Chapter 21: The New Deal

The era of the New Deal as a far-reaching social reform was coming to an end by 1941. Why did southern Democrats turn away from Roosevelt?

- The "Report on the Economic Conditions in the South" revealed that the South lagged behind the rest of the nation in industrialization, health, and education. - Roosevelt encouraged the election of more liberal politicians in the region in 1938.

The Hundred Days were Roosevelt's and Congress's efforts to provide relief and recovery for the majority of Americans from the lingering effects of the Great Depression by the quickest means possible. Which of the following items were part of the flurry of legislation known as the Hundred Days

NRA, CCC, abolishing prohibition,

The Wagner Act enlisted efforts to break up unions in favor of employers T/F

false, The act empowered the National Labor Relations board to supervise elections in which employees voted on union representation. It also outlawed "unfair labor practices," including the firing and blacklisting of union organizers.

In 1942, the National Resources Planning Board found that blacks were enjoying an improved standard of living all across the United States due to higher employment opportunities. T/F

false, The report found that blacks were denied benefits under Social Security programs "which give aid under relatively favorable conditions." The report concluded that this situation would stigmatize blacks as being the largest majority of welfare recipients.

Robert M. La Follette Jr.

headed a Senate subcommittee that exposed the methods that employers used to combat unionization, including spies, private police forces, and violence

Supreme Court

insisted that constitutional guarantees of free thought and expression were essential to "nearly every form of freedom" and therefore deserved special protection

Mechanized agriculture had a damaging effect, intensifying the Dust Bowl. T/F

true

What does it reveal about the Dust Bowl from 1935 to 1940?

- In 1938, almost half of the state of Kansas was impacted by severe wind erosion. - Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma were all impacted by the most severe wind erosion during the Dust Bowl.

Look at the powerful symbolism in this card issued by the Communist Party. What messages is this card trying to convey to Americans about the Communist Party in 1930s?

- It evokes iconic images of emancipation, equating freedom and liberty with the Communist Party. - It depicts working Americans united under the American and Communist flags, emphasizing the Americanization of the movement. - It prominently features African-Americans, thus demonstrating the Communist Party's commitment to supporting people of all races.

Identify the statements that describe Mexican-Americans' experiences during the Depression.

- Mexican-American leaders sought greater rights for Mexican-Americans by claiming to be white Americans in order to avoid discrimination similar to African-Americans.

In the mid-1930s, for the first time in American history, the left enjoyed a shaping influence on the nation's politics and culture. Identify the statements that describe the communist movement in America.

- The Communist Party sought to ally themselves with socialists and New Dealers during the time of the Popular Front. - The Popular Front and its focus on civil liberties brought the Communist Party respectability, helping to create a more pluralistic understanding of Americanism.

The Scottsboro case gained both national and international attention for highlighting the racism prevalent in the American South. Identify the statements that describe the Scottsboro case.

- The Court greatly expanded the definition of civil liberties in that defendants have the right to effective representation, and that states cannot systematically exclude blacks from juries. - The case revolved around nine young black men arrested for the rape of two white women in Alabama in 1931.

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) was a key piece of legislation of the Second New Deal. Identify the statements that describe the REA.

- The REA complimented other soil conservation and farm education programs, improving living standards for farmers. - The goal of the REA was to bring electricity to farms, thus creating a demand for household appliances that would benefit the whole economy. - The REA proved to be one of the most successful programs of the Second New Deal.

The Social Security Act of 1935 transformed the relationship between the federal government and American citizens. Identify the statements that describe the Social Security Act.

- The Social Security Act created a system of unemployment insurance, old age pensions, and aid to the disabled, the elderly poor, and families with dependent children. - The ideas put into action in the Social Security Act had been promoted by Progressive reformers during the early 1900s. - The Social Security Act was, and still is, funded by taxes collected from employers and employees.

During the Depression, there were widespread calls for women to remove themselves from the labor market to make room for unemployed men. Identify the statements that describe women during the Depression

- The profile of women was raised during the era by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who both advised the president. - Millions of women were excluded for Social Security, as it did not include domestic servants and women who did not work outside the home. - Many employers refused to hire women if their husbands already earned a "living wage."

Labor unions became more prominent in American life during the period of the New Deal. Identify the statements that describe labor unions during the New Deal and World War II

- Unions had become so powerful that U.S. Steel negotiated with its 200,000 workers and the Steel Workers Organization Committee in order to avoid a strike. - Union membership doubled between 1930 and 1940. - Unions ultimately helped to raise the standard of living of their workers.

Political Legacies of the New Deal??

- enhanced the power of national gov't - made the Democratic Party the majority party in the country for next 30 to 40 years. - created a permanent administrative state

overall significance of the new deal

- enhanced the power of national gov't - the first time that the gov't intervened to promote the right of labor, by recognizing workers' right to organize unions - made the Democratic Party the majority party in the country for next 30 to 40 years.

Dorothea Lange

Art about the people—such as Lange's photographs of migrant workers and sharecroppers—and art created by the people—such as black spirituals—came to be seen as expressions of genuine Americanism.

After the initial Emergency Banking Act was passed on March 9, 1933, what other acts were designed by the Roosevelt administration to shore up the American finance system

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)Glass-Steagall Act

During the Depression, W. E .B. Du Bois led blacks to fight back against economic oppression by leveraging their collective economic power to boycott white-owned establishments T/F

TRUE, The Depression propelled economic survival to the top of the black agenda. Du Bois abandoned his goal of racial integration as unrealistic and called on blacks to organize for economic survival by building an independent cooperative economy within their segregated communities.

National Recovery Administration

The government would work with business leaders to establish codes that set standards for output, prices, and working conditions. This would eliminate cutthroat competition and industry arrangements would be exempt from antitrust laws.

Glass-Steagall Act

This barred commercial banks from becoming involved in the buying and selling of stocks. The law prevented many of the irresponsible practices that had contributed to the stock market crash.

Public Works Administration

This had a $3.3 billion budget and contracted with private construction companies to build roads, schools, hospitals, and other public facilities

Civilian Conservation Corps

This provided unemployed men with jobs on projects like forest preservation, flood control, and the improvement of national parks and wildlife preserves.

While anti-modernist fundamentalists were seemingly against modern technology, they still used the technology of radio to spread their messages through broadcast stations. T/F

True, Communication is essential to spreading any propaganda. As TV and the Internet emerged in later decades, they too have been used to spread the fundamentalist message

Martha Graham

dancer whose choreography included multicultural features of America's past

Att. General Frank Murphy

established the Civil Liberties Unit in the Department of Justice

not a significance of the New Deal?

it drastically decreased unemployment and ended the depression prior to WWII

Earl Browder

leader of the Communist Party who attempted to ally with socialists and New Dealers to institute social change

Roosevelt was spurred to initiate the Second New Deal in 1935 because the first had failed to pull the country out of the Depression. While the first New Deal had focused on economic recovery, the Second New Deal would focus on economic security. T/F

true

While the American version of the welfare state created by the Social Security Act of 1935 was a radical departure from previous U.S. government policy, it excluded some employed groups, covered fewer citizens, and was less well funded than that of its European counterparts. T/F

true,