the farmers.The Agricultural Adjustment Act, or AAA, sought to end farmer’s overproduction and raise crop prices.The AAA provided financial aid by paying farmers not to plant part of their land and kill off excess livestock.In 1933 Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA.Americans living in the Tennessee river valley were some of the poorest in the nation, many without electricity, running water, or sewage systems.The TVA built a series of dams in the Tennessee River valley to control floods and to generate electricity.The TVA also replanted forest, built fertilizer plants, created jobs, and attracted industry because of cheap power.The TVA was not without its critics, some claiming that it was socialist because it was state controlled and private power companies could not compete because TVA paid no taxes.FDR created the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, which provided jobs for more than 2 million young men.The workers of the CCC replanted forest, dug ditches, built trails, dug irrigation ditches, and fought fires. The CCC went on to extend work to Mexican Americans and other minority youth as well as to whites.FDR called the CCC his favorite New Deal Program.There were a number of other relief acts.The Federal Emergency Relief Act, or FERA, granted federal funds to state and local agencies to help the unemployed.The Civil Works Administration, or CWA, provided jobs on public-works projects.The Home Owners Loan Corporation, or HOLC, loaned money at low interest rates to homeowners that could not meet mortgage payments.The Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, insured bank loans used for building and repairing homes.Roosevelt called the National Recovery Administration (NRA) “the most important and far-reaching legislation ever enacted by the American Congress”.Working with business and labor leaders, the NRA developed codes of fair competition to govern whole industries.These codes established minimum wages for workers and minimum prices for goods that businesses sold.The Public Works Administration, or PWA, built bridges, dams, power plants, and government buildings.Many of the PWA’s projects improved the nation’s infrastructure and created millions of jobs. Opposition to the New Deal EmergesOne of the main complaints about the New Deal was that is made the government too powerful.In his 1934 book The Challenge to Liberty, former President Hoover charged the New Deal as “the most stupendous invasion of the whole spirit of liberty”. Leading Republican Congressman Robert Taft, claimed Roosevelt’s programs threatened individual freedom. In 1934 these critics formed the American Liberty League, which was made up of prominent business leaders and some prominent Democrats that felt Roosevelt had deserted the party’s principles. While conservatives accused FDR of supporting socialism, leading socialists complained that the New Deal did not go far enough.The American Communist Party described the New Deal as a “capitalist ruse”.The most significant critics were from the Populist movement.The Populist saw themselves as the spokesmen for the poor in America, challenging the power of the elite.Frances Townsend, a doctor for California, came up with a plan that would provide $200 per month to everyone over the age of 60.To promote his plan he established “Townsend Clubs” and held meetings that resembled old time church revivals.Father Charles Coughlin, a Roman Catholic Priest, attracted millions of listeners on his weekly radio show.At first Coughlin supported the New Deal, but in time he broke with FDR and claimed that Roosevelt had “out-Hoovered Hoover” and called the New Deal the “raw deal”.By the early 1940s Coughlin’s views became so extreme the Roman Catholic officials forced him to end his broadcasts.Senator Huey Long of Louisiana was an expert performer that was a outspoken critic of the New Deal.Huey Long’s solution was a “share the wealth” program that called for high taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, and the redistribution of their income to poor Americans.Roosevelt viewed Long as a serious threat.Long rules Louisiana as if he owned the state, making many enemies.In 1935 a political enemy assassinated Long, ending the most serious threat to Roosevelt’s Presidency. Extending Social and Economic ReformThe Second New Deal addressed the problems of the elderly, the poor, and the unemployed.In spring of 1935 Congress appropriated $5 billion for new jobs and created the Works Progress Administration, or WPA.The WPA built or improved a good part of the nation’s highways, dredged rivers and harbors, and promoted soil and water conservation.By 1943, the WPA employed over 8 million people and spent about $11 billion.Some of the projects the WPA built were San Antonio River Walk and the Appalachian Trail.The federal deficit, $461 in 1932, grew to $4.4 billion in 1936.The growing debt and enormous expenditures led many to criticize the government’s public-works projects as wasteful.British economist John Maynard Keynes argued that deficit spending was needed to end the depression.Keynes theory of pump priming said that putting people to work on public projects put money into the hands of consumers who would buy more goods, stimulating the economy.The United States was one of the few industrialized nations in the world that did not have some form of pension system for the elderly.On January 17, 1935 President Roosevelt unveiled his plans for Social Security.The Social Security Act established unemployment insurance for workers who lost their jobs.The act also covered victims of work related accidents and provided aid for poverty stricken mothers and children.Some of the early flaws of Social Security were that it did not apply to domestics or farmworkers, a group which was largely made up of African Americans.Widows received smaller benefits than widowers because they presumed elderly women could survive on less then elderly men.Congress established the Rural Electrification Administration, or REA, for the purpose of loaning money to electric companies to allow them to bring electricity to isolated rural areas. The program was so successful that by 1950 more than 80 percent of farms had electricity.As a result of these federal programs farm prices stabilized and agriculture remained a productive sector of the economy.Many of the New Deal public works water projects had an enormous impact on the development of the American West.Labor Unions Find a New EnergyDuring the Great Depression there was a upsurge, or sudden rapid increase, in union activity. Roosevelt believed that the success of the New Deal depended on raising the standard of living for American industrial workers. The National Labor Relations Act, called the Wagner Act, recognized the right of employees to join labor unions and gave workers collective bargaining rights.Collective bargaining meant that employers had to negotiate with unions about hours, wages, and other working conditions.The law created the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, to look into worker complaints.The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established a minimum wage, initially at .25 cents per hour, a maximum workweek of 44 hours, and outlawing child labor.The American Federation of Labor, or AFL, represented skilled workers who joined trade or craft unions.Few workers in major industries belonged to the AFL.John L. Lewis the president of the United Mine Workers, and a number of other labor leaders established the CIO.The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, tended to target lower paid and ethnically more diverse than those workers represented by the AFL.In December 1936, members of the CIO’s newly formed United Automobile Workers Union (UAW) staged a sit-down strike at one of General Motors’ most important plant in Flint, Michigan. In a sit-down strike workers refuse to leave the workplace until a settlement is reached.Challenges to the New DealFDR won a overwhelming victory in the presidential election of 1936.Republican challenger Alfred M. Landon just received 37 percent of the vote. FDR entered his second term determined to challenge the group that he considered the main enemy of the New Deal, the Supreme Court.The Supreme Court rules that the National Recovery Act was unconstitutional in the case of Schechter Poultry v. United States.The court also ruled that a key part of the Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional.On February 5, 1937 FDR addressed Congress during a special session proposing that the Supreme Court add six new justices to the overworked court.Opponents accused FDR of court packing, which is loading the court with supporters and upsetting the delicate balances between the three branches of the federal government.Given FDR’s popularity, this may have worked but the court began to turn in FDR’s favor.Shortly after the switch, Judge Willis Van Devanter, who helped to strike down several of the New Deal programs, stepped down. This enabled FDR to nominate a judge that was friendlier to the New Deal policies.There was a downturn in the economy after Roosevelt reduced the federal spending, and at the same time the Federal Reserve Board raised the interest rates.Largely because of this downturn, the Democrats lost some ground in the 1938 Congressional elections.Women Help Lead the New DealEleanor Roosevelt transformed the office of the First Lady from a largely ceremonial role to a position of action and deep involvement in the political process.She traveled all over the country helping FDR on his campaigns and offered advice on policy issues.Margret Marshall, a magazine writer, said “Eleanor Roosevelt is the First Lady of Main Street.”Mrs. Roosevelt causes included advancing public health and education, promoting the arts in rural areas, and even addressing flood control.Molly Dewson, head of the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party, claimed that Eleanor Roosevelt provided women with unprecedented access to the President.Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member, played a leading role in establishing Social Security and the Fair Labor Standards Act.The New Deal did not fight to end gender discrimination in the workplace, and some historians argue that it actually reinforced the gap.African Americans Make Advances and Face ChallengesAfrican American workers were often the first to lose their jobs during the depression.As the New Deal progressed, Eleanor Roosevelt increasing used her position to protest against racial discrimination.While at a meeting held by Southern Conference on Human Welfare, Mrs. Roosevelt sat with the black delegates. She was informed that by doing so she was violating local segregation laws. She then moved her seat to the space between the races.The President invited many African American leaders to advise him, these unofficial advisors became known as the Black Cabinet.The Black Cabinet included Robert Weaver and William Hastie, Harvard University graduates that rose to high positions in the Department of the Interior.Hastie later became a federal judge and Weaver was the first African American cabinet member.Mary McLeod Bethune, another Black Cabinet member, was the founder of what came to be known as Bethune Cookman College.She said that the New Deal created a “new day” for African Americans.African Americans gained unprecedented access to the White House and positions within the government during FDR’s administration.Roosevelt did not always follow the advice of the Black Cabinet.When the NAACP launched a energetic campaign in favor of a federal anti-lynching law, the President refused to support it because of possible fall out with Southern Democrats.Several of the New Deal programs unintentionally hurt African American.Federal payments to farmers to produce fewer crops resulted in some sharecroppers being evicted from their farms because the white land owners did not need the crops. The Social Security and Fair Labor Acts exempted domestic workers and farm laborers, two occupations that African Americans were employed in great numbers.The New Deal Affects Native AmericansBy the early 1930s it was clear that the Dawes Act had worsened the condition of the people it was designed to help.John Collier, who was the New Deal’s Commissioner of Indian Affairs, developed the Indian New Deal.The program that gave the Indians economic assistance and greater control over their own affairs. Collier got funding from New Deal programs for the construction of new schools and hospitals and to create an Indian Civilian Conservation Corps.The Bureau of Indian Affairs also reversed some of its previous policies.The Bureau started to encourage the practice of Indian religions, native languages, and traditional costumes.The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 restored tribal control over Native American land.There were also some New Deal measures that hurt the Native Americans.Federal authorities believed that large herds of sheep belonging to the Navajos were cause soil erosion.The government forced the tribe to kill or sale thousands of sheep.The New Deal Creates a New Political CoalitionThe New Deal Coalition was a political force formed by diverse groups who united to support Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal.During this time African Americans began to change their voting habits from the party of Abraham Lincoln, the Republicans, to the Democrats under FDR.The Democrats also gained a sizable majority in both the House and the Senate.The Democrats went on to win the White House in six of the next eight elections. Social and ethnic divisions that were so much a part of the 1920s began to diminish during the 1930s.Immigrant communities gained a greater since of belonging to the mainstream.The Role of Government ExpandsNew Deal programs greatly increased the size and scope of the federal government.While the New Deal did not end the depression, it did help restore the American economy.The New Deal broke with the traditional laissez-faire policies of the United States government.For the first time the federal government acted as an employer of the unemployed and a sponsor of world projects. FDR’s rejection of laissez-faire policies led many to accuse him of promoting socialism.Many New Deal measures actually strengthened capitalism. The FDIC and SEC restored Americans confidence in the banking system and stock market.The FHA provided low-interest loans for homeownership.The Wagner Act boosted union membership.New Deal legislation created child labor laws, minimum wage improvements, workers compensation laws, and unemployment insurance.New Deal also impacted rural Americans with projects like the TVA, Bonneville Dam, and the REA.Many of these programs led FDR’s goal of America becoming a welfare state.In a welfare state the government assumes responsibility for providing for the welfare of the poor, elderly, sick, and unemployed.This was a major change in government policy, because before this most Americans had never received help from the government other than veterans.State and local governments, private charities, and families had long served as the safety net for the needy.The New Deal established the principle that the federal government was responsible for the welfare of all Americans.FDR was a lover of outdoor sports and activities as a youth, a number of the New Deal programs were aimed at restoring forest and preserving the environment.FDR also continued the work of his cousin Theodore Roosevelt.The government set aside about 12 million acres of land for new national parks.Not all projects helped the environment however.A string of dams built along the Columbia River controlled floods, generated electricity and provided irrigation, but they also displaced people and destroyed some Native American burial grounds.The expanding role of the government gave the executive branch much more power.The?executive branch?of our Government is in charge of making sure that the laws of the United States are obeyed. The President of the United States is the head of the?executive branch. The President gets help from the Vice President, department heads (called Cabinet members), and heads of independent agencies.FDR also effected the lifestyle of the President because of the way he used the radio and his close relations with the press.During WWII his presidential power grew even more as commander in chief of the nation’s military.Many American understood the need for increased presidential authority during wartime, but wanted to protect the balance between the different branches of government.When FDR ran for a third term, he knew he had broken a unwritten rule that George Washington has established.In 1951 the Twenty-second Amendment was ratified limiting the President to two consecutive terms in office.Movies and Radio Captivate AmericansMass entertainment, such as The Wizard of Oz, flourished during the New Deal years as Americans sought escape from the Depression.Entertainment became big business during the 1930s.Large Radio networks, such as NBC and CBS were broadcasting giants.Studios such as MGM, Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, and Paramount ruled the silver screen.In 1935, two of every three homes owned a radio. By 1939 nine out of every 10 owned one.In 1939 two of every three Americans attended at least one movie a week.Americans flocked to the movies during this time as a means of escapism. Big movie studios churned out musicals, romantic comedies, and gangster films.Children enjoyed the colorful animated films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, while teens looking for a good scare watched Frankenstein.Gone With the Wind starting Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh was the biggest film to come out of this era.Many films of the era reflected the public’s mistrust of the government, such as Public Enemy a gangster film.After the New Deal programs started to turn the tide of the depression, the Hollywood films began to show government agents as heroes in films like G-Men.Some films focused on the strength of average Americans.Director Frank Capra was a leader, in his film he cast everyday Americans struggling with hardships of the time.In Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Jimmy Stewart plays a senator who fights against the greed and corruption he finds in the nation’s capital.Depression-era audiences cheered Capra’s films which celebrate American idealism and the triumph of the common man over adversity. The radio networks broadcast shows staring popular comedians such as Bob Hope and Jack Benny.Americans followed soap operas, variety shows, and humorists. Dramatic shows like The Lone Ranger were also popular, it ran for over twenty years.In addition to entertainment, FDR used the radio to keep Americans informed and to promote his New Deal programs during his fireside chats.Newscasters were able to deliver daily news and political commentary.On October 30, 1938 millions of Americans tuned in to a drama called War of the Worlds directed by Orson Welles.The broadcast was so realistic that many people thought that Martians were really invading.Panic gripped some areas of the country until announcers insisted that is was all make-believe. “Swing” music played by “Big Bands” topped the charts on the radio stations.Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, and Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey some of the top swing musicians.The most popular vocalist of the era was Bing Crosby.Latin music was also very popular.Black singers focused on the harsh conditions faced by African Americans.Huddie Ledbetter, a folk singer known as Leadbelly, described experiences of African Americans with songs like “Cotton Fields” and “The Midnight Special.”Woody Guthrie’s song “Dust Bowl Refugee” helped listeners understand the Okie’s plight.The New Deal and the ArtsDuring the New Deal the federal government provided funding for the arts for the first time in history.WPA administrator Harry Hopkins established a special branch to provide artist with work.The Federal Art Project, the Federal Writers Project, and the Federal Theater Project offered a variety of job opportunities for artists.In federally funded theaters, actors and musicians staged performances that were often free to the public.Artist painted huge, dramatic murals on public buildings across the nation.Photographers also benefited from the federal arts programs.The Resettlement and Farm Security, or FSA, sought to document the plight of American farmers.The FSA photographers were told to tell the story of what it was like to live on a farm during this time.Dorothea Lange, a FSA photographer, created powerful images of impoverished farmers and migrant workers including a famous photo called “Migrant Mother.”The Federal Arts programs ceased to exist in the early 1940s, but it set precedent for further federal funding of the arts in the 1960s.The Literature of the DepressionDuring the depression many authors crafted novels featuring working-class heroes. The most famous novel of the 1930s was John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.The story follows the Joad family from their home in Oklahoma, which has been ravaged by the dust bowl, to California where they hope to build a better life.Instead of the Promised Land, they find exploitation, disease, hunger, and political corruption.Richard Wright, a African American, captured the plight of blacks facing both the depression and continued prejudice.Wright’s Native Son explored the racial prejudice in a urban northern setting.In New York, some playwrights had their first successes during the New Deal period.Lillian Hellman wrote several plays featuring strong starring roles for women.Hellman’s plays The Children’s Hour, The Little Foxes, and Watch on the Rhine are also notable for their socially conscious subject matter.Clifford Odets was another playwright who's plays Waiting for Lefty and Awake and Sing showed the struggles of the working class during the Great Depression.Many American also enjoyed comic books or comic strips.The most popular comic strips were Dick Tracy, a detective story; Flash Gordon, a science-fiction saga; and Superman, the first great “superhero” comic.Superman became a huge success that spread to a radio show, then later to a popular television series, and feature films.Superman showed that everyday Americans like mild mannered Clark Kent could overcome evil. ................
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