Download The Second New Deal

The Second New Deal
Section 22.2
Though progress had been made toward easing the
problems of the Great Depression, Roosevelt knew
that much work still needed to be done.
In 1935, FDR
launched a new
campaign to
help meet the
goals of relief,
recovery, and
reform.
The second New Deal
As FDR planned a new round of spending,
critics charged that New Deal programs, and
their high price tags, were wasteful.
• The government was spending
money it did not have.
• The federal deficit had soared to
$4.4 billion.
•
adopted Keynsian economics by John Maynard
Keynes, a British economist who believed the
government should be more proactive in the
economy; rejected Adam Smith’s ideas of
laissez faire
1. tax cuts
2. increase government spending which
would create a deficit
3. he would have the government intervene
on a massive scale by creating jobs even
though the government would go in debt
4. the idea was a trade off where priorities
would be that the government would
have to give up something to get
something and that was to create
demand
5. jobs would be made
through the CCC,
CWA, PWA, TVA
where the
unemployed would
now be hired by the
government and get
a check from Uncle
Sam
6. now with money these individuals can
purchase products
7. with an increase in demand, private
industry would then have to produce
more so they would hire workers
8. these jobs could be taken from the CCC,
CWA, etc and now these individuals
would have jobs and pay taxes which in
turn would help pay off the debt since
they now can be taxed
The Works Progress Administration
(WPA) created millions of jobs on
public-works projects.
• Workers built highways and public
buildings, dredged rivers and harbors, and
promoted soil and water conservation.
• Artists were hired to enhance public spaces.
• In 1935 it would be
the WPA – greatest
non war time
agency where over
8,000,000 would get
public jobs in
construction, the
arts, etc
The Social Security Act
created a pension system
for retirees.
It also provided:
• unemployment insurance
• insurance for victims of
work-related accidents
• aid for poverty-stricken
mothers and children, the
blind, and the disabled
The Rural Electrification
Administration helped
bring power to isolated
rural areas.
The government
provided price supports
for agriculture.
The government continued to give aid to farmers.
The government also funded irrigation systems, dams,
and other water projects in the West.
•
•
National Labor
Relations Act - set up
National Labor
Relations Board to
supervise labormanagement
relations; in the 1930s,
it strongly favored
labor unions
Fair Labor Standards
Act or the Wagner Act
established a
maximum normal work
week of 40 hours and
a minimum wage of 40
cents/hour and
outlawed most forms
of child labor; still
exists
Helping Labor
Labor Unions Find a New Energy
As union activity rose, a split emerged in the
American Federation of Labor.
The AFL
represented
skilled
workers who
joined craft
or trade
unions.
The union
made little
effort to
organize
workers in
the major
industries.
John L. Lewis
formed the
Congress of
Industrial
Organizations
(CIO) to
unionize
industrial
workers.
In 1936, the CIO’s United Auto Workers Union staged
a sit-down strike at General Motors.
After 44 days, GM
recognized the new
union.
This success led to
others, and union
membership soared.
• Roosevelt wins the 1936 Presidential Election in
a landslide and will win altogether an
unprecedented four terms as president
• despite his popularity, his New Deal programs
came under fire
FDR Fights Back
•
•
•
after his inauguration on
1937, FDR made a bold
proposal; he wanted to add
six more justices to the US
Supreme Court making the
number go from nine to
fifteen ( Judicial
Reorganization Bill)
he cited that the justices
were too old and this would
alleviate the work load on the
court
his real reason was he was
being outvoted 7 – 2 on New
Deal programs
•
•
•
a bipartisan effort was mounted by Congress to stop
this and this became a major defeat for the New Deal
by 1937, the economy snapped and FDR’s critics
called it the Roosevelt Recession
WWII would start and the country’s attention would be
diverted from the Great Depression to war
After the economy had begun to improve in 1935 and
1936, FDR cut back on government spending to reduce
the deficit. At the same time, interest rates rose.
The combination caused the
economy to sink again, and
unemployment soared.
With his support wavering,
FDR did not try to push
further reforms through
Congress.