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Brown/APUSH
American History
Chapter 24 p. 662-684
The New Deal
Chapter Summary
Franklin D. Roosevelt was bound by traditional economic ideas, but unlike Herbert Hoover, he was willing to
experiment with the economy and was able to show compassion to those suffering most desperately from the
depression. During the first two years of his New Deal, the groundwork was laid for a new relationship between
government and the economy. Roosevelt sought temporary relief for the unemployed, and long-term recovery and
reform measures for industry and finance. Not all of his plan proved effective and the depression continued, but
Roosevelt got the country moving again. In 1935, frustrated and facing pressures from all sides, Roosevelt launched a
new set of programs called the Second New Deal. The new programs were less conciliatory to big business and more
favorable to the needs of workers and consumers than were those of the New Deal of 1933. Roosevelt was swept to
reelection in 1936 by a new coalition of workers, African Americans, and liberals. Soon, however, Roosevelt's political
blunders in the Supreme Court fight and congressional purge effort combined with growing conservative opposition to
halt virtually all New Deal momentum. The legacy of the New Deal was a more activist national government poised to
serve as the broker among society's various interests
Chapter Twenty-four Main Themes
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The flurry of New Deal programs offered by FDR to combat the Depression, and how they played out in the
realms of economic confidence, agriculture, industrial recovery, and regional planning.
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The critics on the right and left of New Deal policies, and how they inspired Roosevelt to launch what's
referred to as the "Second New Deal."
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The challenges facing the New Deal after Roosevelt's landslide in 1936, particularly increasing conservative
opposition, his own political blunders, and continuing hard times.
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The economic, political, and party legacies of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.
Analytical Journal
AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT
CHARLES E. COUGHLIN
FRANCES PERKINS
HUEY LONG
MARIAN ANDERSON
NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
“BANK HOLIDAY”
BROKER STATE
COURT-PACKING PLAN
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
FRANCIS E. TOWNSEND
HARRY HOPKINS
JOHN COLLIER
JOHN L. LEWIS
SIT-DOWN STRIKE
SOCIAL SECURITY ACT
SECOND NEW DEAL
SEC
CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS
Defining the chapter terms in your journals will help you better understand:
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The series of New Deal emergency measures designed to restore confidence and enacted during the first 100 days.
The New Deal programs for raising farm prices, promoting industrial recovery, stimulating regional planning, and
reforming the financial system.
The federal relief programs and Social Security.
The political pressures from both the left and the right that caused Franklin Roosevelt to move in new directions in
1935.
The changes in organized labor during the New Deal era.
The effects of the Court-packing scheme, and of the recession of 1937 and 1938 on Roosevelt and the New Deal.
The impact of the New Deal on minorities and women.
The lasting significance of the New Deal on the American economy and political system.
Each of the terms above contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the New Deal and its overall effects upon
America and its citizens. As you define these terms, demonstrate why each person, event, concept, or issue is
important to a thorough understanding of this chapter.
Long Essay Question
1. Why was President Roosevelt’s plan for national recovery called a “New Deal” for Americans? In your opinion, did
they offer Americans a new deal?
Possible thesis statement: FDR’s plan for national recovery was a “new deal” for the American people because it created
the foundations of the federal welfare system  a system that did not exist before the 1930s and that continues to define our
contemporary political world.
Discuss
How the New Deal expanded the powers of the federal government into the lives of all Americans.
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economy
agricultural
labor movement
major public works projects
producing a new liberal political ideology that shaped the post-war reform efforts for the next generation of
Americans
Possible conclusion: FDR’s policies expanded the federal government’s role in the lives of ordinary Americans through the
creation of the federal welfare system and the broker state. New Dealers, in turn, supported the need for the federal
government to be involved in national economic planning. In this respect, New Deal policies were a new deal for many
Americans. These policies, however, did not radically alter the decision making process. Instead, it simply added new
actors to the negotiating process. Those who won in the process were those who were able to accumulate the most power
and support  white labor unions, organized farmers, the unemployed, and the elderly. But for many sectors of American
society, the New Deal had little to offer  African Americans, women, Indians, Mexican Americans.
2. Analyze the ways in which the following three New Deal measures attempted to create a more stable economy
and more equitable society: Agricultural Adjustment Act, Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Works Progress
Administration. How successful were each in achieving their goals? (Adapted from the 1993 A.P. United States
History free-response question.)
Possible thesis statement: Each of the three federal acts attempted to create both a more stable economy and a more
equitable society.
Discuss
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Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Possible conclusion: Taken as a whole, these three actions met with some success in terms of stabilizing the economy. The
AAA led to legislation that continued to bring about parity; the CCC provided many jobs to young men; and the WPA put
millions of people into the marketplace. However, they had less success in creating a more equitable society. All three
efforts discriminated against women, as well as persons of color. In short, the lives of white men were improved by these
actions, but society was not equalized for other groups.