3.3 How far did the new deal Benefit Black Americans?

Question 1

New deal Agency AAA - Agri adjustment administration = Aims/purposes?

Answer 1

Farming – problems in 1920s due to over-production Meant farmers got federal money for voluntarily cutting output – e.g. ploughing up crops, slaughtering livestock = to stabilise prices. = farm incomes rose by 58% between 1932 & 35.

Question 2

New deal Agency AAA - Agri adjustment administration = did benefit? did Not benefit B.A?

Answer 2

Did benefit black Americans =
Some formed Unions to protect black farmers – limited impact. AAA declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court. = 1937 FSA set up (Farm Security Administration) with an attempt to help black tenant farmers by getting black representatives on committees set up to share out funding

Did not benefit black Americans =
☞ 40% of black workers made their living in agriculture.
☞ (About 13% owned their land). if owned land - sharecroppers or tenant farmers.
☞ Federal money mostly went to the larger white farms. These farms then reduced their acreage to qualify for federal funds, = often it was this land that was farmed by black farmers, who were tenant farmers or share croppers.
☞ By 1940 about 200,000 black farmers had been driven off their land. Black farm workers lost jobs when AAA money was used to purchase new machinery, which meant less workers were needed.

Question 3

New deal Agency AAA - Agri adjustment administration = did benefit
keywords = unions, Supreme, FSA, representatives

Answer 3

Some formed unions to protect black farmers – limited impact. AAA declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court. = 1937 FSA set up (Farm Security Administration) with an attempt to help black tenant farmers by getting black representatives on committees set up to share out funding

Question 4

By how much did farm incomes rise by from the period of 1933-1935?

Answer 4

$2.4 billion + 58%

Question 5

Why didn’t Black American farmers in the Old South benefit from the AAA?

Answer 5

Because landowners were paid to yield less produce by the AAA and so many sharecroppers were driven out out due to this reduction because they depended on it to pay the rent.

Question 6

By 1940 approx how many black farmers were driven off their land

Answer 6

200,000

Question 7

New deal Agency AAA - Agri adjustment administration = did Not benefit B.A?

Key words, 40%, 13% owned, larger, driven, lost, machinery

Answer 7

Did not benefit black Americans =
☞ 40% of black workers made their living in agriculture.
☞ (About 13% owned their land). if owned land - sharecroppers or tenant farmers.
☞ Federal money mostly went to the larger white farms. These farms then reduced their acreage to qualify for federal funds, = often it was this land that was farmed by black farmers, who were tenant farmers or share croppers.
☞ By 1940 about 200,000 black farmers had been driven off their land. Black farm workers lost jobs when AAA money was used to purchase new machinery, which meant less workers were needed.

Question 8

Who headed the cotton section of the AAA and what did this mean for black Americans?

Answer 8

Southern white Conservative who prioritised whites .= Vast majority of the money received for farmer subsistence went to large farms owned by yt americans

Question 9

In an attempt to gain some AAA financial assistance and to stop …. from farms, many black farmers organised themselves into … groups such as ……. sharecroppers …. and the southern ….. farmers ….. = limited success in trying to prevent evictions

Answer 9

• evications
• lobby
• Alabama
• union
• Tenant
• union

Question 10

What did the supreme court declare the AAA to be?

Answer 10

1936 US SC declared AA unconsitutional = stating federal gov had exceeded its powers

Question 11

in 1937 Roosevelt administration set the … …. …. which aimed to help …. farmers. It made effort to give black famers a voice in the …. of financial …. by apoointing them to … committee throughout southern states.

Answer 11

• Farm security Administartion (FSA)
• Tenant
• Allocation
• assistance
• agency

Question 12

Why was the FSA limited/failure?`

Answer 12

Opposition from southern Democrats in Congress and YT-dominated southern state gov forced Roosevelt administration to withdraw black. A representation on FSA committees.

Also, the fact that in 1938, a second Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed by Congress but, like the first act, it gave a little support.

Question 13

New deal Agency CCC - Civillian Conservation Corps 1933 = Aims/purposes?

Answer 13

To provide work for unemployed younger men. For 17 – 25 year olds. Conservation projects, e.g. national parks, tree planting, roads.

Question 14

How many people took part in the CCC programs?

Answer 14

3 million

Question 15

how many young men were housed in CCC by August?

Answer 15

August 1933, 275,000 young men wer housed in 1,300 CCC camps across USA

Question 16

How did the government intervening mean it helped B?A CCC

Answer 16

Federal Gov threatened to withold all CCC funding from that state. 10% of places reserved for black Americans – 275,000 went through programme.

Question 17

Who was CCC headed by and did this hindered B.A

Answer 17

by Robert Fechner who was racially conservative (from Tennessee). He did nothing to promote black involvement at first.

Question 18

Evidence of racial discrimination: ccc

Key words, Georgia, threaten, 46, complaints

Answer 18

Clarke County, Georgia – no black place given, but made up 60% of the population.
⤷Federal govt had to threaten Georgia to withhold all CCC funding to ensure some places were given to black Americans.
⤷ Mississippi – Black Americans were 50% of population. Only got 46 places – 1.7 % of black population.
⤷By 1935 camps became segregated in south after complaints from southern politicians.

Question 19

New deal Agency CCC - Civillian Conservation Corps 1933 = did benefit? did Not benefit B.A?

Answer 19

Did benefit =
By 1942, over 3 million had gone through the programme – 1935 – Roosevelt’s government intervened to ensure black recruitment. 10% of places reserved for black Americans – 275,000 went through programme.

Did Not benefit B.A =
⤷ CCC headed by Robert Fechner who was racially conservative (from Tennessee). He did nothing to promote black involvement at first.
⤷ Evidence of racial discrimination: Clarke County, Georgia – no black place given, but made up 60% of the population.
⤷Federal govt had to threaten Georgia to withhold all CCC funding to ensure some places were given to black Americans.
⤷ Mississippi – Black Americans were 50% of population. Only got 46 places – 1.7 % of black population.
⤷By 1935 camps became segregated in south after complaints from southern politicians.

Question 20

New deal Agency NRA - National Recovery Administration = Aims/purposes?

Answer 20

to create jobs and raise wages. Set codes of fair practice, e.g. a minimum wages and safety standards, Child labour below the age of 16 banned.
Businesses involved could show the Blue Eagle logo.

Question 21

What was the problem with the NRA?

Answer 21

Many companies refused to cooperate with the codes such as the Ford Motor Company, making them unworkable.

Question 22

What was the problem for Black Americans with the NRA?

Answer 22

The codes of practice allowed for unequal pay between workers based on race.

Question 23

What was the final ruling for the NRA’s codes of practice?

Answer 23

The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1935.

Question 24

What act allowed unions the right to collectively bargain for better wages?

Answer 24

Wagner Act 1935

Question 25

What jobs were not included by Congress in the industry codes? NRA

Answer 25

⟹Cotton industry – less skilled jobs such as cleaners and manual workers, not included by Congress in the industry codes = no need to pay a minimum wage. Black workers were more likely (75%) to be in these types of jobs.

Question 26

New deal Agency NRA - National Recovery Administration = did benefit? did Not benefit B.A?

Answer 26

Did Benefit =
A minority benefited. NRA and Wagner Act allowed unions the right to collectively bargain for better wages etc.

Did Not benefit B.A =
⟹Cotton industry – less skilled jobs such as cleaners and manual workers, not included by Congress in the industry codes = no need to pay a minimum wage. Black workers were more likely (75%) to be in these types of jobs.

Question 27

What was PWA and when was it set up?

Answer 27

Public Works Administration – construction projects, e.g. housing, school - June 1933

Question 28

What did the PWA do?

Answer 28

Offered jobs on public works that aimed to create a long-term program for economic growth

Question 29

How many schools were built by the PWA?

Answer 29

13,000

Question 30

PWA provided jobs for …….. each year. ….. programmes helped to raise ….. levels.

Answer 30

350,000
Education
literacy

Question 31

How much did PWA spend?``

Answer 31

Spent over $65 million on construction and improvement of black schools, homes and hospitals. Ickes ensured all PWA workers got equal pay.

Question 32

PWA BENEFITS TO B.A

Answer 32

✅ WPA provided jobs for 350,000 each year. Education programmes helped to raise literacy levels.
✅Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior under Roosevelt and a former NAACP president (Chicago branch).
✅Ickes directly helped black Americans through the housing division of the PWA. Introduced racial quotas for construction projects. By 1940 – black Americans occupied 1/3 of its housing units.
✅Spent over $65 million on construction and improvement of black schools, homes and hospitals. Ickes ensured all PWA workers got equal pay.

Question 33

Conclusions - Had a limited impact as a result. - Did not challenge segregation - Helped make Civil rights a political issue BUT its cause was not significantly advanced by FDR’s administration. - Was greater sensitivity to evidence of racial discrimination

Answer 33

No acts were aimed specifically at black Americans. Had a limited impact as a result.

Did not challenge segregation. E.g. CCC – was criticism of Georgia and threat to withhold CCC funding to ensure some places went to Black Americans, but after 1935 camps remained segregated in the south due to influence of southern democrats.

Helped make Civil rights a political issue BUT its cause was not significantly advanced by FDR’s administration. However, the number of black Americans in federal jobs increased X4 during FDR’s presidency, although most were in low-level jobs. Appointments of black Americans e.g. Robert Weaver, special advisor to Roosevelt on Economic Status of the Negro, 1934.

Was greater sensitivity to evidence of racial discrimination, e.g. creation of the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department, known later as the Civil Rights Division = a government agency to help southern black Americans. Focused mainly on voting rights at first. Later worked with NAACP.

Meant black Americans now voted for the Democrats. In the North, the black vote was increasingly important.

Question 34

New deal Agency CCC - Civillian Conservation Corps 1933 = did Not benefit B.A?

key words =

Question 35

New deal Agency CCC - Civillian Conservation Corps 1933 = did benefit?

Keywords = gone through, intervened, reserved, 275,000

Answer 35

Did benefit =
By 1942, over 3 million had gone through the programme – 1935 – Roosevelt’s government intervened to ensure black recruitment. 10% of places reserved for black Americans – 275,000 went through programme.