Roosevelt's New Deal

History Coursework Assignment 1: Roosevelt’s New Deal

Explain the main features of the New Deal

In 1933, Roosevelt was elected President of the USA. He was a democrat. In his election campaign, he attacked the attitudes of Hoover and the Republicans and made 16 major speeches promising the American people a New Deal, which was a number of organizations set up to restore America’s prosperity. In his New Deal Roosevelt decided to use the full power of the government to get the USA out of depression. This Democratic government was a huge contrast to the Republican policy of ‘Laissez faire’ by which the government stayed out of business issues and of the everyday lives of the American people. Roosevelt knew that the American people were fed up with Hoover’s attitudes, as America was still stuck in the Depression. Hoover, a Republican, who was the previous president, believed that America was just going through a bad period and that industry, agriculture and employment would all rise sooner or later without government interference. However, the Democrats and, by 1933, the ordinary American citizens could see that this was not the case.

Roosevelt’s priorities when he was elected were: getting the Americans back to work; protecting their savings and property; providing for the sick, old and unemployed and getting American industry and agriculture back on their feet. This would be no easy task. To help him achieve his aims, Roosevelt set up various agencies.

The Securities Exchange Commission was set up to deal with America’s banking crisis during which hundreds of banks had gone bankrupt. This was as a result of everyone withdrawing their savings at the same time following a crisis of confidence in the banks. The government invested money in those banks believed to be trustworthy.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration set about meeting the urgent needs of the poor. It spent $500 million on soup kitchens, blankets, employment schemes and nurseries.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was aimed at tackling unemployment, particularly the unemployment of young men. It provided a limited period of six months work for those who could not find work.

The Agricultural Adjustment Administration looked at the long term problems farmers faced. American farmers had been badly hit by the depression and could not sell their crops which meant that many were forced to migrate. The AAA aimed at reducing farm production to force prices up. It also helped farmers to modernize and use farming methods that would protect their land.

The Public Works Administration, initially known as the National Industrial Recovery Act, was set up to help stimulate the economy by helping industry to recover and deal with the unemployment problems. This section of the National Industrial Recovery Act used government money to build schools, roads, dams, bridges and airports.

A second branch of the National Industrial Recovery Act was the National Recovery Administration, which aimed at improving working conditions and wages as well as stimulating the economy by giving workers money to spend without overproducing and causing a slump.

The final agency set up by Roosevelt and his democratic government was the Tennessee Valley authority which aimed to solve the problems with the farming land around the Tennessee River. The farming land around the river had become a desert due to the frequency of floods and droughts in the region. The government worked to find a way to reduce the poverty in the Tennessee Valley.

Roosevelt’s four main priorities were all linked closely together. First and foremost, they all had the main aim of lifting America out of the Depression. The democratic president knew that if Americans found stable employment and had trustworthy banks, they would be likely to save money in those banks. This would boost the banks and therefore help the economy. Providing relief for the sick, the old and unemployed would help restore the population’s faith in the country. All these three factors would encourage the American people to spend money on American goods and so would help stimulate the economy. An improvement in the economic state of the country would help rescue America from the Depression and regain prosperity.

Roosevelt’s New Deal was based on his four main priorities: getting the Americans back to work; protecting their saving and property; providing for the sick, old and unemployed and getting American industry and agriculture industries back on their feet. To achieve his aims, Roosevelt needed help and so he set up seven agencies aimed at lifting America out of the Depression.

Explain why Roosevelt introduced the New Deal

The New Deal was introduced by Roosevelt, first and foremost, to rescue America from the grips of depression. The Wall Street crash of 1929 left America ruined and ...

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Explain why Roosevelt introduced the New Deal

The New Deal was introduced by Roosevelt, first and foremost, to rescue America from the grips of depression. The Wall Street crash of 1929 left America ruined and it was four years before the Democratic president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was elected and the New Deal was introduced. Before the 1933 elections, the Republicans had been in power for many years. However, Herbert Hoover, the Republican President from 1929 to 1933 was very unpopular. He did little to try and help those who were suffering because of the Depression. He followed a policy of ‘laissez faire’ and believed that neither Social Security nor the provision of relief were the government’s responsibility. As a result of his unpopularity, the Republicans suffered the worst defeat in American history in the 1933 elections. This humiliating defeat was not surprising however, as the Republican policies had not lifted the US out of depression. President Hoover had tried to reassure the country by promising that prosperity was ‘just around the corner’. He did introduce tax cuts and by mid 1931 production was rising again slightly. However, this was not enough to rescue America as both her reputation and her confidence had been badly damaged as a result of the Depression.

Due to the fact that, by the early 1930s, it was clear that the Republican policies were not helping the American situation, Roosevelt introduced this New Deal as an alternative to the idea of ‘laissez faire’.

It can also be said that Roosevelt introduced the New Deal to try and win the elections. Although it was clear that the Republicans were not going to win, Roosevelt took no chances. To ensure victory, he needed the support of the American people. By showing the population that he had a solution to their problems, he could be sure of victory. Roosevelt believed that an ‘active government’ was the way to improve the lives of ordinary people. He had plans to spend public money on getting people back to work. His successes as governor of New York had shown Americans what he wanted to achieve as President and what he was capable of achieving. He was not afraid to ask for advice on important issues from a wide range of experts which proved to the American population that he was determined to improve the country’s situation. Therefore, it is fair to say that his characteristics as a politician meant that the New Deal was a factor which led to Roosevelt’s victory in the 1933 elections. The Americans were convinced of his sincerity in his will to help them.

The population’s support and belief that he would help its situation was shown to be true. Roosevelt did genuinely want to help America. He set up seven agencies to help him sort out the major problems in the country. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration dealt with the needs of the poor; the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Public Works Administration those of the unemployed; the Agricultural Adjustment Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority the problems of farming and the Emergency Banking Act and the National Industrial Recovery Act aimed to stimulate the American economy.

Roosevelt introduced the New Deal to rescue America from the Depression. He knew that the Depression had left the Republicans with a very weak hold on the American population and that Hoover was becoming more and more unpopular as the years went by. Roosevelt used the Republicans’ failure to lift America out from the grips of depression to stimulate support for the Democrats. As a result of the proposition of a New Deal, the Democrats won a landslide victory in the 1933 elections, beating the Republicans by 7 million votes. The New Deal helped restore the people’s confidence in America.

‘The New Deal was not a complete success.’ Explain how far you agree with this statement.

The success or failure of the New Deal can be measured in two main ways: how it affected the US economy and how it was seen by the American people. To examine its effect on the economy, the subjects of unemployment, women, Black and Native Americans and the Supreme Court need to be explored. As well as this, the reaction of the American people can be divided in two – the reaction of the public and the reaction of those in power. Roosevelt’s 1933 New Deal was met with enthusiasm by the American people. However, despite its initial success, it did attract opposition.

On the one hand, many high profile figures such as Huey Long, who became a senator in 1932, and Dr Francis Townsend believed that Roosevelt’s New Deal was not doing enough to help the poor. Huey Long supported the New Deal at the start, but once he had seen the results of it in the first year, he criticized it as being too complicated and not doing enough. He proposed a scheme called ‘Share Our Wealth’ in which all personal fortunes would be reduced to $3 million and a maximum income would be $1 million a year. Long’s scheme also stated that taxes should be shared between all Americans and that everyone over 60 should be given a state pension. Dr Townsend set up a number of Townsend clubs which campaigned for a pension of $200 a month for all those over the age of 60, providing that the money was all spent by the end of each month.

On the other hand, the business community and the Republicans felt that the New Deal was doing too much. They also believed that it was too complicated though they had other concerns as well. They did not agree with the government providing support for the trade unions or higher wages. They thought the market should deal with these concerns. These business men and Republicans believed the New Deal scheme to be very similar to that carried out in the Soviet Union and criticized the Democrats as being Communists and that Roosevelt was acting like a dictator. Their other fear concerning Roosevelt’s New Deal was an issue involving the wealthy Americans. They argued that the wealthy had become wealthy as a result of hard work and dedication. The New Deal proposed to increase taxes, which would discourage people from working hard and would give money to people for doing nothing or doing unnecessary jobs.

Although Roosevelt faced opposition, the American voters seemed to support him. In the 1936 elections, he won 27 million votes – with the highest margin of victory ever achieved by a US President.

However, after the 1936 elections, Roosevelt faced opposition from the Supreme Court. The Court was dominated by Republicans who were against the New Deal and it could refuse to pass laws if they felt they went against the American Constitution. An example of this is that in 1935, the Schechter Poultry Corporation was found guilty of breaking NRA Regulations in three ways: it had sold diseased chickens for human consumption, it had exploited workers and it had threatened government inspectors. The Schechter Poultry Corporation appealed to the Supreme Court. The court ruled that the government had no right to prosecute the company because the NRA was unconstitutional and it undermined too much of the power of the local states.

This denial of prosecution outraged Roosevelt. He asked to appoint six most Supreme Court judges who were more sympathetic towards the New Deal. This time, though, Roosevelt misjudged the attitude of the American public. The president’s appeal to appoint new judges was seen as him attacking the American system of government. Due to this lack of support, Roosevelt was forced to back down on the subject. Nevertheless, he had left his mark on the Supreme Court, who became less obstructive to his proposals.

By May 1935, Roosevelt was facing even more criticism than before and he became unsure as to what to do. He wanted to make America a fairer country and restore her prosperity and although America was recovering from the Depression much faster than the European countries, she was still facing problems, such as unemployment. A month after meeting with his close advisers and senators, Roosevelt sent a report to Congress, outlining all the new laws he wanted passed. This became known as the Second New Deal and as with the First New Deal introduced laws and set up organizations to deal with the problems faced by America:

The Wagner Act forced all employers to allow trade unions to operate in their companies and to let them negotiate with the employers for better wages and conditions. It also made it illegal for employers to sack workers for being a member of a trade union.

The Social Security Act provided pensions for the elderly and allowed state governments to provide help for the sick and the disabled. It also set up an unemployment insurance scheme in which employers and employees made a small contribution to a special fund each week; the workers would be able to receive a small amount of the benefit to help them if they became unemployed.

The Works Progress Administration, later known as the Works Project Administration brought together all the organizations aimed at creating jobs. It also extended this work to create jobs for office workers, unemployed actors, artists and photographers, not just building projects.

The fourth and final new organization set up by Roosevelt in his Second New Deal was the Resettlement Administration which helped those small-holders and tenant farmers who had not been helped by the AAA in the First New Deal. The RA moved over 500 000 families to better quality land and housing. This organization was replaced by the Farm Security Administration in 1937. It gave special loans to small farmers to help them buy their land. It also built camps to provide decent living conditions and work for migrant workers.

The population’s disapproval of his actions in 1936 had affected Roosevelt and due to the fact that in early 1937, it was clear that America’s prosperity was returning, he cut the New Deal budget. He laid off many workers who had been employed by the New Deal organizations and the cut in spending triggered cuts throughout the economy which led unemployment to increase once again. As a result of this, Roosevelt’s popularity decreased as voters lost confidence in him. The Republicans did well in the 1938 congressional elections, though the Democrats were still popular with most ordinary Americans and Roosevelt won a third term in the 1940 elections.

Unlike in 1933, the country was divided in its opinion of the New Deal and by 1940 the majority of Americans were focused on the Second World War, which had broken out a year earlier.

It is fair to say that in some ways Roosevelt’s New Deal was a success. Concerning the attitudes of the American population, it had some successes and failures. It restored the country’s faith in the government. It was a huge social and economic programme and government help on this scale had never been seen in America before. It also set the tone for future government action for help the country. Furthermore, the New Deal handled billions of dollars of public money, yet there were never any corruption scandals. Nevertheless, the New Deal divided the country and Roosevelt and his officials were accused of being Communists and of undermining American values due to their wish to make America a fairer place and to share the country’s wealth.

Regarding industrial workers, the NRA and the Second New Deal measures strengthened the position of labour unions against large American giants. Roosevelt’s government supported the trade unions and tried to make large corporations negotiate with them. The Committee for Industrial Organisation and the Union of Automobile Workers were two unions that were big enough to be able to bargain with large corporations and the UAW was recognised by the two most anti-union corporations: General Motors and Ford.

Even so, big businesses remained immensely powerful in the USA despite being challenged by the government. Unions were still treated with suspicion by employers and violence was still used by large companies, such as Ford, Republic Steel and Chrysler, to deal with strikes and opposition.

The New Deal had some successes in dealing with the unemployment and economic situations. It created millions of jobs, stabilised the banking system, and cut the number of business failures. Projects such as the TVA brought work and an improved standard of living to deprived parts of the USA and also provide the country with valuable resources such as schools, roads and power stations. It had some failures in the sector as well. The New Deal never solved the underlying economic problems and the country’s confidence remained low throughout the 1930s – Americans only spent 75 per cent pf what they had done before 1929. When Roosevelt cut the New Deal’s budget, the country went back into recession. Unemployment was still high by the early 1940s: in 1941, there were 6 million unemployed. It was the USA’s entry into the Second World War that brought an end to the unemployment problem.

The Black Americans were the worst affected by the Depression. With the help of the New deal, their situation did improve but it did not solve all of their problems. Around 200 000 black Americans gained benefits from the Civilian Conservation Corps and other New Deal organizations. They also benefited form New Deal slum clearance and housing projects. Despite this, many of the New Deal agencies discriminated against the black Americans, they either got no work of lower wages. Roosevelt failed to pass a law making lynching illegal as he feared that Democrat senators in the southern states would not support him.

After the black Americans, the Native Americans were the worst hit by the Depression. The New Deal did much to help their situation. The Indian Reorganization Act, 1934, provided money to help Native Americans buy and improve land and also helped them to preserve and practise their traditions, laws and culture. Even so, Native Americans remained a poor and excluded section of Society.

With the increase in the number of women in the workplace, the New Deal saw some women achieve prominent positions. For example, Eleanor Roosevelt became an important campaigner on social issues. Mary Macleod Bethune, a black woman, headed the National Youth Administration and Francis Perkins was the Secretary of Labor. She removed 59 corrupt officials from the Labor Department and was a key figure in making the Second New Deal work in practice. In spite of this, most New Deal programmes were aimed to help male manual workers rather than women – only around 8000 women were involved in the CCC. Local governments tried to avoid paying out social security payments to women by introducing special qualifications and conditions. Also, Francis Perkins was viciously attacked in the press as being a Jew and a Soviet spy. Even her cabinet colleagues tended to ignore her at social gatherings.

It is clear that the New Deal, introduced by Franklin D Roosevelt in 1933 had some successes. It was successful in that the American public, that is to say the voters, supported it. There is no doubt that it did improve the lives of many Americans and that because of it America was slowly, but surely, regaining its prosperity. It was also very successful in dealing with unemployment, the industrial workers, the economy, the Black and Native Americans as well women.

However, each of these issues brought failures as well the successes. The high profile figures of America opposed the New Deal and criticized it as not doing enough; whilst the business men felt it was doing too much. Unemployment never fell below what it had been before 1929 despite the New Deal’s attempts to reduce the number of unemployed workers. When Roosevelt cut the New Deal’s budget, the country fell into recession once again and Black and Native Americans still lived in poverty even though organisations working for the New Deal tried to improve their situations. As for women, they were still discriminated against by many officials working for the New Deal as well as major businesses.

After having explored all the successes and failures of the New Deal, the result seems to be ambiguous: the New Deal was not a complete success although it did help restore America’s prosperity and enabled the American population to regain faith in its country.

Assignment 1: Roosevelt’s New Deal

Candidate name: Kate Ferrigno

Candidate number: 4014

Candidate name: Kate Ferrigno