The First Hundred Days Olivia Nail-Beatty
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933 President Elect 2
Inauguration At the time of FDR s inauguration... The country was already suffering under four years of the depression. People were no longer spending or investing money. There was nationwide panic and distrust of the banks and government. The U.S. was desperate. 3
FDR s personality Very confident both in himself and in the country. Gave people hope to have a positive and bold president at night when I lay my head on my pillow, and it is often pretty late, and I think of the things that have come before me during the day and the decisions that I have made, I say to myself -- well, I have done the best I could and turn over and go to sleep. Willing to take chances for the country Eleanor Roosevelt said, He recognized the difficulties and often said that, while he did not know the answer, he was completely confident that there was an answer and that one had to try until one either found it for himself or got it from someone else. 4
FDR s personality He communicated with the public. He conveyed a sense of positivity to the public and was very persuasive Frances Perkins said that his capacity to inspire and encourage those around him to do tough, confused and practically impossible jobs was without dispute. He was persistent. He had good ideas and also used trusted advisors. His personality lifted the spirits of the nation Eleanor said, I have never known a man who gave one a greater sense of security. I never heard him say there was a 5
FDR s inaugural address I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.i am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves 6 of
FDR s inaugural address More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment......this Nation asks for action, and action now. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources. 7
OPCVL Origin: Inaugural Address given by Franklin D. Roosevelt upon entering his first term as president on March 4, 1933. Purpose: To communicate to the public what he intends on doing while in office and to reassure them that the problem is one that they can solve. He is also asking the crowd for their support and rallying them behind himself. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no 8
OPCVL Value: We hear what the people of the nation heard at that time and are able to gain an understanding for how this speech was so powerful. We can understand the resonance it had with the public, and see how it still influences us today. the only thing we have to fear is fear itself nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. Limitation: This was a speech given to the entire country, so it was very carefully constructed and only contains a positive message. It is also not very detailed, but a summary. 9 This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will
FDR s Policies FDR was a democrat. He was in favor of big business. He created the New Deal in 1933 Alphabet Agencies Good Neighbor Policy 10
The New Deal FDR signed the New Deal into law soon after becoming president. The New Deal created 42 new agencies. The purpose was to create jobs, safeguard investments, allow unionization, bolster the banking system, and stabilize the stock market. It created millions of jobs and lowered unemployment rates, but in the end did not completely stop the depression because it took WW2 to drop the unemployment rate below 15%. It raised the moral of the country as a whole. 11
The New Deal The First New Deal mainly focused on relief and recovery 12
The Brain Trust A team of Ivy League intellectuals and New York social workers than Roosevelt brought to Washington to consult with. These advisors helped Roosevelt with economic ideas and speech writing. Went against the usual wealthy patricians, businessmen, and political loyalists. 13
Raymond Moley Rexford Guy Tugwell Adolph A. Berle Basil "Doc" Samuel I. Hugh 14
The New Dealers Strongly influenced by the Progressive reformers Early 20th century Believed the government not only had the right but the duty to intervene in all aspects of economic life to improve the quality of American life. Progressive reform had strong moral dimensions Wanted to curb drinking Eliminate what they considered immoral sexual behaviors 15
The New Dealers The New Dealers were more realistic. Rejected laissez-faire orthodoxy The idea that the government should only be involved in balancing the federal government and the national defense. New Dealers disagreed about the best way to end the Depression 16
The New Dealer s End to the Depression Trust Busters Led by Thurman Arnold Enforcement of antitrust laws to break up concentrated business power Associationalists Encourage cooperation between business, labor, and government Establish association and codes between these groups Economic Planners Led by Ruxford Tugwell, Adolph Berie, and Gardiner Means Create a system of centralized national planning 17
Conservatives vs Liberals Conservatives Government intervention of things that should have been left to private enterprise. Supported a laissez-faire government policy toward the economy. New Deal programs gave the government too much control. Felt the government spent too much money on the New Deal Acts. Concerned about the growing debt of Liberals In favor of government involvement. Believed FDR did not do enough. Because FDR himself was a democrat, many of his decisions followed that ideology. Believe it is the government s role to guarantee that no one is in need. 18
Alphabet Agencies New Deal programs instituted by FDR in 1933 19
NIRA National Industrial Recovery Act U.S. labor legislation (1933). Sanctioned an alliance of industries. Antitrust laws were suspended and companies were required to write codes of fair competition. Fixed prices and wages Established production quotas It supported an alliance of industries. Self-regulation and helping regulate the economy. Codes of fair competition. Protection of consumers, competitors, and employees Employees could organize, bargain collectively, and could for unions 20
NRA National Recovery Association Created by the NIRA to support industry by fixing prices, setting wages, and establishing product quotas. Promoted compliance. Drew up industrial codes for companies to adopt. Had the power to make voluntary agreements with companies regarding hours, wages, rates, and product prices. More than 500 hundred codes were adopted by agencies. Companies that voluntarily complied displayed the 21
CCC Civilian Conservation Corps 1933-1942 Made for unemployed, unmarried men ages 17-28. These men were given environmental jobs. They planted more than three billion trees, and constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks nationwide. 22
TVA Tennessee Valley Authority Provided jobs and electricity to the rural Tennessee Valley An area that spans across seven southern states Distrust of privately owned power providers. Public Ownership of electric utilities was supported by the public. Goals: Modernize the impoverished region Lower energy rates to ensure affordable and reliable power Encouraged economic development. Provided jobs by bringing electricity to rural areas. 23
AAA Agricultural Adjustment Administration Attempt to fight the damage suffered by the nation s farms during the Depression. Main tactic was to decrease farm s productions to raise prices for agricultural goods. Domestic Allotment Plan Paid benefits for lowered production of staple crops (cotton, wheat, tobacco, corn). Farmers were basically paid not to farm Instituted crop rotation which helped farming in the long run Helped land-owning farmers and increased prices of commodities. Sharecroppers and tenant farmers faced the threat of eviction when 24
Schechter v. U.S. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States. May 1935. Declared the NIRA unconstitutional. The court decided that the NIRA gave lawmaking powers to the NRA in violation of the Constitution s allocation of these powers to congress. Congress had exceeded its authority and given the president and industrial groups too much legislative power. The NIRA s codes of fair practice went beyond the regulation of interstate commerce by attempting to control intrastate commerce. Many of the labor provisions of the NIRA were reenacted in legislation 25 later with the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.
The Gold Standard The amount of money in circulation is backed up by that amount in gold. World wide Made trade with other countries practical The U.S. switched to gold de facto in 1834 and to gold de jure in 1900 when Congress passed the Gold Standard Act. The fixed set of gold was $20.67 per ounce. 26
The Gold Standard during the Great Depression After the stock market crashed, investors began trading in currencies and commodities and the price of gold rose. People began exchanging their paper money for gold (something tangible). Banks began failing and people began hoarding gold. The Federal Reserve repeatedly rose interest rates in an attempt to make the dollar more valuable. This made the cost of doing business more expensive and unemployment levels reached record 27
Emergency Banking Relief Act Signed into law March 9, 1933. Designed to repair the crumbling bank system. Nearly 10,000 banks had failed at this time. People no longer had trust in banks and were rapidly taking out their money. Banks did not have a chance to stabilize. FDR called a national bank holiday on March 5, 1933 that closed all the banks and the Federal Reserve for several days (4) to stabilize the banks. 28
Emergency Banking Relief Act The banks were only allowed to reopen when they were deemed financially secure (stable and able to hold and back up money). This increased the trust of the people in their banks and provide stability in the economic system. Roosevelt made his first fireside chat on March 12th. I can assure you that it is safer to keep your money in a reopened bank than under your mattress 29
FDR steps in The banks turned all their gold into the Federal Reserve. Banks could not longer redeem money for gold, and no one could export gold. April 5, 1933, Americans had to turn in their gold in exchange for money Prohibited hoarding gold Prohibited the redemption of gold in other countries 30
How was money affected? Monetarism Based on the operations of a free market. Government determines the money supply through the process of adjusting credit markets, the rate of inflation, and employment based on money in circulation. Government determines the correct amount of money to inject into the system. 31
$ Gold Reserve Act January 30, 1934. All ownership of monetary gold in the US was transferred to the US Treasury. Roosevelt increased the price of gold to $35 per ounce. Unprecedented transfer of congressional power to the president. This reduced the value of the dollar by 59%. This helped the economic state of the country because there was money available for 32
Gabriel Over the White House Movie produced in 1933, released March 31 (four weeks after FDR s inauguration). Starring Walter Huston portraying fictional US president Judson Hammond. Portrayed as lazy and essentially Hoover at the beginning of the movie. He gets into a near-fatal car accident and wakes up as a changed man. He initiates sweeping, radical reform to the country He dismisses Congress and revokes the Constitution Essentially becomes a dictator but became a national hero, passing laws similar to FDR s new deal. Portrays a favorable view of fascism. 33
Citations "Franklin D. Roosevelt." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/search/display/ 247759. Accessed 11 Jan. 2018. "Agricultural Adjustment Administration." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/ Search/Display/253362. Accessed 22 Dec, 2017.. "Emergency Banking Relief Act (1933)." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/ Search/Display/1302534. Accessed 2 Jan. 2018. Emergency Banking Relief Act (1933). Living New Deal, livingnewdeal.org/glossary/emergency-banking-relief-act-1933/. Accessed 4 Jan, 2018. National Industrial Recovery Act (1933). Our Documents - National Industrial Recovery Act (1933), www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=66. Accessed 3 Jan. 2018 Amadeo, Kimberly. When the Dollar Was Backed By Gold. The Balance, www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-history-of-thegold-standard-3306136. Accessed 28 Dec, 2017 Richardson, Gary, et al. Gold Reserve Act of 1934. Federal Reserve History, www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/ gold_reserve_act. Accessed 28 Dec, 2017. Franklin D. Roosevelt. PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/newshour/spc/character/essays/roosevelt.html. Accessed 7 Jan, 2018. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Inaugural Address - March 4, 1933. The American Presidency Project, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ ws/index.php?pid=14473. Accessed 6 Jan, 2018. 34
Citations "Civilian Conservation Corps." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/search/display/ 253405. Accessed 5 Jan. 2018. "National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/ Search/Display/254750. Accessed 5 Jan. 2018. "Monetarism." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/search/display/260846. Accessed 7 Jan. 2018. O'Donnell, Pat. "New Deal." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/search/display/ 262187. Accessed 10 Jan. 2018. The New Dealers. Digital History, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3440. Accessed 10 Jan, 2018. Why did the New Deal draw criticism from conservatives and liberals? Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/ homework-help/why-did-new-deal-draw-criticism-from-conservatives-366653. Accessed 10 jan, 2018. 35