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The New Deal: AP US History Crash Course
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The nation was in a state of crisis when Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933. The Great
Depression had caused severe unemployment (up to 90% in some cities!), business failures, and
serious disruptions in international trade. It’s no understatement that Roosevelt had a lot of work
to do to fix the nation and restore trust in the government! He hoped his New Deal programs
would do just that.
As an AP US History student, it is important for you to know what the New Deal is, but also why
it is important. This APUSH crash course will give you all the details you need to know to
answer New Deal-related multiple choice questions and essays with ease! Let’s get started.
What exactly is the New Deal?
The New Deal was a set of domestic programs set in motion by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
between1933 and 1938. The goals of the program were relief, recovery, and reform, and with
these goals in mind, FDR set out to help the poor and needy, improve the economy, and pass
laws to stop unemployment, alleviate poverty, and prevent a repeat depression.
The New Deal is generally split into two stages: The First New Deal (1933-1934) and the Second
New Deal (1935-1938). It’s not too important to distinguish between the two, but just know that
the First New Deal focused on dealing with the immediate problems caused by the Depression,
while the Second New Deal was more aggressive, liberal, and focused on reforming the nation.
Critics disagree on whether or not the programs ended the Great Depression, but one thing’s for
sure, the New Deal brought about drastic changes to the United States and dramatically altered
its economy and politics forever.
Background Information
It’s important to understand the Great Depression and Herbert Hoover’s economic policy during
the time. Let’s briefly overview some information that will help you see the bigger picture.
Before FDR took office, President Herbert Hoover was set the challenge of helping the nation
through the worst depression it had ever seen. But he was slow to help and wary of affecting any
change. He didn’t believe it was the government’s job to help failing businesses and unemployed
citizens. In fact, he believed that caring for the poor was work for private charities. The only real
attempt Hoover made at fighting the Great Depression was the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation, which involved public works programs such as the Hoover Dam. But his attempts
came much too late, and his term ended, leaving the tremendous problems of the unstable nation
for the next president to resolve.
The First Hundred Days
In what is known as the First Hundred Days, FDR made great strides towards accomplishing his
goals of helping the needy, creating new jobs, restoring public confidence in banks, and
improving the economy.
During this three and a half month period of the First Hundred Days, Congress passed a
staggering fifteen laws to help create new jobs and restore public confidence in banks. You don’t
need to know all of them, but I will go over some of the important ones you need to know for the
APUSH exam.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act, 1933
This act paid farmers to not sell their food and to reduce their crop production. Sounds weird,
right? Well, by limiting agricultural production, crop surpluses were reduced and the demand
and price for the crops rose. However, the program was controversial since farmers were ordered
to plow over their fields and kill their hogs during a time of great hunger.
The National Industrial Recovery Act, 1933
The goal of this act was to combat the Great Depression through government-business
cooperation. It created agencies such as the Public Works Administration to set up government
funded infrastructure projects to increase jobs. However, the act was not a success and was
repealed by the Supreme Court in 1935.
The Civilian Conservation Corps
This organization established a jobs program for unemployed youth. Over 250,000 young men
were given conservation jobs working in national parks, helping improve the lives and morals of
unemployed workers and benefiting the nation’s environment. Over 3 billion trees were planted
during the organization’s run!
The Tennessee Valley Authority
This agency’s primary goal was to create dams and power plants, and to provide electricity to
Tennessee. However, it also boosted farming in the area, improved habitats for wildlife, and
helped decrease forest fires.
The Second New Deal
The first New Deal programs were met with less success than FDR had hoped. The Great
Depression kept rearing its ugly head and the American people were growing more anxious and
desperate. Additionally, there was increasing pressure from the political left and right to change
policies, since many were frustrated with the pace of recovery.
Because of this, FDR decided to change his tactics. In 1935, he began implementing more
aggressive and liberal programs in an attempt to speed recovery and reform the entire nation.
You really only need to know about two main acts passed during the Second New Deal: The
Social Security Act and the Wagner Act.
The Social Security Act, 1935
This act created a federal pension system for those retiring at age 65 funded by taxes, workers’
wages, and employer contributions. Today, Social Security is in trouble because baby boomers
are coming of age.
The Wagner Act, 1935
AKA National Labor Relations Act
This act, often called the Magna Carta for unions, established the National Labor Relations
Board to insure workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. This led to an increase in
labor union membership.
What did the New Deal NOT do?
While the New Deal took on many issues, there are several key factors it failed to address.
The New Deal did NOT:
1. Protect civil rights of African Americans
2. Integrate Armed Forces
3. Legally recognize unions for migrant workers
4. Establish Bureau of Indian Affairs
5. Nationalize basic industries
What was the impact of the New Deal?
The New Deal was a reformation, as opposed to a revolution. It helped improve the existing
economy and expanded the role of the government to include social welfare spending. The
Democratic Party became the majority party for most of the 1930s up until the 1980s, because
the New Deal Coalition (a strong alignment of different groups of people who supported the
New Deal) also supported Democrats. African Americans were helped economically by many of
the New Deal programs, but civil rights were not directly tackled.
The New Deal fizzled out around 1937. When the Supreme Court started overturning some parts
of the New Deal, FDR responded by “packing the courts.” He added a new liberal justice for any
justice who was over 70 and refused to retire. This plan failed because many people believed he
went too far. This issue, along with slowing momentum, the recession of 1937, and the looming
prospect of war, caused the New Deal to end.
Although the New Deal provided short-term relief to millions of Americans, created long-term
structural reform, and set up programs, such as Social Security, that are still in effect today, it
really didn’t end the Great Depression. The ramp up to World War II was the catalyst for the
reinvigoration of the US economy.
For the AP US History exam, make sure you know the goals of the New Deal (the three R’s –
Relief, Recovery, Reform), the major acts and bills passed by Congress and how they affected
the American people and the nation as a whole, and understand that the New Deal did not end
the Great Depression by itself. With all of this knowledge, you’re sure to be successful at any
New Deal question that comes your way!
Photo by Social Security Online [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
By the way, you should check out Learnerator for your AP US History review. We have hundreds
of APUSH practice questions written just for you!