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People, Policies and Institutions of the New Deal

Page history last edited by Robert W. Maloy 1 year ago

 

Focus Question:

Who were the important people and what were the important policies and institutions of the New Deal Era?

 

Topics on the Page

 

Philosophy of the New Deal

 

People

A. President Herbert Hoover
B. President Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • Historical Biography page: Franklin D. Roosevelt
    • First 100 Days 
    • Economic Bill of Rights
    •  Fireside Chats 

C. Eleanor Roosevelt

 D. Huey Long
E. Charles Coughlin

  • Dorothea Lange

  

Agencies

A. the establishment of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
B. the Securities and Exchange Commission
C. the Tennessee Valley Authority
D. the Social Security Act

 

E. the National Labor Relations Act
F. the Works Progress Administration  

G. the Fair Labor Standards Act

 

Institutions

A. the American Federation of Labor

B. the Congress of Industrial Organizations
C. the American Communist Party

 

  Cross-Link to AP U.S. History Key Concept 7:  Great Depression and New Deal

 

Cross-Link to New Deal Era Policies and Institutions

 


Resettlement Administration, 1935

 

Philosophy of the New Deal

 

"The New Deal was the name given to Franklin D. Roosevelt's complex package of economic programs developed to combat the Great Depression in the 1930s" (FDR Presidential Library Website).

 

  • The New Deal was based on the ideas that the "forces of government should be marshaled to improve the conditions for the greatest number of Americans, with particular emphasis on the excluded and disadvantaged. It is not government's only obligation, in this view, but it is the paramount one." 

 

  • In recent decades, the New Deal philosophy's most ardent advocate was Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts who died in August 2009 ("The Roar of the Liberal," Sam Tanenhaus, The New York Times, August 30, 2009, Week in Review, p. 1). 

 

  • The New Deal philosophy was the dominant view in American society through the "New Frontier" of President John F. Kennedy and the "Great Society" of President Lyndon Johnson. but it was directly challenged by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s whose held "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."


Interactive Periodic Table of the New Deal - Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

external image 200px-IPod_family.svg.pngFDR's New Deal on iTunes


 Click here for a video from Crash Course on the New Deal.

New Deal: Relief - Recovery - Reform


Here is a website that gives the quick hits of the New Deal.

Click here to read about how women were effected by the New Deal.

 


Click for African Americans and the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps that explores New Deal policies toward black Americans, accompanied with discussion questions.

Click here for a lesson plan designed to help students understand what living in the Great Depression was like.

 

Click here for another lesson plan designed to help student learn the different agencies created by the New Deal.

 


Important People from the New Deal Era:

 

A. President Herbert Hoover


 

  • Herbert Hoover was the 31st President of the United States from 1929-1933.

 

 

  • Signed the "Emergency Relief and Construction Act" - the first program for Federal unemployment assistance, as well as the "Federal Home Loan Bank Act", and the "Reconstruction Finance Act" Agreed to the "Revenue Act of 1932" which raised income tax, on the highest incomes, from 25% to a record 63%. It also doubled estate tax and raised corporate tax by 15%.

 

  • Wanted to assist farmers facing foreclosure.

 

  • Hoover preached self-reliance and the uniquely American spirit of "rugged individualism"; as President he vetoed a measure to pay out bonuses to desperate World War I veterans with this philosophy in mind.

 

  • Even with is a whole host of accomplishments, Hoover’s reputation greatly suffered due to his timid response to the Great Depression. As rate of unemployment increased, so did shantytowns known as Hoovervilles.

 

  • He was blamed for the Depression and the suffering of the people.

 

  • He was defeated by FDR in the 1932 election.
    1932 Election
    1932 Election
  • He was outspoken against the New Deal.
    • Hoover believed that it would lead to statism.
  • Herbert Hoover to Henry Stoddard from History Now

 

Hoovervilles - YouTube video

Example of an interactive Hooverville lesson activity that gets students involved in creating their own Hooverville. 

 
Click here for a timeline on Hoover's life and presidency.

 
 In 1930, Hoover requested an increase of funds to support the Native Americans. He believed that Native Americans needed more funds in order to support their education, increase health facilities, and provide life necessities.

 

  • Click here to read the full "Statement on Indian Affairs"


  Here is a collection of primary sources on Herbert Hoover from the presiderncy project

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

32nd President of the United States, from 1933-1945. The only president to serve more than two terms. (Link to learn about 22nd Amendment of the US constitution, which was passed after FDR's presidency and defined a term limit)
Here is a Mini-Bio on FDR.

  • Faced a disheartened and severely unemployed nation during the Great Depression, and made every attempt to remedy the situation.

 

  • Creator of the New Deal - a program designed to recover the economy, "provide relief for the unemployed," and reform the US banking systems.

 

  • Founded the well-known Civilian Conservation Corps, that gave jobs to 250,000 previously unemployed men. These men worked on rural conservation projects across the country.

 

  • Pushed for the repeal of Prohibition, and successfully had the legal alcohol limit changed to 3.2% in 1933.

 

  • He was elected to four consecutive terms by overwhelming majorities.

 

First 100 Days

 

  • During his first 100 days in office he enacted a series of pieces of ground-breaking legislation to address the spiraling economy and institute reform. He sought to re-affirm people's faith in the banking system by closing all banks and examining their assets. He also created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to guarantee people's deposits. He further created the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee and regulate Wall Street investors. Finally, limits were placed on speculation and mergers by banks to forestall another crash. Many of these regulatory acts were relaxed or done away with altogether by the 1990's which set the stage for the current debacle.

 

  • Labor made tremendous gains during this period in spite of a number of major setbacks dealt to them by the Supreme Court.

 

  • Ordinary working people got relief from Social Security and Unemployment Insurance - two more firsts in the U.S.

 

  • Due to his economic policies, FDR was not always popular among the upper class.
    • Some members of the upper class referred to FDR as a communist
    • Click here to read more about the upper class and FDR conflict

 

Economic Bill of Rights

 

 

 

Fireside Chats

 

FDR giving a fireside chat
FDR giving a fireside chat



One of the more interesting aspects from FDR's presidency was the use of fireside chats. EDSITEment! provides information and lesson plans to teach about the usefulness of FDRs fireside chats.

  • Click here to read transcripts of FDR's fireside chats.


African_Americans_and_the_Democratic_Party(PrinterFriendly).pdfAfrican_Americans_and_the_Democratic_Party(PrinterFriendly).pdf


Here is a lesson plan on the move of African Americans to the Democratic party and their influence on the election of FDR.

Audio and Video from FDR's 1933 Inauguration


Click here for a timeline on FDR's life and Presidency

  • Link to the American Experience video titled "FDR" (It is a long video, but sections could be shown or assigned to watched at home). The video does a great job commemorating FDR's work and dedication. It covers his involvement in all aspects of American policy and life.

 

  • Here is a collection of primary documents on FDR from the presidency project

 

C. Eleanor Roosevelt

Official White House Portrait
Official White House Portrait



Biography of Eleanor Roosevelt from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library

 

  • An avid promoter of the New Deal and Civil Rights.

 

  • Traveled the country and visited many government organizations and programs.
    • She reported back what she saw and heard to FDR

 

  • Supported government funded projects for the arts.

 

  • A Women's Suffragist who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment, believing that it would hurt working women.

 

  • She encouraged FDR to appoint more women to his cabinet.

 

  • She held press conferences for women journalists.
    • Women journalists were traditionally not allowed in the press room.

 

  • She wrote a daily syndicated newspaper column, "My Day" from 1932 to 1962.
    • Wrote about her beliefs, opinions, and her daily duties.

 

  • Has received 35 honorary degrees in her lifetime.

 

  • Famous quotes include: "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." and "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

 

  • She renounced her membership in the Daughters of the Revolution when they refused to host acclaimed African-American singer Marion Anderson.

 

  • She organized a highly symbolic outdoor concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial which drew attention to the unfair treatment of black Americans.

 

  • Encouraged Europeans to come to America during WWII.
    • Also helped raise morale, organized volunteers, encouraged women to join the workforce

 

  • She played a key role in organizing the United Nations following her husband's death in 1945.

 

  • Also lead the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women under JFK

 

  • Part of the NAACP and Advisory Council of the Peace Corps

 

  • Click here for more information.

 


Eleanor Roosevelt as First Lady, article from History Now

 
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project

external image 200px-Hebrew_timeline.svg.pngEleanor Roosevelt - PBS Timeline

 
Click here for a video of Eleanor Roosevelt, "Training Women for War Production" from 1942.

 

  • Click here for a lesson plan on letters written to Eleanor Roosevelt during the Depression.

 

  • Click here for a lesson plan on Eleanor Roosevelt and the rise of social reform.

 

 

D. Huey Long

 

  • Huey Long was the Governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and United States Senator from 1932 to 1935.

 

  • Proposed wealth redistribution, by "net asset tax," as a remedy for the Great Depression.

 

    • Confiscate wealth of rich and powerful
    • Guarantee every family $5,000 income
      • Use for necessities, such as home, car, job, radio
    • Limit fortunes: private fortunes to $50 million, legacies to $5 million, and annual income of $1 million.
    • People over 60 would receive a pension.
    • This plan was called "Share Our Wealth."

 

Click here for an outline of the plan.

 

  • Roosevelt compared him to Hitler and Mussolini, saying he was one of the two most dangerous men in America.

 

  • They called him the Kingfisher.

 Read excerpts from his autobiography from the Social Security history website.
 

 

Click here for more information for educators.

 
Huey Long’s Share Our Wealth Speech; video here 


external image 200px-Hebrew_timeline.svg.pngHuey Long - a PBS Timeline

 

The main character in the novel, All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren, was supposedly based off on Long. Read an article about it here, and view the trailer for the 1949 move here.

 

 

E. Charles Coughlin

Reverend Charles Coughlin

  • Reverend Charles Coughlin (1891-1979) was a Roman-Catholic Priest.
  • Very popular radio host
    • On average, 30 million listeners tuned in to his show
    • Spread his word on his show
  • Supported the poor, opposed big business
  • Supported FDR in the 1932 election
  • Began his career strictly in favor of the New Deal, saying that "The New Deal is Christ's Deal."
  • Extremely opposed to Roosevelt's New Deal by the latter part of his career.
  • Increasingly controversial and supportive of Hitler, Mussolini, and fascism.
  • Published a newspaper called Social Justice, which featured such articles as "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

 

Radio Priest -"Oh you Poor Laborers and Farmers:" Charles Coughlin Speaks to the Nation (1937)

 
Click here for a clip of Father Coughlin speaking about the Federal Reserve.


Listen and read Coughlin's speech, "Somebody Must be Blamed."

F. Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)

 

  • Dorothea Lange was a Depression Era Photographer.
  • One of the most renowned photographers of all time.
  • Started her photography career in a studio and taking landscape shots.
    • Unsatisfied by the work, so she started to take shots of ordinary citizens.
  • Chronicled the hard times of the Depression and showcased images that truly showed how the Depression affected everyday people.
    • Especially workers and ethnic groups
  • Shocked by the Japanese internment camps
  • Worked in the California State Emergency Relief Administration, the Resettlement Administration, War Relocation Authority, and Office of War Information in San Francisco during the 1930s and 1940s.
    • Even though she was hired by the government, many of her photos were censored, such as her internment camp photos.
  • Click here for more information and photos by Lange.


external image 200px-Hebrew_timeline.svg.pngDorothea Lange Timeline


Click here for a gallery of Lange's work

 

Click here for a lesson plan on Lange. Includes pictures and discussion questions on the pictures.

 

G. Frances Perkins
Frances Perkins, 1936
Frances Perkins, 1936

 

She was the first woman appointed to the U.S Cabinet in 1933. She acted as the U.S Secretary of Labor from 1933 until 1945.

 
Why Frances Perkins is still important in US history from MSNBC.

See Historical Biography Page for Frances Perkins and the Social Security Act

H. African Americans during the Great Depression

 

  • Here is a brief overview of some of the struggles that African Americans faced during the Great depression.

 

    • Here is a similar link from PBS

 

  • Here is reading on  some of the impacts of the New Deal on African Americans. 

 

Agencies and Policies of the New Deal

 

     The Tennessee Valley Authority

  • allowed the federal government to build dams along the Tennessee River 
    • helped control flooding in the area and created inexpensive hydroelectric power for people living in the area 
  • The TVA was also in charge of developing agriculture across the nation to increase food supply following the depression

 

 

Image depicting the results of fertilizer 

    • I decided to use this image depicting the impact of fertilizer as a primary source because I feel that it demonstrates the real goals of the new deal which was to increase the commercialization of goods to support the entire country.
    • I think this image does a great job of conveying the transition from small-scale farming to the industrialization of agriculture prompted by the government (Hannah Whalen, March 2023).

 

 

     The Social Security Act 

  •    Dedicated a certain amount of federal funding to social programs which sought to provide a sense of financial security to older persons and vulnerable populations.

 

  • Some of these programs included: unemployment insurance, old-age insurance, and means-tested welfare programs 

 

 

  • Though these programs sought to protect individuals from poverty, they were not necessarily created equally

 

 

I chose this article from the NAACP to highlight the racist root of social security because I believe it is something that too many Americans overlook when considering the impact and function of social security. We view social security as something we can rely on when we fall on hard times or something to expect once we retire - almost a glimpse into socialism. However, for many marginalized communities, especially Black communities social security is often denied to them and/or comes along with other conditions. I am currently writing my senior thesis on the history of welfare for Black Mothers and I feel that this information is critical to understanding who the government intends to appeal to and how programs such as these often only pertain to white society. This article demonstrates how we can continue to improve social security programs to make them more equitable (submitted by Hannah Whalen, March 2023). 


 

Extra Resources

The History Channel has a quick video overview of Roosevelt's New Deal (as well as some other related New Deal/FDR videos).


Bibliography

[1] Assorted Articles. Retrieved April 23, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org
2. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573920/Federal_Deposit_Insurance_Corporation.html#p1
3. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563607/Securities_and_Exchange_Commission.html
4. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561113/Social_Security.html#p2
5. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573039/National_Labor_Relations_Act.html
6. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761554828/Fair_Labor_Standards_Act.html
7. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576754/Work_Projects_Administration.html
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISniZI_H7mE&feature=fvst
9. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/video/fdr_01.html#v102
10. http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=463
11. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hueyplongshare.htm
12. http://newdeal.feri.org/opp/opp34111.htm
13. http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/history/history/perkins.cfm

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