Roosevelt and the New Deal
Franklin D Roosevelt won the 1932 election and became president at the beginning of 1933. He had promised America a New Deal to fix the problems of the Great Depression. There has been a lot of debate among historians about how successful his New Deal was. By 1941, the worst of the Depression was over and the USA was ready to become involved in World War Two.
Roosevelt becomes president
As the 1932 presidential election approached, President Herbert Hoover became increasingly unpopular. He had tried to solve the problems caused by the Depression, but people had not seen any improvements in their lives. The Democratic PartyPolitical party in the United States. Democrats tend to hold a more liberal viewpoint on politics and society. candidate in the election, Franklin D Roosevelt, offered a different vision of how to solve America鈥檚 problems.
The 1932 election
By the time the election campaign began, Hoover was so unpopular that there were reports that he was booed at in public. The Secret Service had to protect him from a number of assassinateMurder for religious or political reasons. attempts.
Hoover鈥檚 opponent, Roosevelt, was becoming increasingly popular as he presented plans to deal with the Depression. He blamed Republican PartyOne of the two major American political parties. Republicans tend to hold a more conservative viewpoint on politics and society. politicians like Hoover, as well as the bankers and the rich, for the Depression. He promised public work projects to give people jobs, as well as reforms for the banks and welfarePayments and other benefits, such as education, health care, and unemployment payments, given to a population free at the point of use, although paid for by general taxation. for those who could not look after themselves.
Roosevelt won the election, receiving around 23 million votes and winning 42 states. Hoover got around 16 million votes and won only six states.
The New Deal
When he took office as president in January 1933, Roosevelt began to implement his programme to solve the problems of the Depression. This was known as the three Rs.
The three Rs
The three Rs were implemented in the following order:
- Relief - spend money to relieve hunger and get the unemployed back to work
- Recovery - support businesses and solve the problems with the banks
- Reform - create a welfare system to support people in need as well as make sure banks and businesses did not get into trouble again
This would form the basis of what Roosevelt called his New Deal.
Roosevelt had CongressThe legislative body of the US government, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. pass the laws that would put his three Rs into practice. The result of this was the founding of a number of government organisations. These became known as the alphabet agenciesUS government agencies - with shortened names such as PWA, TVA - that were founded to create jobs and provide services to help recovery from the Great Depression. as people referred to them by their initials.
The New Deal was split into two phases.
The first New Deal
The first New Deal focused on relief and recovery.
Government action | Impact of government action |
Emergency Banking Act | All banks were closed for four days. The government supported 5,000 banks and promised people they would not lose all of their money if banks failed again. They would receive at least $2,500 of their savings back. |
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) | This agency was given $500 million to provide food, clothing and housing for the poor. |
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) | Men aged 18 to 25 were offered work on environmental projects such as planting trees. Around 2 million men were given work by this agency. |
Public Works Administration (PWA) | This agency spent $3.3 billion on public building projects to provide work for the unemployed. This included the building of schools, hospitals and roads. |
Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) | Farmers were paid to destroy some crops and livestock to force up prices. Farmers earned one and a half times as much in 1936 as they had in 1933. |
National Recovery Administration (NRA) | This agency was set up to improve wages, working hours and conditions. |
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) | This agency built and acquired dams along the Tennessee Valley. The dams helped to prevent flooding and provided water for irrigating farms. Power-plants were also built to produce hydro-electric power. The construction new dams created many jobs. |
Government action | Emergency Banking Act |
---|---|
Impact of government action | All banks were closed for four days. The government supported 5,000 banks and promised people they would not lose all of their money if banks failed again. They would receive at least $2,500 of their savings back. |
Government action | Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) |
---|---|
Impact of government action | This agency was given $500 million to provide food, clothing and housing for the poor. |
Government action | Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) |
---|---|
Impact of government action | Men aged 18 to 25 were offered work on environmental projects such as planting trees. Around 2 million men were given work by this agency. |
Government action | Public Works Administration (PWA) |
---|---|
Impact of government action | This agency spent $3.3 billion on public building projects to provide work for the unemployed. This included the building of schools, hospitals and roads. |
Government action | Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) |
---|---|
Impact of government action | Farmers were paid to destroy some crops and livestock to force up prices. Farmers earned one and a half times as much in 1936 as they had in 1933. |
Government action | National Recovery Administration (NRA) |
---|---|
Impact of government action | This agency was set up to improve wages, working hours and conditions. |
Government action | Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) |
---|---|
Impact of government action | This agency built and acquired dams along the Tennessee Valley. The dams helped to prevent flooding and provided water for irrigating farms. Power-plants were also built to produce hydro-electric power. The construction new dams created many jobs. |
The second New Deal
The second New Deal was established after Roosevelt won the next presidential election, in 1936. It focused more on welfare and the rights of workers.
Government action | Impact of government action |
Works Progress Administration (WPA) | This agency set up more schemes to create jobs with more work for public building projects including roads, harbours and airports. It employed artists, writers and actors and would become the country鈥檚 biggest employer. |
National Labor Relations Act | Also known as the Wagner Act. This allowed workers to join trade unions and gave them some protection from being treated unfairly by their employers. |
Fair Labor Standards Act | This act enforced employment laws such as the minimum wage. It helped 700,000 workers to get higher pay and enabled 1.5 million workers to work fewer hours each week. |
Social Security Act | This act provided benefits for the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed, as well as widows and orphans. |
Government action | Works Progress Administration (WPA) |
---|---|
Impact of government action | This agency set up more schemes to create jobs with more work for public building projects including roads, harbours and airports. It employed artists, writers and actors and would become the country鈥檚 biggest employer. |
Government action | National Labor Relations Act |
---|---|
Impact of government action | Also known as the Wagner Act. This allowed workers to join trade unions and gave them some protection from being treated unfairly by their employers. |
Government action | Fair Labor Standards Act |
---|---|
Impact of government action | This act enforced employment laws such as the minimum wage. It helped 700,000 workers to get higher pay and enabled 1.5 million workers to work fewer hours each week. |
Government action | Social Security Act |
---|---|
Impact of government action | This act provided benefits for the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed, as well as widows and orphans. |