Chapter 20 Section 1 The New Deal Begins
I. Introduction A. FDR paralyzed by polio eight years before becoming president 1. Most thought his days of public service were over
Polliomyelitis Causes paralysis in about 1% of people Vaccine developed in 1950 s Polio
March of Dimes
Soon after the death of FDR in 1945, legislation was introduced that called for the replacement of the Mercury dime with one bearing Roosevelt's image. The dime was chosen to honor Roosevelt partly due to his efforts in the founding of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (later renamed the March of Dimes), which originally raised money for polio research and to aid victims of the disease and their families. The public had been urged to send in a dime to the Foundation, and by Roosevelt's death, the Foundation was already popularly known as the "March of Dimes." Roosevelt Dime
Polio
II. From Hyde Park to Washington A. Born in Hyde Park, New York
B. Believed in public service 1. Assistant Secretary of the Navy
2. Governor of New York
C. Roosevelt took action against depression as Governor 1. Created state agencies to aid poor 2. Unemployment Agency 3. Relief
D. Attracted nationwide attention 1. Democrats nominated FDR in 1932 2. Pledged a new deal for Americans 3. Won 42 states
III. Roosevelt Takes Charge A. Country was in deep despair at start of presidency 1. Americans listened intently to inauguration speech
FDR Inauguration
2. Nothing to fear but fear itself 3. Helped reassure the country B. Ideas for Fighting the Depression C. Believed in bold action, but had no plan
D. Had three goals The Three R s 1. Relief quick relief for unemployed 2. Recovery economic recovery 3. Reform reform economy so depression would not happen again
E. Few specific ideas 1. Brought open mind 2. Willing to experiment F. The Brain Trust 1. Assembled able group of advisers 2. Press named them the Brain Trust
3. Frances Perkins a. Worked with Jane Addams at Hull House b. Child labor reform c. Appointed Secretary of Labor d. First Female Cabinet member
Frances Perkins
G. The Fireside Chats 1. FDR often spoke to America through radio 2. Sunday evening addresses known as fireside chats 3. Did much to increase FDR s popularity
4. First president to use power of mass media
IV. The Bank Crisis A. By time FDR took office, people had lost faith in banks 1. Thousands of banks had failed 2. Panic spread 3. Run on banks
B. Two days after entering office, FDR declared Bank Holiday 1. Four days 2. No business other than accepting deposits 3. Created board to deal with bank crisis 4. Only healthy banks could reopen
5. More than 12,000 banks back in business
C. Congress passed other laws to strengthen banks 1. Bankers could not speculate 2. FDIC set up to insure all bank deposits up to $5,000
V. Hundred Days A. Passage of 15 major new laws 1. Established government agencies to battle Great Depression
2. Not all worked, but showed Americans hope 3. Dealt with most pressing issues
B. Farmers badly hurt by Great Depression 1. Main problem growing too much crops 2. New Deal solution Farmers paid for not planting
C. FDR worked to restore faith in stock market 1. Crashed partly due to unwise investments 2. New laws required sellers of stocks to give honest info. 3. SEC created to regulate the stock market
D. FDR created many new agencies 1. Emergency Banking Relief Act (EBRA) 2. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 3. National Recovery Act (NRA)
4. Showed Americans FDR was taking action
E. Conserving the land 1. FDR used power to gov. to preserve natural resources 2. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) a. Given control of Tennessee River Valley
b. Virginia, N. Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky
c. Flooding caused erosion of topsoil d. Hills stripped for lumber e. Built 38 dams f. Hydroelectric power g. Built hospitals and schools h. Doctors cured malaria
i. New industries attracted to area because of cheap power j. Critics argued against gov. interfering in economy
3. CCC Civilian Conservation Corp a. Outdoor projects for men 18-25 b. Road construction, reforestation, flood control, park improvements
C. More than 2.5 million men had worked for CCC
F. Help for Business and Farmers 1. NRA National Recovery Administration a. Set code of conduct for business b. Companies allowed to fix prices
c. Had to limit working hours
2. AAA Agricultural Adjustment Administration a. Controlled amount of crops produced b. Paid farmers not to plant
Agricultural Adjustment Administration
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, agricultural price support programs led to vast amounts of food being deliberately destroyed at a time when malnutrition was a serious problem in the United States... For example, the government bought 6 million hogs in 1933 alone and destroyed them. Huge amounts of farm produce were plowed under, in order to keep it off the market and maintain prices at the officially fixed level, and vast amounts of milk were poured down the sewers for the same reason. Meanwhile, many American children were suffering from diseases caused by malnutrition. [