(3a) The New Deal and the economy Flashcards
Impact of New Deal policies on unemployment
- 1929: 3.14%
- 1933: 24.75% (roughly 18 million)
- 1936: 17%
- 1937 (2nd New Deal): 14.3%
- 1938 (Roosevelt recession): 19%
- 1939 (Start of wartime economy): 17.2%
- 1940 (Wartime economy): 14.6%
- 1944: 1.2%
There was an ______ distribution of unemployment in the USA.
There was an uneven distribution of unemployment in the USA.
Describe the trend of unemployment across the period
- Unemployment sky rocketed due to the great depression.
- Thanks to the new deal (and 2nd new deal), unemployment rates began to fall gradually.
- Roosevelt spending cuts (achieve a balanced budget) - unemployment rose during recession and peaked at 19% in 1938.
- However, the wartime economy led to many more employment opportunities - unemployment was practically eradicated by 1944 (1.2%).
The impact of New Deal on National Infrastructure
- First time federal government provided opportunities for the unemployed through state funded work programmes (PWA and WPA).
- Aim = kickstart the economy.
- Agencies provided short term employment - many became unemployed after the programmes.
- The new deal laid the economic foundations that supported the economy’s rapid growth, and prevented total economic collapse.
- It failed in offering long term employment.
Impact of Alphabet Agencies
WPA + TVA
- WPA 1935-1943:
Built 2,500 hospitals, 5,900 schools, 570,000 miles of road, and 8,000 parks.
CCC heavily involved in the development of nationals parks, roads, trees, and tourist facilities. - TVA 1933:
Built 50 huge dams which provided hydroelectric power to the most impoverished areas of the USA (gave them electricity for first time.)
New Industries relocated to rural areas - 1941: 40% of farmers had access to electricity (rose to 90% by 1950.)
The new deal ___________ national infrastructure.
The new deal transformed national infrastructure.
Impact of the New Deal on women: Key women
Eleanor Roosevelt.
- Very active and political role - transformed the role of the first lady.
- Helped make many New Deal policies - social and political links.
- Unofficial member of FDR’s advisory team.
- Championed the rights of women and ethnic minorities.
- New Deal Years: 348 press conferences highlighting the plight of young people facing poverty and lack of opportunity.
Impact of the New Deal on women: Key women
Frances Perkins
- First female cabinet member: 1933-1945: Secretary of Labour.
- Helped pass a federal minimum wage (Fair Labour Standards Act - 1938).
- Central role in establishing CCC.
- Social Security Act 1935: her radical suggestions watered down.
Impact of the New Deal on women: Key women
Mary McLeod Bethune
- Prominent black American.
- 1936-1944: Director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration.
- Chair of ‘Black Cabinet’.
- 1940: Vice President of NAACP.
- Failure: Black Americans to achieve same wages as whites (in federal government).
- Failure: Black youth to receive federal aid in fair proportion to white kids.
What does the NAACP stand for?
National Association for the Advancement of Coloured Persons.
Women in politics held more ___________ and _________ positions during the New Deal.
Women in politics held more influential and important positions during the New Deal.
3 other important women (quite minor)
- Molly Dewson: Friend of FLOTUS. Women’s division of the democratic party.
- Ellen Woodward: 1933-1935: Director of the Women’s Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA).
- Ruth Bryan Owen: First female ambassador (to Denmark) in 1933.
Women in Employment: Positive Change
- Female version of CCC (“she, she, she” camps) - employed women on short term projects.
- New deal saved education through funding - 80% of teachers were women.
- Some alphabet agencies offered opportunities for women.
Women in Employment: Limited Change
- New Deal and Unions saw men as the principal wage earners.
- Women average wage = $525 (1930s) - half that of men.
- 1933 Economy Act: Only one family member working for fed govt - 75% of those who lost their jobs were women.
- NRA codes allowed unequal wages.
- Social Security Act didn’t include domestic servants ( 100,000s were women.)
Economy in 1939:
- Unemployment high and Union membership at 27%. 5 corporations controlled 85% of all income generated.
- 1939: Amendments made to 1935 Neutrality Acts. USA could sell to belligerents.
- Within a year: Orders for 10,800 aircraft.
- Lend-lease introduced by FDR - US loaned to UK and USSR but had to be paid back.
