Great Depression and Roosevelt

Indian Reorganization Act

"Indian New Deal" 1934 partially reserved the individualistic approach and belatedly tried to restore the tribal basis of indian life, Government legislation that allowed the Indians a form of self-government and thus willingly shrank the authority of the U.S. government. It provided the Indians direct ownership of their land, credit, a constitution, and a charter in which Indians could manage their own affairs.

20th & 21st Amendments

(20th) 1933 Start of presidential and VP terms moved to January 20th. (shortened lame-duck periods) Start of congressional terms moved to January 3rd. Congress will meet on January 3rd. Emergency presidential and vice presidential succession. 21st- Prohibition repealed. Local laws regarding prohibition will be honored. (dry vs. wet counties, states, etc.)

Schechter Poultry v. US

1935, Congress cannot delegate legislative power over industry codes to the President

Harry Hopkins

A New York social worker who headed the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and Civil Works Administration. He helped grant over 3 billion dollars to the states wages for work projects, and granted thousands of jobs for jobless Americans.

How the New Heal helped Industry and Labor

A cornerstone New Deal agency was the National Recovery Administration (NRA). It was designed to bring industries together to create a set of "fair" business practices (fair to business and workers). Working hours were reduced so that more people could be hired; a minimum wage was established; workers were given the right to organize. The NRA was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 (Schechter vs. United States), because the NRA gave legislative powers to the President, and it allowed Congress to control individual business, not just interstate commerce. The Public Works Administration (PWA) was intended to provide long-term recovery. Headed by Harold L. Ickes, the agency spent over $4 billion on thousands of projects, including public buildings, highways, and dams. Congress repealed prohibition with the 21st Amendment in late 1933 to raise federal revenue and provide employment

Bonus Arm

A group of WWI veterans who were supposed to be given a "bonus" from the government for their services. In 1932 the deadline for the veterans was pushed back by the government thus causing the group to march onto Washington to demand their money. Excessive force was used to disband these protesters, and because they were veterans and heroes of this country, Hoover's popularity plummeted because of it.Look here for good explanation on its historical ties: http://www.ushistory.org/us/index.asp

John Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath

A novel about a struggling farm family during the Great Depression. -Gave a face to the violence and exploitation that migrant farm workers faced in America.

Huey Long

A politician from LA, he was Roosevelt's biggest threat. Increased the share of state taxes paid by corporations, and also embarked on public works projects including new schools, highways, bridges, and hospitals; seized almost dictatorial control of the state government; believed that the New Deal was not radical enough.

AAA

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), making available millions of dollars to help farmers meet their mortgages.

Eleanor Roosevelt

American political leader who used her stature as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 to promote her husband's (Franklin D. Roosevelt's) New Deal, as well as civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945 she built a career as an author/speaker, a New Deal Coalition advocate and spokesperson for human rights. She was a suffragist who worked hard to enhance the status of working women, opposing the Equal Rights Amendment because she believed it would hurt them. In the late 1940s she became a leader in supporting the United Nations, the United Nations Association and Freedom House. She chaired the committee that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Harry S. Truman called her the First Lady of the World in honor of her extensive human rights promotions.

Stock market crash

Another leading component to the start of the Great Depression. The stock became very popular in the 1920's, then in 1929 in took a steep downturn and many lost their money and hope they had put in to the stock. The Stock Market Crash was when, flooded with investments (particularly those buying "on margin, or paying a fraction of the total price or a transaction and the broker lending the trader the rest), the Stock Market crashed after those who bought on margin were forced to either put up more money or sell their stock, choosing to sell. Thousands of people sold their stocks at once, and a financial panic ensued.

What was the end-result of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act?

As other countries placed tariffs on American exports in retaliation, these tariffs actually led to the reduction of American exports and thus jobs: U.S. imports from Europe declined from a 1929 high of $1334 million to just $390 million in 1932, while U.S. exports to Europe fell from $2341 million in 1929 to $784 million in 1932. Overall, world trade declined by 66% between 1929 and 1934. [US Dept of State] With the reduction of American exports came also the destruction of American jobs, as unemployment levels which were 6.3% (June 1930) jumped to 11.6% a few months later (November 1930). As farmers were unable to pay back their loans to banks, their loan defaults led to increasing bank crashes, particularly in the West and Mid-West.

Mary McLeod Bethune

Black woman appointed by FDR to head national youth administration; resulted in many blacks deserting Rep party for democratic FDR

John Maynard Keynes

British economist whose theories helped justify New Deal deficit spending- Keynesianism Economics: government money is used to "prime the pump" of the economy and encourage consumer spending; this policy intentionally creates a budget deficit.

Scottsboro Boys/Powell v. Alabama

Case where 9 black youth (term for the defendants in the Scottsboro case; Alabama ends up dropping the case against the four youngest and gives the older ones parole, with the last one getting out in 1950) were convicted, by an all-white jury, on flimsy evidence, for raping two white women on a freight car; it turned out the two girls had been selling sex on the train to black and white boys, and one of them recanted their testimony; the case ended up producing the most trials, appeals, reversals, and retrials of any case in American history. Supreme Court case overturned the Scottsboro case with Powell v. Alabama because the judge had not ensured that the accused were provided adequate defense attorneys and ordered new retrials

How Roosevelt Managed the Money

Congress passed the Emergency Banking Relief Act of 1933, which gave the President power to regulate banking transactions and foreign exchange and to reopen solvent banks. President Roosevelt gave "fireside chats" over the radio in which he soothed the public's confidence in banks. Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) with the Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act. The FDIC insured individual bank deposits up to $5,000. This ended nation's epidemic of bank failures. President Roosevelt took the nation off of the gold standard by having the Treasury buy gold from citizens. From this point on, only transactions in paper money were accepted. One of the FDR's goals was to create modest inflation. This would relieve debtors' burdens and stimulate new production. Inflation was achieved by buying gold at increasing prices over time. This policy increased the amount of dollars in circulation.

Glass Steagall Act

Created federally insured bank deposits ($2500 per investor at first) to prevent bank failures- Gave the govt. authority to curb irresponsible speculation by banks. This established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which guarenteed all bank deposits up to 2500 dollars. In other words, if a bank were to fail, people would be able to recover their money.

Public Works Administration - 1935

Created for both industrial recovery and for unemployment relief. Headed by the Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes, it aimed at long-range recovery and spent $4 billion on thousands of projects that included public buildings, highways, and parkways. -Helped stimulate solutions to the economic and social problems during the Great Depression.

Opponents to FDR's policies

Despite New Deal efforts, unemployment continued to plague the nation. Opponents to FDR's policies included Father Charles Coughlin's, who preached anti-New Deal speeches over the radio. Senator Huey P. Long publicized his "Share Our Wealth" program in which every family in the United States would receive $5,000. Dr. Francis E. Townsend attracted millions of senior citizens with his plan that each citizen over the age of 60 would receive $200 a month. Congress passed the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935, with the objective of providing employment for useful projects (i.e. the construction of buildings, roads, etc.). Taxpayers criticized the agency for paying people to do "useless" jobs such as painting murals.

REA

Encouraged farmers to join cooperatives to bring electricity to farms. Despite its efforts, by 1940 only 40% of American farms were electrified.

relief, recovery, reform y

FDR and the Three R's: Relief, Recovery, Reform On March 6-10, President Roosevelt declared a national banking holiday as a prelude to opening the banks on a sounder basis. The Hundred Days Congress/Emergency Congress (March 9-June 16, 1933) passed a series laws to help improve the state of the country. This Congress Congress also passed some of FDR's New Deal programs, which focused on: relief, recovery, reform. Short-range goals were relief and immediate recovery, and long-range goals were permanent recovery and reform. Some of the New Deal programs gave the President unprecedented powers, which included the ability of the President to create legislation. Many of the programs that gave the President this authority were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Congress gave President Roosevelt extraordinary blank-check powers: some of the laws gave legislative authority to the President. The New Deal legislation embraced progressive ideas like unemployment insurance, old-age insurance, minimum-wage regulations, conservation and development of natural resources, and restrictions on child labor.

How he created Jobs for the Jobless

FDR created jobs with federal money to jumpstart the economy. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed about 3 million men in government camps. Their work included reforestation, fire fighting, flood control, and swamp drainage. The Federal Emergency Relief Act was Congress's first major effort to deal with the massive unemployment. It created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) which gave states direct relief payments or money for wages on work projects. The Civil Works Administration (CWA), a branch of the FERA, was designed to provide temporary jobs during the winter emergency. Thousands of unemployed were employed at leaf raking and other manual-labor jobs. Relief was given to the farmers with the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), making available millions of dollars to help farmers meet their mortgages. The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) assisted many households that had trouble paying their mortgages.

Fair Labor Standards Act

FLSA, Federal Law that established certain minimum requirements for employee's hours, wages, premium overtime, and payroll records.

Emergency Banking Relief Act - 1933

Gave the President power over the banking system and set up a system by which banks would be reorganized or reopened. - One of Roosevelts theories in restoring the economy.

Roosevelt Recession The Twilight of the New Deal

In Roosevelt's first term, from 1933-1937, unemployment still ran high and recovery had been slow. In 1937, the economy took another downturn. It was caused by reduced spending. Consumer spending was reduced because Social Security taxes cut into payrolls. The Roosevelt administration also cut back on spending in an attempt to keep a balanced budget. (The New Deal had run deficits for several years, but all of them had been somewhat small and none was intended.) The downturn led FDR to embrace the recommendations of the British economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynesianism Economics: government money is used to "prime the pump" of the economy and encourage consumer spending; this policy intentionally creates a budget deficit. Congress passed the Hatch Act of 1939. It prevented federal administrative officials from active political campaigning and soliciting. It also forbade the use of government funds for political purposes as well as the collection of campaign contributions from people receiving relief payments.I

NRA

It was designed to bring industries together to create a set of "fair" business practices (fair to business and workers). Working hours were reduced so that more people could be hired; a minimum wage was established; workers were given the right to organize. The NRA was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 (Schechter vs. United States), because the NRA gave legislative powers to the President, and it allowed Congress to control individual business, not just interstate commerce.

Dust Bowl

Late in 1933, the Dust Bowl struck many states in the trans-Mississippi Great Plains. It was caused by drought, wind, and over-farming of the land. The Frazier-Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act, passed in 1934, suspended mortgage foreclosures on farms for 5 years. It was struck down in 1935 by the Supreme Court. In 1935, the Resettlement Administration, moved near-farmless farmers to better lands. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 encouraged Native American tribes to establish self-government and to preserve their native crafts and traditions. 77 tribes refused to organize under the law, while hundreds did organize.

Brain Trust

Many of the advisers who helped Roosevelt during his presidential candidacy continued to aid him after he entered the White House. A newspaperman once described the group as "Roosevelt's Brain Trust." They were more influential than the Cabinet.

Bonus Army

Name given to the mass of struggling WWI vets who, in the face of hard economic times, wanted to collect their pay checks early.

FDR's Balance Sheet

New Deal supporters had argued out that relief, not the economy, was the primary objective of their war on the Depression. Roosevelt believed that the government was morally bound to prevent mass hunger and starvation by "managing" the economy. FDR potentially saved capitalism by eliminating some of its worst faults (ex: poor labor conditions). Had his programs not been implemented, Socialism could've taken a bigger hold in the nation. FDR was a Hamiltonian in that he supported big government, but he was a Jeffersonian in that he supported the "forgotten man."

TVA Harnesses the Tennessee

New Dealers accused the electric-power industry of charging the public too much money for electricity. In 1933, the Hundred Days Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). It was designed to construct dams on the Tennessee River. In addition to providing employment and long-term recovery, these projects would give the government information on exactly how much money was required to produce and distribute electricity. This would be a metric that the government could use to assess the rates charged by private companies. The TVA turned a poverty-stricken area into one of the most flourishing regions in the United States. Conservatives viewed the New Deal programs as "socialistic", and they ultimately helped limit the TVA-style of management to the Tennessee Valley.

Courtpacking

Nine Old Men on the Bench Ratified in 1933, the 20th Amendment shortened the period from election to inauguration by 6 weeks. Roosevelt saw his reelection as a mandate to continue the New Deal reforms. The Supreme Court was dominated by older ultraconservatives who attempted to stop many of the "socialistic" New Deal programs. With continous Democrat wins in Congress and the presidency, Roosevelt felt that the American people wanted the New Deal. He argued that the Supreme Court needed to get in line with public opinion. In 1937, Roosevelt proposed legislation that would allow him to add liberal justices to the Court: a new justice would be added for every member over the age of 70 who would not retire. The plan received much negative feedback. The plan was referred to as the Court-packing plan.

Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA)

One of the most comprehensive New Deal laws, a May 1933 law that gave $500 million to state and local treasuries that had run out of money. - Helped states to provide aid for the unemployed.

DId it cause the Great Depression?

One possible cause, of course, is the stock market crash that had begun in the last week of October 1929, some eight months before Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff. The Dow had plummeted from 326 on October 22 to 230 in the next six trading days and it finally settled at a low of 41 in July 1932. Some economists argue that the stock market collapse was caused by overproduction in the 1920s. During World War I a number of countries, including the U.S., had greatly expanded agricultural production; as Europe recovered from the war and its agriculture production reached earlier levels, production worldwide exceeded consumption and prices fell around the world. Farmers had gone into debt during the boom times, investing in new equipment and land, and were hard hit when prices fell. There was overproduction in the industrial sector as well. While the upper 1 percent was doing very well, those farther down the income scale were not doing as well and many were buying cars, appliances and other products on credit. Additionally, many Americans had been buying stocks on margin and when the stock market collapsed, they saw their equity plummet and they stopped buying goods and services; in the first half of 1930, consumers cut their expenditures by ten percent. Companies were afraid to invest in new capacity or products, and they too stopped spending. Other economists, such as Milton Friedman, lay blame on the Federal Reserve. Between 1929 and 1933, the money supply contracted by one-third, and as a result many companies couldn't get loans. The problem was exacerbated by the failure of policy makers to prevent bank failures. Both of these explanations may well have a great deal of truth. But the Smoot-Hawley tariff also played an important role. In early May 1930 1,028 leading American economists presented President Hoover, Senator Smoot and Congressman Hawley with a letter urging Hoover to veto the bill if it passed Congress. (The organizer of the letter was Dr. Claire Wilcox, my economics professor in college.) The economists argued that the tariff increases would raise the cost of living, limit our exports as other countries retaliated, injure U.S. investors since the high tariffs would make it harder for foreign debtors to repay their loans, and damage our foreign relations. Unfortunately, this is what happened. Jude Wanniski argues that the stock market crash itself was heavily affected by Smoot-Hawley, even though the start of the market's collapse preceded the signing by some eight months. Wanniski argues that "the stock market started anticipating the act as early as December 1928" and it fell over the next year as the legislation to raise tariffs looked likely to pass and rose when it seemed the legislation might fail. Some economists argue that the Smoot-Hawley tariff act may have been a very bad idea but that it did not cause the Great Depression. They point out that exports only accounted for some seven percent of the U.S. gross national product in 1929 and the decline in U.S. exports in the ensuing years may have been caused by the depression itself and not solely by tariff retaliation. Some note that the U.S. had also enormously raised tariffs in 1922 and that this did not cause a depression. Those who blame Smoot-Hawley counter that the drop in exports was significant. From 1929 to 1933 American exports declined from about $5.2 billion to $1.7 billion, and the impact was concentrated on agricultural products such as wheat, cotton and tobacco. As a result, many American farmers defaulted on their loans, which in turn particularly affected small rural banks. Today, the Smoot-Hawley tariffs represent a cautionary tale. Regardless of whether they were the major cause of the Great Depression or not, they definitely were a truly terrible idea. In today's world where Central Banks have been pumping out liquidity and inflating stocks, similar to the case in the 1920s, we must hope that we don't repeat the mistake of Smoot-Hawley.

New Deal or Raw Deal?

Opponents of the New Deal charged the President of spending too much money on his programs, significantly increasing the national debt. From 1932 to 1939, the national debt increased from $19 trillion to $40 trillion. The Federal government became much more powerful under FDR. The New Deal did not end the depression; it just gave temporary relief to citizens. Many economists eventually argued that not enough deficit spending was used. Despite the New Deal programs' efforts, production still outpaced spending. Not until World War II was the unemployment problem solved.

Hawley Smoot Tariff

President Hoover signed the now-infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff bill, which substantially raised U.S. tariffs on some 890 products. Other countries retaliated and world trade shrank enormously; by the end of 1934 world trade had plummeted some 66 percent from the 1929 level.

NYA

Provided part-time employment to more than two million college and high school students.

Civilian Conservation Corps-1933

Reduced poverty/unemployment, helped young men and families; young men go to rural camps for 6 months to do construction work; $1/day; intended to help youth escape cities; concerned with soil erosion, state/national parks, telephone/power lines; 40 hour weeks. Helped economic and social problems decrease

Social Security Act

Response to critics (Dr. Townsend and Huey Long), it provided pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to blind, deaf, disabled, and dependent children.

Harold Ickes

Secr. of Interior for FDR; ex Bull Moose; started Public Works Admin. to build public roads, parkways, dams

Bank Holiday

Starting on March 6, FDR issued a proclamation closing all American Banks for four days until Congress could meet in special session to consider banking reform legislation. This created a general sense of relief and hope.

Norris v. Alabama

Supreme Court case that overturned the Scottsboro case ruled the second time; the Court ruled that the systematic exclusion of African Americans from Alabama juries had denied the Scottsboro defendants equal protection of the law; ruling has a widespread effect of opening juries to blacks in many states

Sitdown Strike

The 1936-1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike changed the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from a collection of isolated locals on the fringes of the industry into a major labor union and led to the unionization of the domestic United States automobile industry.

Paying Farmers Not to Farm

The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) attempted to reduce crop surpluses, which led to lower crop prices. The AAA established standard "parity prices" for basic commodities. The agency also paid farmers to not farm (to reduce their crop harvests). The Supreme Court ruled the AAA unconstitutional in 1936, stating that its taxation programs were illegal. In a second attempt to make farmers farm less, Congress passed the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936. Under the guise of conservation, it reduced crop acreage by paying farmers to plant soil-conserving crops. The Second Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 continued conservation payments; if farmers obeyed acreage restrictions on specific commodities, they would be eligible for payments.

CWA

The Civil Works Administration (CWA), a branch of the FERA, was designed to provide temporary jobs during the winter emergency. Thousands of unemployed were employed at leaf raking and other manual-labor jobs.

CCC

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed about 3 million men in government camps. Their work included reforestation, fire fighting, flood control, and swamp drainage.

FHA

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), passed in 1934, attempted to improve the home-building industry. It gave small loans to homeowners for the purpose of improving their homes and buying new ones.

Helping Housing and Social Security

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), passed in 1934, attempted to improve the home-building industry. It gave small loans to homeowners for the purpose of improving their homes and buying new ones. The United States Housing Authority (USHA) was passed in 1937. It was designed to lend money to states or communities for low-cost housing developments. The Social Security Act of 1935 provided federal-state unemployment insurance. To provide security for old age, specified categories of retired workers were to receive regular payments from Washington. Social Security was inspired by the example of some of the more highly industrialized nations of Europe. The purpose of Social Security was to provide support for urbanized Americans who could not support themselves with a farm. In the past, Americans could support themselves by growing food on their farm. Now, they relied solely on money from their job. If they lost their job, they could not eat. Republicans opposed Social Security.

Hundred Days

The Hundred Days Congress/Emergency Congress (March 9-June 16, 1933) passed a series laws to help improve the state of the country. This Congress Congress also passed some of FDR's New Deal programs, which focused on: relief, recovery, reform. Short-range goals were relief and immediate recovery, and long-range goals were permanent recovery and reform. Some of the New Deal programs gave the President unprecedented powers, which included the ability of the President to create legislation. Many of the programs that gave the President this authority were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Congress gave President Roosevelt extraordinary blank-check powers: some of the laws gave legislative authority to the President. The New Deal legislation embraced progressive ideas like unemployment insurance, old-age insurance, minimum-wage regulations, conservation and development of natural resources, and restrictions on child labor.

Blue Eagle

The NRA Blue Eagle was a symbol Hugh Johnson devised to generate enthusiasm for the NRA codes. Employers who accepted the provisions of NRA could display it in their windows. The symbol showed up everywhere, along with the NRA slogan "We Do Our Part."

PWA

The Public Works Administration (PWA) was intended to provide long-term recovery. Headed by Harold L. Ickes, the agency spent over $4 billion on thousands of projects, including public buildings, highways, and dams. Congress repealed prohibition with the 21st Amendment in late 1933 to raise federal revenue and provide employment

Alf Landon

The Republicans chose Alfred M. Landon to run against President Roosevelt in the election of 1936. The Republicans condemned the New Deal for its radicalism, experimentation, confusion, and "frightful waste." Democrats had significant support from the millions of people that had benefited from the New Deal programs. President Roosevelt was reelected as president in a lopsided victory. FDR won primarily because he had appealed to the "forgotten man" (the South, blacks, urbanites, the poor).

SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created in 1934. It provided oversight of the stock market.

Rugged Individualism

The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. Popularly said by Herbert Hoover

Rugged Individualism

The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. Popularly said by Herbert Hoover.

Fireside Chats

The informal radio conversations Roosevelt had with the people to keep spirits up. It was a means of communicating with the people on how he would take on the depression. -Helped people better understand what was going on and helped relieve many social scares at that time.

New Deal

The name given to the program of "Relief, Recovery, Reform" begun by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 to bring the United States out of the Great Depression. President Franklin Roosevelt's precursor of the modern welfare state (1933-1939); programs to combat economic depression enacted a number of social insurance measures and used government spending to stimulate the economy; increased power of the state and the state's intervention in U.S. social and economic life. Known as the First new Deal provided direct relief to unemployed; recovery from Depression Wanted to restore times to prior depression, helped organized labor to improve position in society, assisted agriculture promoted partnership, cooperation, and suspended antitrust actions, told business what to do, Supreme Court sided with business, Created "Bank Holiday, Federal Emergency Relief Administration, Agricultural Adjustment Act and National Industrial Recovery Act, and Public Works Administration

CIO

The new union group that organized large numbers of unskilled workers with the help of the Wagner Act and the National Labor Relations Board

The Court Changes Course after court-packing

The public criticized Roosevelt for attempting to tamper with the Supreme Court. This was an affront on the system of checks and balances. Possibly to due public pressure, the Supreme Court began to support New Deal legislation. This included Justice Owen J. Roberts, who was formerly regarded as a conservative. A series of deaths and resignations of justices allowed Roosevelt to appoint 9 justices to the Court. The Supreme Court controversy in 1937 cost FDR a lot of political capital. Because of this, few New Deal reforms were passed after 1937.

Reconstruction Finance Corp.

This agency became a government lending bank. It was designed to provide indirect relief by assisting insurance companies, banks, agricultural organizations, and railroads.

Truth in Securities Act

To protect the public against investment fraud, Congress passed the "Truth in Securities Act" (Federal Securities Act). It required people selling investments to inform their investors of the risks of the investment.

Fair Labor Standards 1938

United States federal law that applies to employees engaged in and producing goods for interstate commerce. The FLSA established a national minimum wage, guaranteed time and a half for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor," a term defined in the statute. -Helped enact Child Labor Laws and increase the economy, slowly but surely.

Scottsboro Historical Importance

Whether the defendants had sufficient counsel. • Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment had been violated. African-Americans accused of rape were not given adequate counsel. The necessity of counsel [is] so vital and imperative that the failure of the trial court to make an effective appointment of counsel was likewise a denial of due process within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment

New Visibility for Women

Women began to break gender barriers by holding positions in the Federal government, including the President's cabinet. Ruth Benedict: made strides in the field of anthropology Pearl Buck: wrote about Chinese peasant society; won a Nobel Prize in literature in 1938.

National Labor Relations Act

created a board that could compel employers to recognize and bargain with unions; this law helped promote the growth of organized labor in the 1930s and for decades thereafter

Emergency Banking Relief Act

gave the President power over the banking system and set up a system by which banks would be reorganized or reopened

Hoovervilles

many families lost their homes because they could not pay their mortgages. These people had no choice but to seek alternative forms of shelter. Hoovervilles, named after President Hoover, who was blamed for the problems that led to the depression, sprung up throughout the United States.

Second New Deal (1935-36)

name given to a series of proposals that FDR requested and Congress passed to reinvigorate the New Deal as recovery from the Depression began to lag; they were antibusiness in tone and intent and included the Public Utility Holding Company Act, Social Security Act, National Labor Relations Act, and the Wealth Tax Act

HOLC

refinanced people's home loans at lower interest rates.

Francis Townsend

retired physician who devised plans for senior citizens to receive pensions

Frances Perkins

secretary of labor, 1st woman cabinet member