Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal

FDR’s Election• In 1932, the Democrats nominated Franklin

Delano Roosevelt for President.• The Republicans nominated Herbert Hoover.

The Three R’s of the New Deal• 1. Relief: End people’s suffering by giving them

money.• Two Types of Relief:• Direct: US government gave out $3 billion.• Work: US government made up jobs for people

to do that were not permanent and sometimes not really necessary. $1 billion was given out in this program.

• 2. Recovery: Get the economy moving again• 3. Reform: Make sure the economy NEVER

suffers a Great Depression again.

First Hundred Days• During the first 100 days, FDR was President,

every bill he sent to Congress was passed.• He signed 15 major bills into law.

1936 Election

• The Democrats nominated FDR for a second term.• The Republicans nominated Alf Landon, the Governor of

Kansas, to run against FDR.• They claimed the New Deal had not fixed the Great

Depression

1936 Election• Supporters of FDR• Poor• Unemployed• Farmers• Workers who want to join

unions• Artists, actors, and writers• Elderly• Retired People• African Americans

• Critics of FDR• Rich• Big Business• Bankers• Stock Brokers• Utility companies• Some critics claimed FDR

had not done enough to fix the economy

Huey Long, “The Kingfish”• Huey Long, Senator from Louisiana, had

a plan called “Share Our Wealth”• Plan was to tax the rich and give to the

poor; tax on all inherited fortunes over $1million and personal income over $4million would pay for redistribution of wealth

• Give $5000 allowance to every family, a guaranteed $2000 annual income to all for a 30-hour work week, all personal debt cancelled, free education through college, and a pension for the aged over 60 - by 1935 had 7m members in 27,000 clubs in every state (but most were in the South)

• Was assassinated in Sept., 1935.

Father Charles Coughlin, the Radio Priest• His radio show reached an audience of 40

million listeners at the height of its popularity.

• Father Coughlin's rhetoric was a curious combination of anti-communism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Semitism.

• At first, he supported the New Deal, but then he became increasingly upset at the slow pace of reform as well as his inability to play a major in the Roosevelt administration.

• Coughlin launched the National Union for Social Justice to challenge the President, claiming that Roosevelt had "out-Hoovered Hoover."

Dr. Francis Townsend• Townsend felt FDR had not

done enough for the retired.• His plan called for each person

over the age of 60, who was retired to:

• Receive a monthly pension of $200

• They must spend all of it within 30 days.

• A 2% tax would be charged to pay for the plan.

• By 1935, he had over 5 million members of his Townsend Club.

• He claimed his plan would stimulate the economy.

1936 Election Results• FDR won by a landslide.

FDR’s Second Term• Fair Labor Standards Act: • 1. set up a minimum wage and the 40 hour maximum

work week.• 2. Hourly employees must be paid “time and a half” for

overtime.• Employers cannot hire workers under the age of 16.• Fair Employment Practices Committee:• A. Phillip Randolph, Mary McLeod Bethune and the

“Black Cabinet” got FDR to pass this.• It was set up to stop racial discrimination in companies

with government contracts. • Farm Security Administration:• It loaned money at low interest rates to sharecroppers

and tenant farmers so they could buy their own land.

• Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938:• 1. Farmers would only be paid if they took land

out of production and planted soil-conserving crops on their land.

• 2. Farmers were given an allotment of how much crops they could sell.

• 3. Government warehouses would open for farmer’s excess crops and loans would be given.

• 4. Government insured wheat crops against drought, flood, hail, and plant disease

• Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act:• Required testing for all drugs and cosmetics and

all ingredients must be listed on the label

FDR’s Second Big Mistake• By 1937, a coalition of Conservative Democrats

and Republicans were voting together in Congress to defeat New Deal legislation and cut back the New Deal.

• FDR decided to get the Conservative Democrats by campaigning AGAINST them in the Primary Elections in 1938.

• It backfired.• After 1938, there were more Conservative

Democrats, and more Republicans in Congress.• This coalition started killing the New Deal.

How Did We Finance the New Deal?

• Higher taxes, especially on the rich and big business

• FDR took the US off the gold standard and printed more paper money (inflation)

• Deficit Spending: The government sold bonds and got other loans to pay for programs.