Major Characteristic Of The Second New Deal example essay topic

Jordan Marton March 5, 2001 Period 4 AP U.S. History Franklin D. Roosevelt In the 1932 election, the Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt collected 57.4 percent of the popular vote to easily defeat the republican opponent, Herbert Hoover. He strove to be a symbol of confidence and a new hope for the nation, declaring in his inauguration day speech on March 4, 1933, 'the only thing we have to fear is fear itself' (Norton, p. 727). By incorporating this theory into politics, he attempted to pick America off the ground, and set America back on track with two sets of programs called the First and Second New Deals. During the first hundred days of his presidency, Roosevelt set forth his plan for national recovery, known as the First New Deal.

Designed and administered by Roosevelt's core group of advisors, known as the "Brain Trust" (Leuchtenburg, p. 83), the New Deal represented a new era where the government would be able to intervene with the economy. With Democratic majorities in Congress, he was able to push through a large number of measures, making the first hundred days of his presidency an unprecedented period of government action. Roosevelt laid out his strategy for recovery early on, dividing it into three major goals: Banking and Relief for the Jobless, Agricultural Recovery, and Industrial Recovery. The first problem Roosevelt faced in the business side was with the number of bank closures throughout the nation during the early months of 1933. In response, he called for a four-day national bank holiday (Leuchtenburg, p. 85), during which time he met with the heads of many of the nation's suffering banks and developed the Emergency Banking Relief Act, passed March 9.

This act provided the framework under which banks could reopen their doors with federal support (McElvaine, p. 103). On March 31, Congress passed the Unemployment Relief Act, which also created the Civilian Conservation Corps ( ), a program that employed the poor with public work and services (Leuchtenburg, p. 92). April was also a successful month, even though less was successfully passed. May, on the other hand, saw the passing of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which created the Agricultural Adjustment Administration ( ) to distribute federal aid to farmers and controlled farm production. That same day, the most comprehensive relief bill of the New Deal was passed, the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA), appropriating $500 million to support state and local treasuries that had run out of money (Leuchtenburg, p. 107). Harry Hopkins was appointed to administer this program.

May 18 saw the passing of one of the New Deal's most well known programs, creating the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a plan to develop and conserve the Tennessee Valley, and use its resources for energy purposes (Norton, p. 730). The hundred days lasted until June 16, on which date another very important piece of legislature was passed, the National Industrial Recovery Act, which created the National Recovery Administration (NRA) to manage the recovery of the industry and finance economies (McElvaine, p. 112). Among many agricultural measures, the creation of the stood out as the most important. Under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace and head Chester Davis, the controlled the production of crops, and thus prices, by offering subsidies to farmers who produced under set quotas (Leuchtenburg, p. 121). This funding was financed by a tax on food processors, which transferred to high prices for processed goods for consumers (Leuchtenburg, p. 121). The major act in the industrial and finance area was the creation of the NRA.

The NRA brought together representatives of the nation's major industries, "who together drafted codes of fair competition" (McElvaine, p. 113). Under its head administrator, Hugh Johnson, the NRA established the regulations that held industry together during the New Deal. Reassured by the overwhelming Democratic victory in the midterm elections of 1934, Roosevelt laid out his plans for the Second New Deal in the 1935 State of The Union Address (Freedman, p. 124). In his address, he outlined six ways in which to renew the efforts started by the New Deal, and a way to stop the criticism that was received during the First New Deal.

They included: 1) an enlarged unemployment relief program. 2) Assistance to the rural poor. 3) Support for organized labor. 4) Social welfare benefits for the elderly and disadvantaged. 5) Strict regulation of business and finance. 6) Heavier taxes on the wealthy.

In April of 1935, Congress passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act. This act granted $5 billion to Roosevelt with which he could do whatever he pleased. The majority of that funding went into the creation of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), headed by Harry Hopkins (Norton, p. 736). Roosevelt's fear of a permanent welfare class caused him to demand that the WPA provide jobs rather than simply handouts (Norton, p. 736). Lasting for eight years, the WPA issued $11 billion into the economy, supporting the unemployed of all backgrounds, from industrial engineers to artists. Along with the National Youth Association and the Public Works Administration, which focused on employment in construction projects, the WPA was a symbol of the Second New Deal's commitment to controlling unemployment (Leuchtenburg, p. 127).

In 1935, unemployment was 20.3 percent. By 1937, it had fallen to 14.3 percent thanks in great part to Roosevelt's programs (Leuchtenburg, p. 127). Roosevelt knew he had to respond to the widespread criticism of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration policies that lowered the status of the poor. He responded by creating the Resettlement Administration in May of 1935. Headed by Rexford Tug well, the Resettlement Administration aimed at stopping rural decay by relocating and rejuvenating the rural poor (McElvaine, p. 122).

In 1936, the Supreme Court ruled the unconstitutional, deciding it enforced illegal taxation. Roosevelt pushed the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act through Congress to replace the main functions of the. Support for organized labor was a major characteristic of the Second New Deal. Under the eye of Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the Second New Deal saw the labor movement flourish, as leaders such as John L. Lewis of the United Mine Workers and Sidney Hillman of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers brought labor issues to the front of national concern (Leuchtenburg, p. 133).

The government supported the collective bargaining that unions wanted to be involved in. This was shown in the National Labor Relations Act of July 1935, which provided a legal way for collective bargaining, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, which defined legal working conditions (Norton, p. 736). One of the most lasting programs of the Second New Deal was the creation of Social Security benefits for the elderly by the Social Security Act of 1935 (Norton, p. 736). This act, passed largely in response to the elderly rights movement headed by Francis Townsend, showed the focus on social services. Strict regulation of business and finance may be seen mainly through the authorization of the Federal Reserve Board to exert tighter control over the money supply, and through the enforcement of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which required that a detailed and truthful booklet be publicized for each company issuing stock on the US market (Leuchtenburg, p. 146). The goal of heavier taxes on the wealthy was accomplished through the Revenue Act of 1935, which raised personal income taxes on the highest income levels.

It seemed that the stage was set for success in his second term. However, things soon took a turn for the worse, and the Second New Deal continuously lost support until it was no more. The other, more important sign of the decline of the Second New deal was the inability of Roosevelt's programs to revive the economy. The New Deal lost momentum as a conservative coalition in Congress passed cuts in relief programs and blocked further acts proposed by Democratic New Deal supporters. As a result, Roosevelt proposed few new reform measures during his second term in office. In his January 1939 State of the Union Address, Roosevelt proposed no new domestic programs (Norton, p. 747).

The New Deal had effectively ended.

Bibliography

Brae man, John, with Robert Brimmer and David Brody, eds. The New Deal University Press, Columbus: 1975 Freedman, Russell.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Clarion Books, New York: 1992 Joseph, Paul.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Abdo & Daughters, Chicago: 2000 Leuchtenburg, William.
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal 1932 1940 Harpercollins, New York: 1963 McElvaine, Robert.
The Great Depression: America, 1929-1941 Times Books, New York: 1984 Norton, Marybeth.
A People and A Nation: The History of the United States Houghton Mifflin College, New York: 1998.