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Chapter 22 Review Joe Puccio
Key Terms
Share-Our-Wealth program
National Labor Relations Act
Second New Deal
Social Security Act
Townsend Plan
American Liberty League
Welfare state
People To Identify
Charles Coughlin- Roman Catholic priest who began to broadcast sermons from a Detroit radio station in 1926; CBS began to carry is talks over a national network in the fall of 1930; early supporter of the New Deal, but turned against it when he thought Roosevelt was going over to the bankers’ side and managed to get a lot of people to turn with him via his talks.
Harold L. Ickes- headed the Public Works Administration (PWA). The Public Works Administration encouraged economic recovery by offering jobs that were usually on large-scale engineering projects, such as highways, bridges, power plants, and dams. Accomplishments of PWA include the Hoover Dam in the Colorado River (1936) and the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River (1942).
Alfred Landon- Governor of Kansas and chosen as their Republican presidential candidate; gained national attention for balancing his state’s budget at a time when government deficits were commonplace; swamped by Roosevelt in the election.
Huey Long- Senator from Louisiana; rivaled FDR in popularity; used bribery, violence, and blackmail to bring Louisiana under his control; abolished the poll tax; supported FDR in 1932, but turned against him the next year; announced his Share-Our-Wealth program in 1934; announced his candidacy for president in 1935, but was assassinated in September 1935 before the election.
Frances Perkins- Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor; first woman cabinet member and remained one of his closest advisers during his thirteen years in office; had some success in advancing the interests of women in the New Deal: NRA codes setting minimum wages in various industries did not discriminate against women, WPA organized a special division to focus on work projects for women.
Places To Locate
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Reviewing the Facts
In 1933, Roosevelt declared his first official act, which was a holiday for every bank in the nation that began on March 6. To assure people that banks could be trusted and keep them from withdrawing money out of panic, only banks that had been examined and found solvent would be allowed to reopen. On March 9, the Congress was called into a special session by Roosevelt to pass the Emergency Banking Bill. All the banks remained closed for a week. On March 12, Roosevelt delivered the first of his fireside chats, assuring people that the banks were now safer. This caused people to line up and redeposit their money when the banks reopened.
During the first days of his term, Roosevelt began to make a program to end the Great Depression. This program was called the New Deal. When it finally emerged, it was a three-pronged strategy, the three prongs often being referred to as the “3 Rs”: relief, recovery, and reform. Relief programs were proposed to ease the suffering of the needy, recovery programs were to lay the foundation for economic growth, and reform programs were to help prevent future economic crisis.
In the first year of his term, Franklin Roosevelt was regarded as a hero, but in the following years, politicians began complaining about his programs. The two sides that opposed him were known as the right and the left. On the right were conservatives. The conservatives thought that the New Deal was too costly and would undermine the American traditions of individual responsibility and local control. On the left were the radicals. The radicals wanted FDR to go further, redistributing wealth and taking over industries.
In the summer of 1935, there was a flood of reform legislation that Congress had passed and was added to the New Deal. Because of this, the things that were added are referred to as the Second New Deal. The Second New Deal consisted of laws such as the Social Security Act (intended to protect Americans who were unable to support themselves), the creation of the Resettlement Administration (created to help poor farmers move from worn-out land to more fertile regions), created the Rural Electrification Administration (made loans to farm communities that wanted to build public utilities), and many more.
In 1935 and 1936, the Supreme Court declared some of Roosevelt’s programs to be unconstitutional. Therefore, to have more justices on his side, in 1937, FDR proposed that whenever a justice failed to retire at the age of 70, the President should have the right to add a new justice. He planned to make a pro-New Deal majority on the Supreme Court. This was referred to as the “court-packing plan”. Of course, people saw this idea as the start of a dictatorship and no one supported the bill.
Minorities and women found it difficult to make new gains because their goals were considered secondary to the objectives of the New Deal during the Depression. Black people were hit the hardest. They found jobs in work programs such as the CCC and the WPA. At first, there was little prejudice against Mexican Americans because they took low-paying jobs that not many Americans wanted, but as the economy fell, more people wanted the jobs. The American Indians were a minority group that actually made clear gains under the New Deal. When the Indian Reorganization Act was passed, the allotment of land to individuals was halted and tribal ownership was re-established. Women also made gains during the Roosevelt years. Two examples of success in advancing women interest are the NRA codes, setting minimum wages in various industries did not discriminate against women, and WPA that organized a special division to focus on work projects for women.
The Depression didn’t only affect the people, it effected the art of the time as well. One example is William Gropper’s paintings. Gropper’s art depicted sinister businessmen and corrupt politicians. Other artists consisted of protest artists and regionalists. Writers were affected also. Some wrote novels that were clearly influenced by politics while others wrote about things such as the southern past. The popular culture of the time consisted of the radio, movies, and comic strips. These served as sources of escape from the troubles of the Depression.
In 1937, Roosevelt became concerned about the budget deficit and decided to cut spending sharply. To balance the budget, he urged Congress to slash funding for public works and to eliminate thousands of workers from the public payroll. This caused a severe recession. Also, Roosevelt only managed to get one major reform bill through Congress after 1937. This was the Fair Labor Standards Act and set the first federal guidelines for minimum wages and maximum hours.
Although the New Deal caused mixed success in fighting the Depression, it changed both the society and government in the United States. The changes include extension of the power of the federal government, extension of the power of the President, deficit spending, federal social programs, greater concern for workers, conservation gain, and renewal of faith in democracy.
Out of all the ways the New Deal permanently affected the role of government was renewal of faith in democracy. This was achieved by the New Deal carrying the United States through a time when the success of democracy itself seemed to be in question. By reviving the faith and strength of the American people, Roosevelt ensured that the United States would be strong enough to defend democracy if the need arose.
Critical Thinking