The New Deal
1. High unemployment and overproduction are conditions most characteristic of an economic depression
2. John Maynard Keynes - British economist who believed that deficit spending during recessions and depressions could revive national economies
3. Deficit spending by the Federal Government as a means of reviving the economy is based on the idea that purchasing power will increase and economic growth will be stimulated
4. In the 1930’s, the enactment of New Deal programs demonstrated a belief that the Federal Government must concern itself with the people’s economic well-being
5. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)- Its goal was to improve standard of living and reduce unemployment in the Tennessee River valley-hired local workers to construct a series of dams and hydroelectric power plants, which brought cheap electricity to thousands of people
6. The creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority is an example of federal intervention to meet regional needs
7. Public Works Administration (PWA) to construct public roads, bridges, and buildings. In accordance with Keynesian economic theories, Roosevelt believed that improving the public infrastructure would put more money into the economy
8. Three R’s- Relief, Recovery, Reform
Relief- Provide Americans with Money and Jobs
Recovery- Improve the national infrastructure and Lead to Long-term Recovery--Hundreds of new roads and public buildings, widespread electrical power, and replenished resources for industry—
Reform-the banking and financial sector of the economy to curb bad lending practices, poor trading techniques, and corruption
9. The power of labor unions increased during the New Deal mainly because Federal legislation guaranteed labor’s right to organize and bargain collectively
10. Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) - Reset prices for farm commodities and then began subsidizing farmers to reduce production to make farm products worth more- This decreased Supply to meet Demand and increase prices for farmers
11. The Dust Bowl experiences of the Oklahoma farmers during the Great Depression demonstrated the effect of geography on people’s lives
12. Extended drought in farming areas In the 1930s, was a geographic factor that most influenced the westward migration of thousands of people from the southern Great Plains
13. Providing farmers with low-cost loans was a New Deal reform mostly directed toward targeting the basic problem of the victims of the Dust Bowl
14. Butler v. United States-Stated Agricultural Adjustment Administration was unconstitutional- on the grounds that it tried to exert federal control of agricultural production
15. Fireside Chats—radio broadcasts that he used to rally the support of the people and to offer assurances of economic recovery
16. Huey “Kingfish” Long – proposed a relief program called Share-Our-Wealth---Would take money from the rich & give to the poor so all could have a set income & a home
17. Critics charged that President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan to increase the number of Supreme Court Justices (Court Packing) was clearly in conflict with the constitutional principle of checks and balances
18. Securities and Exchange Commission was a New Deal program that was chiefly designed to correct abuses in the stock market
19. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)- Insured bank deposits up to $5,000= Gave More Confidence in Banks
20. A major effect of the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act, 1935) was that labor unions obtained the right to bargain collectively
21. One way the power of government changed during the Civil War and the Great Depression was that Presidential powers were expanded
22. The First New Deal (1933-1935) was characterized by relief of the immediate problems of unemployment
23. The Second New Deal (1935-1937) was characterized by reform of society. Increasingly, members of Congress and others called for fundamental reform of society, not just relief of the symptoms of social and economic problems
24. The clash between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States Supreme Court over New Deal laws best illustrates the operation of Checks and Balances
25. One Fundamental Problem with the New Deal programs was discrimination against African-Americans. However, Eleanor Roosevelt became a champion for African-American Rights
26. The effectiveness of the New Deal in ending the Great Depression is difficult to measure because United States involvement in World War II rapidly accelerated economic growth
27. The National Industrial Recovery Act and the National Labor Relations Act are often cited as evidence that New Deal legislation sympathized with the interests of workers
28. A lasting result of the New Deal in the United States has been the assumption by the Federal Government of greater responsibility for the nation’s well-being
29. Passage of the Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937 indicated that the United States desired to isolate itself from conflicts in Europe and Asia
30. The beginning of World War II was the event most closely associated with the end of the Great Depression