The second New Deal Flashcards
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
brought together all the schemes trying to create jobs. Extended its projects to make jobs for office workers, actors, artists, photographers. Farms Security Administration Photographic Project took 80,000 photos of farming progress, others such as the Federal Arts project enlisted artists to paint murals for towns.
Social Security Act (SSA)
state pensions were given to the elderly or the widowed. The act set up unemployment insurance. The employer and the employee would set aside a bit of money each month so that if the employed person was fired, he could receive a small benefit.
Farm Security Administration (FSA)
replace the Resettlement Administration in 1937 and gave loans to farmers to help them buy their land. Built camps to provide decent living conditions for migrant workers.
Wagner Act
allowed and supported trade unions to operate in a company. Unions were allowed to negotiate with employers for better pay and conditions; it made it illegal for a worker to be sacked for being part of a union. This strengthened trade unions - however, businesses remained powerful, Ford company employed local thugs or local police forces and used them to break up strikes.
FDR Did too Much
Massive lobbying campaign to the Public Utility Holding Company to tone down on Roosevelt’s policies on big business, and Roosevelt had to compromise as a result. Opposition to wealth tax led to proposed figures being cut from 79% to 75% and inheritance tax was dropped. American Liberty League set up to ‘foster the right to work, earn, save and acquire property’.
All but one of the members of the SC were appointed by republican presidents. Four of them, in particular, heavily opposed Roosevelt. 1935-38 8 to 1 declared the NIRA ( one of Roosevelt’s policies) unconstitutional, because it prohibited interstate shipments of petrol, they claimed the president could not authorise this. By 1936, they banned the AAA (killed cows to increase the price of cows) 6 to 3 because this was infringing on states rights. They also invalidated a New York law, which would have established a minimum wage. 1937 Roosevelt proposed that he should nominate 6 more people for every one currently in the SC that was over 70 years old to increase efficiency. The SC argued that this would slow down the process.
FDR Did too Little
In Ohio there was a strike at Electric Auto Lite, which turned into a riot, and the national guard had to be called out. 1934 in San Francisco, there was a general strike with violent clashes. The American Communist Party polled votes of 102,000, a socialist Norman Thomas (1932) polled 884,000.
Father Coughlin, a radio priest from Detroit, was critical of Roosevelt from 1934. He founded the National Union for Social Justice to promote political candidates who would attack Wall Street and redistribute wealth.
Upton Sinclair of California, stood in 1934 as a democrat for the position of Governor. He developed a scheme called EPIC. Demanded a radical redistribution of wealth (wealth is more shared around - more tax) and greater state ownership of the economy. Polled 870,000 votes.
Huey Long of Louisiana established a ‘Share our Wealth’ society. Promising every family a homestead allowance of 5,000 dollars and an income 2,500. He wanted to pay for this by taxing the rich. In 1935 he had become a national challenger of Roosevelt, with 2,000 clubs and 8 million members. He claimed 12% of the votes, but was assassinated.
