The New Deal Flashcards
What were the three basic aims of Roosevelt’s New Deal?
Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
What was the aim of Relief in the New Deal?
To help the victims of the Depression, including those facing unemployment, hunger, and poverty.
What was the aim of Recovery in the New Deal?
To encourage economic recovery and get the nation back to work.
What was the aim of Reform in the New Deal?
To alter the economic system to prevent future depressions.
What significant action did FDR take with the Emergency Banking Act?
Closed banks for a four-day bank holiday and inspected them before allowing only well-run banks to reopen.
What was the purpose of the Economy Act introduced by FDR?
To cut the pay of government and armed forces workers by 15%, saving nearly $1 billion.
What did the Beer Act accomplish?
Made it legal to produce and sell alcohol again, reducing gangster activity and allowing the government to tax alcohol.
What was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)?
An agency that helped the poor by providing clothing grants and setting up soup kitchens, distributing $500 million to the homeless.
What was the goal of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)?
To help farmers by controlling production and stabilizing prices, including paying farmers to destroy food.
What did the National Recovery Administration (NRA) aim to achieve?
To help industry and factory workers by increasing wages and improving working conditions.
What was the Public Works Administration (PWA)?
An agency that created jobs by paying unemployed people to build infrastructure like schools and bridges.
What was the purpose of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)?
To provide jobs for young men in conservation projects, creating jobs for 2.5 million men.
What did the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) achieve?
Brought hydro-electric power to seven states in the Tennessee Valley, creating jobs through the construction of dams and power plants.
What were some successes of the New Deal?
It helped bring relief for millions of unemployed and homeless Americans.
People felt
that FDR was doing something and was trying to help them. This gave them more
confidence that the depression would end.
The TVA brought work and an improved standard of living to deprived parts of the
USA.
It restored confidence in the banks and stock markets. People started to reinvest
money in the banks which got the economy moving and tried to restart the cycle of
prosperity.
It provided workers with greater rights.
It led to acceptance that the government had an important role to play in the running
of the American economy.
What were some failures of the New Deal?
-did not help Black workers as much as White workers. They often got the worst jobs, received less relief than white people.
The New Deal offered little help to women. Some of the alphabet agencies codes actually required women to be paid less than men. Only 8000 women were employed
by the CCC out of the 2.75 million involved in the scheme.
Many farmers continued to have a low standard of living.
It benefited skilled workers more than unskilled workers.
Between 1933 to 1936 it did bring recovery to the American economy. In 1937 Roosevelt tried to cut spending on the New Deal but this led to a rise in unemployment, fall in demand and decline in share prices.
By 1939 despite renewed spending 9.5 million Americans remained unemployed.
The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 is what saved the US economy as sold war goods to the Allies.
The US entered the Second World War in 1941 following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbour, which led to massive defence spending which pulled the US out of the depression
Who thought the New Deal went too far?
Republicans who continued to believe in laissez-faire and rugged individualism.
They believed the New Deal cost too much money that was wasted on worthless
jobs
They also accused Roosevelt of having too much power and acting like a dictator.
Businessmen resented government interference in their affairs e.g. setting wages
within the NRA and later the Wagner Act.
Businessmen feared that the New Deal was moving the US towards Communism. They
compared the New Deal to Stalin’s 5 year economic plans
Who believed the New Deal did not go far enough?
Some Democrats attacked Roosevelt for not going further in his policies.
Huey Long suggested an alternative for the New Deal called ‘Share our Wealth’ –
he said that if he were president all fortunes over $5million would be confiscated and shares out. He was assassinated in 1935.
The Supreme Court attacked the legality of the New Deal.
Charles Coughlin set up the National Union for Social Justice. Its aim was to provide work and fair wages for everyone. However he made speeches attacking Jews and trade unions and his support declined
What was the Supreme Court’s stance on the New Deal?
Decreed 11 out of 16 Alphabet Laws unconstitutional, arguing federal overreach into state powers.
What cultural trends emerged in the 1930s despite the Great Depression?
By 1930, around 40 per cent of the American population owned a radio set, and this number had more than doubled by 1939. Sports, news reports, plays and shows were broadcast by radio.
The 1930s has since been seen as a time of major growth in Hollywood, with major film studios, such as MGM and Warner Brothers
Comic books became a new sensation during the 1930s. Comics were cheap to produce and many new comic publishers were created
Writers such as John Steinbeck, who often wrote about poor, working-class people and their struggle to lead a decent and honest life. His most famous book, The Grapes of Wrath, was published in 1939 and explored the challenges faced by a migrant family.
What was significant about literature in the 1930s?
Produced great works focusing on social criticism, with John Steinbeck as a key figure.
What were some popular movies of the 1930s?
King Kong (1933), Gone With the Wind (1939), and The Grapes of Wrath (1940).
What role did radio play in the 1930s?
Became immensely popular, providing comedy, music, news, and political content to millions.
What was the WPA’s contribution to the arts?
Provided work for unemployed artists, promoting Social Realism and cultural projects.
