FDR and the Great Depression

A look at the “alphabet agencies” created to combat the economic

slump

WPA

• The Works Progress Administration

• Worked to issue necessities like food and clothing to families in need

• Helped foster the arts and education

• Was also key in creating/restoring public institutions and utilities

SEC

• The Securities and Exchange Commission

• Created to regulate the stock market in response to the crash that heralded the Depression in 1929.

• Established with the Security Exchange Act of 1934

CCC

• Civilian Conservation Corps

• Purpose was twofold: – Granted jobs to displaced men

– Worked to build necessities and utilities around communities

• Considered greatly effective

TVA

• The Tennessee Valley Authority

• Worked to ensure the recuperation and environmental stability of the Tennessee Valley and surrounding localities.

• Concentrated on dams, alert systems, and electric development in the region.

AAA

• The Agricultural Adjustment Administration

• Moderated the farming output and surplus levels of the nation.

• By eliminating the surplus through decreased farming, the market became active and the economy became more stable.

Response

• The response to Roosevelt’s “alphabet agencies” (so named because of their extensive use of acronyms) was mixed– Congress saw these agencies as a

dangerous foray towards socialism; worked to remove many as soon as reasonably possible.

– The people sometimes did not comprehend the flow of the economy; such was the case in the AAA and the TVA.