New Deal Flashcards
What was the Emergency Banking Act?
People had lost confidence in banks during the Depression. FDR temporarily had all banks closed and had them inspected. Only honest, well-run banks with enough cash would be given loans and allowed to reopen. This gave people confidence to put money in banks again.
What was the economy act?
All government employees got 15% pay cuts, saving nearly $1 billion.
What was the Beer Act?
Prohibition was ended, putting gangsters out of business. The government could raise money by taxing alcohol.
What was ‘priming the pump’?
- the government creates jobs by spending money
- once the workers earn wages, they start buying goods
- firms and businesses then start hiring new workers, who buy goods once they earn wages
What were some Alphabet Agencies aimed at helping farmers?
FCA (Farm Credit Administration) - lent money to farmers who couldn’t keep up with loan repayments
AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Agency) - Paid farmers to produce less. As a result, food prices increased and farmer’s incomes also increased
What were some Alphabet Agencies aimed at helping workers and industry?
NRA (National Recovery Administration) - encouraged workers and employers to work out a code of fair conditions and pay and gave workers the right to join a trade union.
TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) - provided work building dams and electric power stations along the Tennessee River, one of the poorest in America
HOLC (Home Owners Loan Corporation) - gave loans to people struggling to pay their mortgages
What were some Alphabet Agencies aimed at helping the unemployed?
CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) - jobless 18 to 25 year-olds were put to work in the countryside, creating 2.5 million jobs
CWA (Civil Works Administration) - provided temporary jobs for 4 million people, building schools, airports and roads
FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Agency) - $500 million was given to states to help the homeless. Soup kitchens, blankets, clothes and nursery school places were provided
Why did the rich oppose the New Deal?
To pay for the New Deal, FDR raised taxes for rich people, which angered them
Why did businesspeople oppose the New Deal?
Many business owners didn’t like the way the New Deal agencies ‘interfered’ with business and gave more rights to workers.
Why did Republicans oppose the New Deal?
Many Republicans believed in ‘laissez-faire’ and ‘rugged individualism’ and were horrified by the way the New Deal dominated people’s lives. Some thought it made the government too powerful.
Why did the Supreme Court oppose the New Deal?
They ruled that the AAA was illegal because giving help to farmers was a matter of state governments not federal government. The Supreme Court also declared many of the NRA codes illegal.
How did the New Deal affect workers?
- the alphabet agencies provided work for many skilled and unskilled workers
- FDR introduced the Wagner Act, which gave workers the right to join trade unions
- some unions were treated with suspicion by some employers
How did the New Deal affect farmers?
- measures were introduced to help raise the price of crops and make loans available to farmers to save them from eviction
- most help went to large-scale farmers, small-scale ones didn’t get much help
- there was still severe poverty in much of rural America
How did the New Deal affect African Americans?
- the New Deal did not seek to end the severe discrimination (e.g. CCC campsites were segregated)
- however, 200,000 African Americans gained jobs on the CCC and an African American woman was appointed to an important government post
How did the New Deal affect Native Americans?
- government loans were provided for them to buy more land, set up businesses and buy farming equipment
- the Indian Reservation Act of 1934 gave them the right to manage their own affairs
- however, many still Ives in extreme poverty and suffered discrimination
