The Effectiveness of the New Deal on different groups in Society Flashcards
What were ‘The Hundred Days’
It was when Roosevelt persuaded Congress to give him Emergency Powers from 9th March 1933 to 16th June 1933.
What did the Emergency Banking Act do?
It closed the banks for four days so that the government could check if they were financially stable, and when they reopened, they responded with the backing of the Federal Reserve.
What did the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 do?
Banks were banned from using savers money to speculate on the Stock Market and allowed the US Federal Reserve to set the interest rates.
How did Roosevelt tell the public of his plans?
He sat beside a fireplace in a chair and tell the public his plans over the radio - he explained why America was in a Depression and what he was doing to fix it.
What did Roosevelt establish during his first 100 days in office?
The Alphabet Agencies
What was the CCC?
The CCC was the Civilian Conservation Corps.
What did the CCC do?
This was where Roosevelt put young people to work to help conserve the countryside. Young men were given 6 months’ work and they lived in work camps on schemes like digging ditches, building dams and planting trees to stop soil erosion
How did the CCC affect the unemployed?
It found work for over 300,000 people.
By 1941, 2.5 million had taken part.
What was the CWA?
The CWA was the Civil Works Administration
What did the CWA do?
It was led by Harry Hopkins and built 32’000km of sewers, 40’000 schools, 40’000 playgrounds and built/ improved 1’000 airports, built 400’000km of roads and gave 50’000 teachers jobs.
How did the CWA help people?
It provided emergency relief during the winter of 1933-1934 and provided public projects for 4 million people.
What was the FERA and what did it do?
The FERA was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and they gave money to states to help them provide better relief for the poor.
What was the NRA?
The NRA was the National Recovery Administration.
What did the NRA do?
They banned child labour and set up a maximum 36-hour week for industrial workers and a 40-hour week for clerical workers.
Businessmen wore a blue eagle symbol to demonstrate their commitment to cutting production and paying good wages when joining a ‘Roll of Honour’.
How did the NRA help unemployment?
2.5 million firms that employed 22 million people joined the scheme.
What was the PWA?
The PWA was the Public Works Administration
What did the PWA do?
It provided employment for skilled workers as it built 70% of American schools, 35% of American hospitals, electrified the New York Washington railway, built 50 military airports, 2 aircraft carriers, 4 cruisers and destroyers for the US Navy and a new sewage system in Chicago.
What was the WPA?
The WPA was the Works Progress Administration
What did the WPA do?
They ran projects that provided work for the unemployed by building airports, schools, hospitals, bridges etc.
It built 11’000 schools, 70’000km of roads and the La Guardia airport in New York.
What else did the WPA do other than construction?
- It employed photographers to make a record of the Depression
- It paid people to pick up leaves in parks
- It paid unemployed actors to give free shows
- Hired 100 people to scare pigeons away with balloons from public buildings in Washington D.C.
How much employment did the WPA provide?
It provided jobs to 2 million people per year.
What was the AAA?
It was the Agricultural Adjustment Administration
What did the AAA do?
It provided $120 million worth of subsidies to farmers in exchange for cutting the amount of crops they produced or destroying it.
- 10 million acres of land was taken out of growing cotton
- 8 million acres were taken out of growing wheat
- Tobacco harvest was cut by about 1/3
How did the AAA’s efforts help farmers?
They pushed up prices because there was less produce and so demand increased which drove the value up too
