US History Chapter 19 Roosevelt and The New Deal – Flashcards
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What was FDR diagnosed with in 1921?
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Polio
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When FDR was elected in November 1932, what did Hoover become until March 1933?
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Lame Duck President
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What reduced the wait time between election and inauguration?
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20th Amendment that made the time shorter between election and inauguration
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What is the gold standard?
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1 oz of gold=a set amount of money
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What is a bank holiday?
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holidays-a closing of remaining banks before they would be put out of business
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When did FDR give his "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" speech?
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Inauguration Day
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What was FDR's Brain Trust?
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holidays-a closing of remaining banks before they would be put out of business
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What does the first Hundred Days refer to?
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March 9-June 16, 1933
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What were FDR's advisors able to agree on?
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FDR's advisors did agree that there needed to be some form of government intervention but disagreed over how much government intervention
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What were some of the different proposed ideas on how much the government should intervene in the economy?
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-government and business needed to work together -they wanted government planners to run key parts of the economy -support "trust busting" and allow competition to regulate wages, prices, and production -wanted the government to impose regulations to keep economic competition fair
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Define the Emergency Banking Bill.
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first order of business was to deal with the banks-he gave his Secretary of Treasury 5 days to have an Emergency Banking Bill ready to present to Congress
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What were "fireside chats"
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FDR addressed the American people on the radio
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Define the Securities Act of 1933.
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required companies that sold stocks and bonds to provide complete and truthful information to investors
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Why was the SEC established?
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(Securities and Exchange Commission) was set up the next year to regulate the stock market and prevent fraud
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What was the purpose of the FDIC?
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Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) was also created to provide government insurance for bank deposits up to a certain amount
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What was the purpose of the HOLC?
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(Home Owners Loan Corporation) to help homeowners to make their mortgage payments
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Why was the FCA created?
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(Farm Credit Administration) was created to help farmers refinance their mortgages
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Define the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
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based on the idea that prices for farm goods were low because farmers grew to much food ad the program would allow the government to pay farmers to NOT grow certain crops
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What did the NIRA do?
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suspended antitrust lawsuits and let business, labor and government to cooperate in setting up voluntary rules for each industry codes for fair competition
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Why was the NRA short lived?
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National Recovery Administration (NRA) to run the program The NRA had short-lived gains-small companies complained because the larger companies were the ones writing the codes
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Define the CCC.
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offered unemployed young men between 18-25 the opportunity to work in the forestry service-planting trees, fighting forest fires and building reservoirs
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Define FERA.
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Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was headed by Harry Hopkins and it was created to direct money to state and local agencies to fund their relief project
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Define the PWA.
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Public Works Administration (PWA) put people to work building highways, dams, sewer systems, schools and other government facilities
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Define the CWA.
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Civil Works Administration (CWA) hired workers directly to improve airports, roads, schools, playgrounds and parks
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What was the biggest impact of the First New Deal?
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impact it had on the spirit of the American people there was now hope
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Why did FDR start to meet opposition after his first 2 years in office?
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There has only been a small improvement in the economy
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Why did people on the right criticize the New Deal?
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Those on the right, even some Southern Democrats, felt the New Deal had made the federal government so big that it was interfering with states rights
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What was the purpose of the American Liberty League?
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formed by business leaders and anti-New Deal politicians (Republicans and Democrats) with the purpose to organize opposition to the New Deal and to "teach the necessity of respect for the rights of person and property"
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Why did members of his own party criticize him?
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people in the Democratic Party criticized the New Deal for not dong enough
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What was the purpose of Huey Long's Share our Wealth Society?
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In 1934 he established the Share our Wealth Society to promote his plan for massive redistribution of wealth and he wanted to run for president in 1936
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What did Father Coughlin organize?
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Organized the National Union for Social Justice-which some even feared would become a new political party
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What was the Townsend Plan?
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-proposed that the government pay citizens over 60 a pension of $200 per month -The recipients would be required to retire and spend entire pension every month
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Define the WPA.
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-Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the largest public works program of the New Deal and headed by Harry Hopkins -1935-1941 the WPA spent $11 billion for 8.5 million workers to build 650,000 miles of roads, 125,000 public buildings, 8000 parks, 124,000 bridges and 850 airports -The most controversial program of the WPA was Federal Number One
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What did the Supreme Court decide in Schechter Poultry Company v US?
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Supreme Court struck down the authority of the NRA in Schechter Poultry Company v US by ruling the Constitution did not allow Congress to delegate the legislative powers to the executive branch and declared the NRA codes were unconstitutional
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Why did FDR think labor unions would help end the Depression?
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He felt unions would help end the Depression with high union wages giving workers more money to spend thus boosting the economy
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Define the Wagner Act.
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National Labor Relations Act, or the Wagner Act, was passed which guaranteed workers the right to organize unions and bargain collectively
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What was the purpose of the NLRB?
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The Wagner Act also established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to organize factory elections by secret ballot to determine if workers wanted to unionize
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What is the CIO?
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-Other unions to organize industrial workers and the result was the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) -The CIO wanted to organize skilled and unskilled workers
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Define a sit-down strike.
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A new tactic of sit-down strikes was used where workers simply stopped working once inside the factory but refused to leave which prevented employers from hiring replacement workers
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Was the UAW successful in its strike against General Motors?
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-United Auto Workers (UAW), a CIO union, -trike lasted until February 1937 and it was a sit down strike-meaning the workers didn't leave the factory for almost 2 months and their families brought them food and supplies -Finally Feb 11 General Motors recognizes the UAW as the employees sole bargaining agent -Changed name to Congress of Industrial Organization
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What was the goal of Social Security?
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-became on of America's most important pieces of legislation -provide security for older Americans and the unemployed -provided welfare payments
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What was the major part of Social Security?
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Social Security was the monthly retirement benefit that people could collect when they stopped working at the age of 65
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To get unemployment insurance, what must you be doing?
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unemployment insurance-temporary income to the unemployed that were actively looking for a new job
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What did FDR not plan on with regards to Social Security?
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-FDR did not plan on Congress borrowing money from Social Security to pay for other programs while failing to raise payroll deductions to pay for the benefits -Social Security established the principle that the federal government should be responsible for those who, through no fault of their own, were unable to work
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Who did FDR run against in 1936?
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Republican nominee was Alfred Landon
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How had political support among different groups shifted?
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Democratic Party now had support from farmers, industrial workers, African Americans, new immigrants, ethnic minorities, women, progressives and intellectuals
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What was the Black Cabinet?
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FDR appointed several African Americans to positions in his administration
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Who is Francis Perkins?
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Secretary of Labor as well as female diplomats and federal judges.
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What did the Supreme Court decide in US v Butler?
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the Supreme Court declared the Agricultural Adjustment Act as unconstitutional in the United States v Butler
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What was FDR worried about after this decision?
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he decided to change the political balance of the court, There were other cases pending on the validity of Social Security and the Wagner Act and was very possible the court was going to strike both of them down
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Did FDR consult anyone when he came up with his court-packing plan?
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without consulting any of his advisors or members of his own party, FDR presented a bill to Congress to increase the number of justices and that if a judge had served 10 years and hadn't retired 6 months after turning 70 then the president could appoint an additional justice
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What did the Supreme Court have to prove even though FDR's plan did not pass through Congress?
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-Court had to prove to FDR that they are not opposed to all of the New Deal programs. -Wagner Act was upheld with a 5-4 vote in the National Labor Relations Board v Jones and Lauglin Steel Company -Social Security was upheld in Steward Machine Company v Davis
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What happened to unemployment in 1937?
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surge in unemployment, 2 million people were thrown into unemployment
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What programs did FDR order major cuts in?
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-concerned about the dangers of to much debt and ordered major cuts in the WPA and the PWA
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What 2 economic ideas were proposed to FDR in 1937?
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-balancing the budget -Keynesianism-the idea that government should spend more heavily during a recession even if it required deficit spending
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What did FDR decide to do in 1938?
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Finally in 1938 FDR asked Congress to spend $3.75 billion for WPA and PWA programs
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Define the National Housing Act.
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established the US Housing Authority which got $500 million to subsidize loans for builders willing to provide low cost housing
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Define the Farm Security Administration.
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created to give loans to tenant farmers so they could purchase their own farms
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Define the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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abolished child labor, set a 44/hour work week for most workers and set the first federal minimum wage of $0.25 per hour This was the last major piece of New Deal legislation
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What happened in the 1938-midterm elections?
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Republicans were able to gain more seats as a result of the recession and by 1939 the New Deal Era had come to an end
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Did the New Deal end the Depression?
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had limited success in ending the Depression-unemployment was still high and economic recovery was not really a reality until after WWII
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What did the decisions of the Supreme Court during the New Deal period do?
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decisions of the Supreme Court had increased the power of the federal government over the economy and allowed the government to mediate between competing groups
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Define broker state.
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federal government works out conflicts between different interests it is acting as a broker state -which it can still do today
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What is the continuing debate on the New Deal over?
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legacy of the New Deal is a continuing debate over how much the government should or should not intervene in the economy or even help those who are struggling
