2.3 Roosevelt And the First New Deal Flashcards
ROOSEVELT AND THE FIRST NEW DEAL
emergency relief-work
*1/4 Americans were unemployed
- soup kitchens & breadlines
-Hoovervilles
= top priority
public work:
bring immediate employment = publicly funded work schemes = trigger economy
- CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS : young unmarried men given work in national forest and parks to plant trees m bile parks & roads. $30 per month and 2.5 million men + a place to live (semi-military)
increased: awareness and appreciation for the outdoors, physical conditions, morale and employability
FEDERAL EMERGECNY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION (FERA)
- $3 billion - 20 million people got provided work
provided grants from the federal government to state governments for a variety of projects in fields such as agriculture, the arts, construction and education. to encourage self respect instead of just taking welfare payments by working
- but many states were hostile to the idea of relief (communism)
- limited impact BUT did set an important precedent of gov going direct funds for relief
CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION: (introduced by FERA )
winter = millions of unemployed faced hardship .
budget of $400 million - employed
4.2 million workers (built 400 airports + 250,000 miles of road)
= emergency relief + valuable infrastructure = encourage economic growth
BUT criticised of BOONDOGGLING - unnecessary jobs given out to give wages + encourage people to give back to the economy (eg: leaf picker)
ROOSEVELT AND THE FIRST NEW DEAL
helping farmers
*high priority than industrial
(30% of labour force workers in agriculture
Roosevelt saw it as a backbone
- farmers holiday association threatened strikes if effective legislation was not put in place
= agricultural policies to end overproduction and make it more efficient
EXTENSION OF FARMING CREDIT - all multiple bodies dealing with credit ended and equaled 1 body
-loaned funds to farmers in danger of loosing property
-recovery for farmers who lost their farms
-interest 1%
AGRICULUTRAL ADJUSTMENT ACT
Gov would subsidise farmers to reduce their acreage + production (to increase farmers income)
- introduced allotment plans =prevtn surplus
- destroyed 6 million piglets to keep costs as low as cost more to grow to maturity (controversial as many Americans suffered am nutrition) + crops were burned for cheaper fuel
1935:35 million acres removed form cultivation but farmers income rose $4.5 billion to $6.9 billion
+ reduced surplus + equal demand
(funds created for act was tax on food)
BUT
-black sharecroppers still in poverty
-Dustbowl : due to climatic change and bad agriculture methods = solid dry + droughts = nothing would grow = mass migration to Florida
- 1936: AAA was voided by Supreme Court
ROOSEVELT AND THE FIRST NEW DEAL
reforming the financial system
- to regain public confidence:
- banks closing , 40 per day
- no deposits being made
- gold reserves fell $1.3 billion to $400 billion
- banks only had $6 billion to pay $41 billion debt
= suicides , loosing life savings
EMERGENCY BANKING ACT
ordered a national bank holiday 6-9 march
- persuaded congress to pass EMERGENCY BANKING ACT ; investigated all banks threatened with collapse + only reopen once approved
[ + roosevelt fireside chats = encourage people return money instead of “keeping it under the mattress” - $1 billion retuned]
GLASS STEAGALL BANKING ACT
-separated commercial from investment baking (commercial was seen as a cause of the Wall Street crash)
-banks deposits secured
- bank officials nor allowed to take loans from banks
GOLD RESERVE ACT
devalued US dollar against the rate of gold ; hope to make exports cheaper
{wanted to stop flow of gold out of the country + increase amount in circulation (rising prices)}= helping American industry + agriculture
BUT
did not work due to FDRS belief that cause of economic crisis was domestic + not international (opposite to hoover)
- FDR hundred national cooperation at LONDON ECONOMIC CONFERENCE (may have harmed US economy) - prevent increased exports by not allowing foreign economies to grow
american liberty league + huey long
ROOSEVELT AND THE FIRST NEW DEAL
opposition to the first new deal
AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
wanted to preserve + uphold the constitution , belied in private property + enterprise unregulated by Law…
- a mix of FDR enemies who opposed the new, active role of federal system
- resented increase in taxes + feared FDR had plans to change the country in a fundental way that was alien to USA
- supported Landon candidate (republic) but lost by 11 million votes
- saw FDR as a class traitor + communist
SHARE OUR WEALTH- HUEY P.LONG
(member of Democratic Party - governor of Louisiana)
- believed that economic recovery would be stimulated if every American family received a minimum income ($2000) + allowance
- would mean taking the rich (on income and inheritance) to fund + all private fortunes over $3 million would be confiscated to give to families for a car, house and radio
- advocated old age pensions + free college tuition
1935: created 27,000 clubs which acted as a pressure group (4.6 million members)
1935: 4 million people would say they would vote for him , means he would of held balance in the election
FATHER COUGLIN + TOWNSEND
ROOSEVELT AND THE FIRST NEW DEAL
opposition to the first new deal
FATHER CHARLES COUGLIN
*used radio to broadcast to his 35 million listeners - “the golden hour of the little flower”
(similar to FDR fireside chats)
- Coughlin blamed bankers for the economic catastrophe (similar + support new deal)
1934: formed NATIONAL UNION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE as an alternative to the new deal
- wanted monetary reform (silver coinage + policy to encourage inflation to wipe out financial debt
- attacked Jewish members
- wanted distribution of wealth
BUT
influence decreased after Long’s assassination’s
admired fascist dictators + anti sematic = gov attack
FRANCIS TOWNSEND
supported the idea of old age pension = “lead to increase demand in economy”
- 1935: 500,000 people joined his club in support
(Coughlin & Townsend backed lemke (candidate of the union party) only gained under z million votes compared to FDR’s 27.8 million )
SUPREME COURT
ROOSEVELT AND THE FIRST NEW DEAL
opposition to the first new deal
- 9 justices were political appointments (majority by republican presidents)
- the court had power to declare acts of congress ( tht president/ state laws are unconsititutional)
(FDR belived that the new deal measures could be justfied because promoted the general welfare clause) - 1935: Declared various key parts of the fisrt new deal unconstitutional (eg the national industrial act)
- ‘slick chicken case’:court declared that the federal governmnet haf exceeded its power by trying to regulate commerce within a state
1936: agriculutral adjustment administrational became illegal
= 11 new deal became illegal beacuse they were contary to US constitution = first new deal unworkable
