T.G.I.FDR!

E V A L U A T I N G T H E L E G A C Y O F F D R ’ S M A S S I V E L E G I S L A T I V E E F F O R T T O C O M B A T

T H E N A T I O N ’ S E C O N O M I C W O E S D U R I N G T H E G R E A T D E P R E S S I O N

FDR and the New Deal

Agenda 04/20/2012

�  Finishing up the Human Impact of the Depression by writing a letter to the president.

�  Presentation on FDR and the New Deal

�  Chapter 33 Notes, and catch-up

�  Quiz next class and then we begin WWII

Writing a letter to the president

During your tour of the country, you learned about ordinary Americans who experienced the Great Depression. Like Lorena Hickok, you will now report your discoveries. Use the information in your scrapbook to write a letter to President Roosevelt describing the hardships people endured during the Depression. Your letter must have the following: 1)An appropriate date, salutation, and closing. 2) A brief introduction summarizing the states you visited and the types of people you met. 3) A description of your visit to at least two states. For each state, include —information on the hardships people faced during the Depression and the ways in which they endured those hardships. —a quotation and one or more facts from the reading. —any relevant Key Content Terms. 4) At least four of these words: betrayal, change, depressed, desperation, destitute, dreadful, encourage, honorable, hope, ideals, plague, pride, self-respect, shame, stress, suffer, worth 5) A conclusion summarizing your thoughts about how ordinary Americans endured the hardships they faced during this time period.

The Presidential Election of 1932

Desperate America Elects FDR

�  In 1932 a hopeful America elects Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a landslide.

�  He received 472 electoral votes and 23 million popular votes to unseat Herbert Hoover who won 59 electoral votes and 16 million popular votes.

�  FDR won by promising a New Deal to a country that was in its fourth year of depression.

The Toll of the Depression on American Life

�  FDR took office at an unbelievable time in American history.

�  25% unemployment (higher for some groups and regions)

�  Those lucky enough t have jobs saw their wages slashed (city workers by 1/4 and ag workers by 2/3)

�  The overall value of stocks shrunk from $89.7 billion to $15.6 billion between 1929 and 1932.

�  25% or 6,000 American banks closed their doors �  Americans put their faith in a new leader in hopes

that he would be able to restore the economy to health

The Rise of FDR

The Rise of FDR

�  FDR had a privileged upbringing that stood in stark contrast to the Average American.

�  He attended private schools and Harvard University, but was raised to believe that the wealthy and the privileged had an obligation to serve the public.

�  FDR served as a New York State Senator and assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy along with other progressive minded reformers of the early 20th century

From Polio to the Presidency

�  Just as FDR was gaining political prominence, he was struck by the polio virus in 1921.

�  FDR was paralyzed as a result and was only able to stand with the help of 10 pound braces on his legs.

�  He also worked to develop upper body strength to support his body while standing at a podium.

�  After recovering he would step back into the political spotlight by serving two terms as Governor of NY

“Yes, You Remembered Me.”

The Beginning of the New Deal

�  From his first day in office FDR focused on mobilizing the government to rescue the nation from the great depression.

�  FDR pledged to create government policies that would address the needs of “the forgotten, the unrecognized but the indispensable units of economic power…the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid.” (no more trickle down)

Recovery During the First Hundred Days

�  FDR immediately issued a bank holiday to stabilize the banking industry.

�  During the bank holiday people could not withdraw money from banks while Congress worked to fix the broken system and rebuild the public confidence in the banking system.

�  Congress also passed the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)

�  Part of NIRA set aside $3 billion for publics works projects.

�  Congress also established guidelines for fair wages, hours, and work conditions. It also tried to limit competition by encouraging codes of “fair practices”

Direct Relief for People in Need

�  Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was created to ease the daily hardships of those suffering the most from the Depression.

�  Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) sought to stabilize the Ag industry by buying up surplus and regulating prices.

�  The AAA was criticized for paying farmers to plow under their crops

�  Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built dams throughout the Tennessee River Valley bringing jobs and cheap electricity to states hard hit by the Depression

Fireside Chat April 28, 1935

�  The New Deal’s early successes were made possible by three factors.

1.  Republicans and Democrats were eager to enact legislation to end the Great Depression

2.  Roosevelt sought advice from a diverse group of imaginative intellectuals known as the “brain trust”

3.  FDR took his plans directly to the American people though his famous “fireside chats”

Work Programs

The Civilian Conservation Corps

�  The CCC was one of FDR’s most popular programs �  In the summer of 1933 the government hired over

250,000 young men ages 17-24 to work in national parks and forests planting trees, building park facilities and trails, stocking fish and fighting fires

�  Workers would get $30 dollars a month ($25 of which was sent home to their families.

�  They were provided with food, shelter, clothing, and educational opportunities

�  By 1939, 2.5 million men had worked with CCC

Critics of the New Deal

Criticisms of the New Deal

�  African Americans felt as though they were being left out of relief programs so that FDR could hold his political coalition together.

�  The American Liberty League was a group of big business men who feared that FDR was working to “Sovietize” the American economy

�  Others criticized the farm program for throwing away food that could have fed millions and hurting small tenant farmers

Dr. Francis E. Townsend

�  Dr. Townsend lead a group of elderly people in California that accused FDR of neglecting the elderly and advocated an extensive old-age pension plan that would pay those 60+ $200 a month in benefits

Huey Long

�  Charismatic leftist senator from Louisiana who accused FDR of being a tool of the banks.

�  Long advocated a “Share Our Wealth” program that would redistribute the nations wealth by ensuring that all American families received $2,000 a year along with living allowances

�  Long was a serious challenger to FDR in 1936 until he was assassinated

Father Charles E. Coughlin

�  Coughlin originally supported FDR’s New Deal, but came to believe that FDR was on the side of big business.

�  Coughlin used his radio show as a platform to persuade Americans.

�  Coughlin’s views became increasingly fascist and anti-Semitic.

The Legacy of the New Deal

The Supreme Court Fight

�  FDR was hugely successful getting legislation through Congress, but the Supreme Court was not in his camp.

�  The Court was conservative, and the justices were from another era

�  The overturned the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), the TVA, and the Ag. Adjustment Admin.

�  FDR opposed the Court’s ruling and asked Congress to give him the power to increase the size of the bench

�  FDR’s court packing scheme would be a political misstep that would cost him support for New Deal Programs

The Legacy of the New Deal

1.  FDR’s leadership significantly reshaped the role of the presidency (in scope, mission, and length)

2.  The role of the government grew dramatically (beginning of the welfare state)

3.  Women achieved new levels of influence in government.

4.  Other prominent features include: Social Security, regulation of the stock market, FDIC, and acceptance of deficit spending

Assessing the New Deal: Did It Work?

�  To an extent, but it would take the massive mobilization needed for WWII to bring America out of the Depression for good by stimulating production needs and creating millions of service and industrial jobs

�  Unemployment fell, business failures decreased, farmers benefited from subsidies, and American confidence in government and banks was restored.

�  Millions of Americans benefitted from the New Deal

WWII: Our Next Chapter

�  War time production would increase GNP over 200%

�  Unemployment would drop from 19% to a negligible 1.9%

�  Though it would take WWII, FDR and the New Dealers can most certainly be applauded for their bold activism and creative experimentation in the search for solutions to the Great Depression.

Chapter 33 Notes

�  Draw a vertical line down the center of two (2) pages in your notebook. �  Take notes as you read and then answer the ?s that follow:

33.2: What were the key programs of the First New Deal, and how did they affect Americans? 33.3: Who were the critics of the First New Deal, and what were their criticisms? 33.4: What were the key programs of the Second New Deal, and how did they affect Americans? 33.5: How did the First and Second New Deals affect various groups of Americans?

N O T E B O O K G U I D E

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute 301The New Deal and Its Legacy

33C H A P T E R

How did the expansion of government duringthe New Deal affect the nation?

P R E V I E W

In your notebook, sketch these people from the ConradAlbrizio mural The New Deal:

• President Roosevelt

• the man sitting in the center

• a group of workers around the center

Add a thought bubble to each sketch. In them, writewhat these people might be thinking about how the gov-ernment could help Americans deal with the hardshipsof the Great Depression.

Below your drawing, briefly respond to this question:What does this mural reveal about the role of thegovernment during this time period?

R E A D I N G N O T E S

Sections 33.2 to 33.5

Draw a vertical line down the center of two pages inyour notebook.

In each of the four columns, do the following:

1. Write the title of the mural panel, which is also thetitle of the corresponding section of your book.

2. Sketch three or more key details from the mural panel.

3. Below your sketches, write and respond to the KeyQuestion for that section:

Section 33.2 What were the key programs of the FirstNew Deal, and how did they affect Americans?

Section 33.3 Who were the critics of the First NewDeal, and what were their criticisms?

Section 33.4 What were the key programs of theSecond New Deal, and how did they affect Americans?

Section 33.5 How did the First and Second NewDeals affect various groups of Americans?

Add information to your notes as you read the sections.

K e y C o n t e n t T e r m s

As you complete the Reading Notes, use theseKey Content Terms in your answers:

National IndustrialRecovery Act (NIRA)

AgriculturalAdjustmentAdministration (AAA)

Civilian ConservationCorps (CCC)

Works ProgressAdministration (WPA)

Wagner Act

Social Security Act

Congress of IndustrialOrganizations (CIO)

New Deal Coalition

33.2The FirstNew Deal

33.3 Protestsand Political . . .

33.4 The SecondNew Deal

33.5 Social andPolitical Impacts

The New Deal and Its Legacy

33.6: The Legacy of the New Deal

The lasting impact of the New Deal on American Society is like… �  A superhero that has saved the future of the country �  An advice column on how to live a good life �  A bad cold you caught and can’t get rid of �  An overbearing parent who controls your life

Complete the analogy by selecting one of the above options, or create your own, and write a brief explanation of why you chose the analogy that you did.

Question to Consider

�  Did FDR’s New Deal programs extend America’s founding ideals to more Americans? Or did they serve to limit those ideals by making Americans dependent on the federal government?