America: Pathways to the Present Text

America: Pathways to the Present | Chapter 16: The New Deal (1933–1941)

This chapter discusses Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program, which had both successes and failures and drew both supporters and critics. The chapter is divided into three sections: Forging a New Deal, the New Deal’s Critics, and the Last Days of the New Deal.

Section 1: Forging a New Deal

Main Ideas

  • Roosevelt sought to end the depression through a series of government programs designed to bring relief to suffering Americans, to stimulate the economy, and to provide protection against future crashes.
  • Many key players in New Deal programs were former members of the Progressive party. Roosevelt also appointed many African Americans to key positions.

Summary and Analysis
FDR came out of the gates running. His Inaugural Address was designed to encourage optimism and give the country hope: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” In his first Hundred Days in office, he pushed many programs through Congress to provide relief and create jobs. One of his first successes was the Emergency Banking Act, which stabilized the banking industry. The Glass-Steagall Banking Act created the Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation (FDIC) to insure bank deposits so that people could never again lose their savings. Other early acts gave the federal government the power to regulate the stock market and created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which still regulates the market today.

In order to stimulate the economy and create jobs, Roosevelt created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), which put federal money into local relief agencies and also into public work programs. The Civil Works Administration (CWA) provided 4 million people with jobs building roads, airports, and other facilities. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCO) gave more than 2.5 million young men jobs maintaining forests, beaches, and parks. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) allowed government to regulate industry and set fair business practices. Homeowners were helped with the
National Housing Act and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which still provides federally insured low cost loans today. Another program that still exists is the Tennessee Valley Authority, which brought electricity to rural areas with federal subsidies.

Some of the key players in Roosevelt’s administration were his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frances Perkins, the first woman cabinet member. He also assigned key positions to African Americans such as Mary McLeod Bethune.

FDR continued and expanded his programs with the Second New Deal. In 1935, he created the Works Progress Administration and the Rural Electrification Administration. He also supported the Social Security Act, which was designed to help those who could not support themselves. Not all of FDR’s programs worked the way he wanted them to, but Americans were happy that he was trying. He was reelected by an overwhelming majority in 1936, winning 523 to 8 in the electoral college.

Section 2: The New Deal’s Critics

Main Idea

  • The New Deal was criticized by Democrats who felt it did not go far enough and by Republicans who felt that it went too far, complaining that it restricted individual freedom.

Summary and Analysis
While many Americans were happy with Roosevelt’s New Deal, some were not. The New Deal fell short of many people’s expectations. The New Deal’s labor acts and social security bill covered few African Americans or women. New Deal legislation did nothing to curb an alarming growth of violence against blacks as lynching increased significantly. Despite these faults, African Americans generally supported FDR. Eleanor Roosevelt made several stands to symbolically support African Americans. In protest of Jim Crow laws, she refused to sit with the whites at a meeting in Alabama; she sat in the aisle between the black and white sections of the hall. Later when the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let Marian Anderson—a renowned African American concert singer—rent their Constitution Hall, Eleanor Roosevelt and others resigned from the group and arranged for Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial.

Politically, many Republicans thought that the New Deal went too far and that many of its programs smacked of socialism. Conservatives also did not like the Social Security Act or the Revenue Act that increased taxes on the wealthy. Other political critics felt that FDR’s programs did not go far enough to end poverty. Some of FDR’s critics were demagogues, leaders who use propaganda to manipulate the truth to gain supporters. The first FDR opponent to attract large followings was the conservative radio personality Father Coughlin, whose weekly broadcasts attracted 10 million listeners. Coughlin was later taken off the air after praising Adolph Hitler. The second was Huey Long, a senator from Louisiana who thought FDR did too little to redistribute the wealth of the nation. FDR did make a serious mistake in 1937 when he tried to increase the number of Supreme Court justices so he could pack the court with those sympathetic to his cause. The huge public outcry forced him to withdraw the proposal.

Section 3: The Last Days of the New Deal

Main Ideas

  • The programs and legislation of the New Deal did not bring about the end of the Great Depression. They did alleviate some of the suffering, but the depression did not end until World War II created a new demand for industry.
  • FDR and his New Deal had a profound effect on American life, changing the expectations people had of the federal government and the role it should play in their lives.

Summary and Analysis
The New Deal did not end the Great Depression. It brought relief and helped people with a huge influx of government money, much of which was borrowed. In 1937, even FDR was worried by the large national debt and wanted to balance the budget so that there would be no deficit (money spent that was not covered by revenue). In order to achieve a balanced budget, Roosevelt cut back on programs such as the WPA, but the country had another economic collapse and entered a recession. It became clear that government spending was only propping up the economy, not bringing about recovery.

The New Deal was, however, a boon to labor unions. The Wagner Act, passed in 1935, protected labor unions; membership rose from 3 million in 1933 to 10.5 million in 1941. Even unskilled workers were encouraged by John L. Lewis to join his new Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO), which staged a successful strike against General Motors. The New Deal also changed the face of American culture by getting government into the act of patronizing the arts. Government funds were used to support literature, radio, and movies. The WPA had projects to preserve folk music, provide free music lessons for children, and fund the painting of murals and other works of art. Writers such as Richard Wright and Saul Bellow received funds to support their writing. Many arts programs are still funded by the federal government.

The New Deal changed what Americans wanted from government and the president. The public now expected the president to take a proactive approach to solving problems and promoting legislation. People expected the government to help them in times of crisis and thus allowed for more government intervention in their lives.

Many New Deal programs still exist today—the FDIC, the Securities Exchange Commission, and social security. Many of the dams and roads built by the government during the Great Depression still function. It was not, however, New Deal legislation that ultimately brought an end to the depression. The nation did not recover economically until it entered World War II.

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