The First Hundred Days

Rural Electrification Administration

1935; made electricity available at low rates to American farm families in rural areas. By 1939 the REA had helped to establish 417 rural electric cooperatives, which served 288,000 households. The actions of the REA encouraged private utilities to electrify the countryside as well.

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)

A New Deal legislation that focused on the employment of the unemployed and the regulation of unfair business ethics. The NIRA pumped cash into the economy to stimulate the job market and created codes that businesses were to follow to maintain the ideal of fair competition and created the NRA and WPA.

Emergency Banking Act

A government legislation passed during the depression that dealt with the bank problem. The act allowed a plan which would close down insolvent banks and reorganize and reopen those banks strong enough to survive.

Agricultural Adjustment Act

Agricultural Adjustment Act Established by the Agricultural Act of 1932, a new deal Bureau designed to restore economic position of farmers by paying them NOT to farm goods that were being overproduced.

Fireside Chats

Broadcasts on the radio by Franklin Roosevelt addressed directly to the American people that made many Americans feel that he personally cared about them.

Farm Security Administration

In 1937, the Agriculture Department created the Farm Security Administration to provide housing and loans to help tenant farmers become independent. But Relatively few tenants received loans, because the FSA was starved for funds and ran up against the major farm organizations intent on serving their own interests.

Resettlement Administration

In an attempt to address the problems of Dust Bowlers and other poor farmers, this 1935 New Deal program attempted to provide aid to the poorest farmers, resettle some farmers from the Dust Bowl, and establish farm cooperatives. This program never received the funding it needed to be even partially successful; and in 1937 the Farm Security Administration was created to replace it.

First Hundred Days

The term while FDR was taking office. By the end of the 100 days FDR had managed to get Congress to pass an unprecedented amount of new legislation that would revolutionize the role of the federal government from that point on.

Economy Act

This act passed March 20th of 1933 gave FDR the power to cut government workers' salaries and reduce payments to military veterans for non-service-connected disabilities as well as having the ability to reorganize federal agencies in the interest of reducing expenses.

Bank Holidays

When Franklin D. Roosevelt closed the banks from March 6 to March 10 to keep depositors from bankrupting the banking system by withdrawing all their money