1 / 17

FDR and The New Deal

FDR and The New Deal. Franklin D. Roosevelt. A wealthy New Yorker and distant relative of Theodore Roosevelt In 1921 he was stricken with polio For the rest of his life, he depended on steel leg braces to stand up Roosevelt never allowed photos of him in a wheel chair

bruis
Download Presentation

FDR and The New Deal

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. FDR and The New Deal

  2. Franklin D. Roosevelt • A wealthy New Yorker and distant relative of Theodore Roosevelt • In 1921 he was stricken with polio • For the rest of his life, he depended on steel leg braces to stand up • Roosevelt never allowed photos of him in a wheel chair • Most Americans never knew his legs were paralyzed

  3. FDR • In 1928, he was elected governor of New York • Four years later, the Democrats nominated him to run for President • During the Campaign he pledged, “A new deal for the American People.” • The results were overwhelming: Roosevelt won 472 to 59 • He won 57.4 percent of the popular vote

  4. New Deal • On March 4, 1933, supported by his sons arm, he took the oath of office and then addressed the American public • “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” • The American people were encouraged by his confidence

  5. Bank Holiday • FDR quickly went into action • The day after he took office, Roosevelt declared a bank holiday, a four day closing of the nation’s banks • Its goal was was to halt the nationwide epidemic of bank failures • The holiday gave home time to purpose an Emergency Banking Relief Act, which provided more careful government regulation of banks

  6. Fireside Chats • To restore the nations confidence in banks, Roosevelt delivered his first of many Fire side chats – or radio talks • Americans across the country would tune into the radio to listen to him speak • The next day, many of the nations banks reopened with customers beginning to redeposit their savings “ Its safer to keep your money in a reopened bank then under a mattress.”

  7. The New Deal: The First 100 Days • To decide what legislation to send to Congress, Roosevelt conferred with a group of advisors he called “the brain trust” • During his first 100 days in office, Congress passed and he signed 15 new Bills • The new deal had three goals: • Relief for the jobless • Economic recovery • Reforms to prevent future depressions

  8. Unemployment Relief • Some measures helped the unemployed by providing financial assistance • The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was created • FERA was created to grant fund to states so they could reopen troubled relief agencies

  9. Unemployment Relief Cont. • Other programs employed jobless adults • The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) hired city dwellers to work in national parks, wilderness areas and the countryside • Millions of young men planted trees, built reservoirs, constructed parks and dug irrigation canals

  10. Unemployment Relief Cont. • Another program, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) put people to work building or repairing public buildings • WPA workers paved 650,000 miles of road, raised more then 75,000 bridges and built more then 800 airports • The WPA hired artists to paint murals and writers to write state guidelines and histories.

  11. Promoting Economic Recovery • FDR faced an enormous challenge • He needed to help two sectors of the economy recover: • Industry • Agriculture

  12. NRA • The National Recovery Administration aimed to keep prices stable while boosting employment and buying power • Most major industries agreed to: • pay workers a minimum wage • to stop hiring children • to keep wages and prices from falling to low • The NRA succeeded in raising prices • But critics charged that it failed to boost the economy

  13. PWA • The Public Works Administration was granted more than $3 billion to build large public works projects • The PWA improved the nation’s infrastructure and employed many people • PWA projects included: New York’s Lincoln tunnel and Florida’s Key West Highway • Nearly every county in the nation could boast at least one PWA project • Even so, the depression continued

  14. TVA • The Tennessee Valley Authority was created by Congress to build dams along the Tennessee River • Planners believed the dams would control flooding, provide cheap electricity, and increase jobs and prosperity in one of the country’s poorest rural areas • The TVA accomplished its major goals, it lit thousands of farms that never before had enjoyed electricity • Still, it failed to relieve the areas poverty • Others have critized the TVA for driving some property owners of their land • Still, in the 1930s, the TVA was very popular

  15. Reforming the Economic System • The third part of his plan aimed to prevent future depressions • The Truth-in-Securities Act required corporations to inform the public fully about their stocks • The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protected bank depositors • It guaranteed deposits up to $2,500 • The Federal Power Commission helped control the oil and gas industries • The New Deal strengthened the power of the Food and Drug Administration to ensure product safety

  16. Obstacles • Millions were enthusiastic about the New Deal • He won the 1936 election by a wide margin • However, the New Deal faced a major challenge in the Supreme Court • In 1935 and 1936, The supreme Court declared several New Deal measures unconstitutional

  17. Stacking the Court • FDR proposed appointing up to 6 more Supreme Court justices • He claimed he wanted to help the overworked justices • Critics claimed he was trying to gain a majority of justices • Congress embarrassed the President by rejecting his plan • However, in 1937 a conservative judge retired and FDR was able to appoint a liberal in his place • FDR eventually named 8 Supreme Court justices

More Related