Chapter 5: The Election Of President F.D Roosevelt And His New Deal Flashcards
A change of government
Herbert Hoover was the president of the USA from 1929 to 1933, during the worst years of the depression. As a leader, of the republican party, he believed that Americans should rely on their own efforts and not on the government handouts to see them go through this crisis
The American government had no programme for poverty relief. Hoover encouraged charities to help people, but he did not want to spend federal money to relieve mass poverty. He did eventually lend money o the government of the 48 states which made up the USA, but they had to pay it back when things improved. Hoover showed very little sympathy for the misery of millions on americans
Who was Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt grew up in an atmosphere of privilege and wealth. He was charismatic, handsome, and enjoyed people. He became a lawyer and was active in the politics of the Democratic party.
in 1921, Roosevelt became seriously ill. Doctors diagnosed him with polio. The disease almost totally paralyzed him and he never recovered full use of his legs. Many historians believe that this illness changed Roosevelt’s personality. Although confined in a wheelchair, Roosevelt returned to politics in 1928. He was often known as simply “FDR”
Roosevelts spiritual transformation during his illness
Roosevelt underwent a spiritual transformation during the years of illness. When he came back that the years of pain and suffering had purged the slightly arrogant attitude he had displayed on occasion before he was stricken. The man emerged completely warm-hearted, with humility of spirit and with a deeper philosophy. Having been to the depths of trouble, he understood the problems of people in trouble
the election of FDR
It was no surprise when franklin Delano Roosevelt of the democratic party won the presidential election in 1932. he promised the American people a New Deal
What was the principle of the new deal?
The principle behind Roosevelt’s New Deal was to get the American people back to work. With jobs, they would get money, they could begin to buy goods. Demand for goods would then rise and more factories could get back into production. More people would be employed. The way to do all this was to increase government spending
Roosevelt created a large number of government-funded agencies which employed jobless people and paid them for their work. As a result of the New Dela, the American economy began to recover.
What was the New Deal?
The new deal was a series of laws and programmes implemented in America between 1933 to 1936. The laws and programmes were passed by the US Congress after Roosevelt became President.
The New Deal put the US government in charge of the economy. Roosevelt moved away from traditional Laissez-Faire capitalism. he believed that the government had to take the lead to get the economy going again. Roosevelts engaging personal style and his fireside chats on the radio also helped to restore the American publics confidence in government
The New Deal focused on
the 3 Rs
RELIEF for the unemployed and poor
RECOVERY of the economy
REFORM of the financial system to prevent another depression
Relief agencies
Soup kitchen
The government provided Federal Emergency Relief Administration with money to feed people
Job creation
The Civil Works Administration created jobs with low wages and also employed teachers to teach adult literacy. It hired unemployed writers, photographers, painters, and performers to raise the morale of the Americas people
Recovery agencies
Public works
The US government gave the PWA millions of dollars to build dams, roads, courts, hospitals, and schools, and the NRA was intended to get the economy growing again and controlled American industry to make sure that big and small businesses worked together smoothly and limits were set on production to prevent over-production.
Agriculture
Congress passed on the Agricultural Adjustment Act to stop overproduction and to help farmers who had suffered the depression. The gov paid farmers to grow less, to produce less milk and butter to raise fewer pigs and lambs
Reforms
State responsibility for the welfare
the SSA provided the unemployed with wages and the elderly with pensions
Trade unions
The NLRB was set up and workers got the legal right to form trade unions. The NRLB made it illegal for employers to harass workers on strike
Since the beginning of the depression
The impact of the New Deal
After the new deal was introduced, the employment rate began to rise. The government intervened in the economy by spending huge sums of money which led to more jobs. More money was in circulation and the American economy began to slowly recover
Right-wing criticism of the New Deal
This came from the Republican party and business leaders. right-wing opinions are generally conservative and support laissez-faire capitalism. These critics said New Deal went too far and was a kind of socialism.
Most business leaders did not support Roosevelts attempts to increase taxes on the wealthy in order to fund the New Deal
Left wing criticism of the New Deal
Was expressed by the socialists and communists leaders. Left wing opinions generally supported government involvement in the economy especially to help the poor
They criticised Roosevelt new deal for not going far enough. They argue that the American government should have distributed wealth more fairly and they argue. Left wing historians argue that the New deal was about saving American capitalism
Who are populists
Usually say what they think most people want to hear. They are more interested in being popular than in solving problems
Left wing populist
The most famous left wing populists critic of the New Deal was Huey long, a senator from Loiuisiana. He criticised Roosevelt for not doing enough for the poor. He used the slogan ‘Share Our Wealth’. He promised to take money from the rich and make sure that every American could own a house, a car, and a radio. He did not have a detailed plan however to achieve this
