February 2nd 2012

Today we did more New Deal Presentations.

How did the New Deal help:


unemployed-RFC: created jobs for the unemployed people, it was dissolved in 1946 after WWII, Works Progress Administration provided almost 8 million jobs to unemployed men. Mainly Jobs like constructing roads and buildings. It also fed children. It gave some women jobs as well. Also hired people in the area of the arts like theater and literary arts. WPA also gave about 250,000 African Americans jobs. WPA ended because WWII came around and provided people with jobs making guns and things like that. Public Works Administration built things like bridges, hospitals, and schools. The goal was to provide employment and to help revive the economy. PWA ended and moved industry form the PWA towards war production starting the Federal Works Agency. Civil Works Administration was a subagency of FERA. CWA gave short term manual labor jobs to millions of unemployed citizens in America. The CWA greatly improved cities' roads and community schools. The reason the CWA ended because it got a lot of criticism from tax payers because it became too costly. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned corporation in the US that is a power supplier and a regulatory agency that pledged to provide flood control and improve navigability on the Tennesse River. TVA also fertilizer manufacturing and economic development. The TVA was successful and is still around today. TVA is the Nation's largest public power company. It provides electric power to over 9 million customers in the Tennessee Valley.

farmers FERA: gave loans to states and employed people to work for the government. The FERA ended in 1935. The kind of jobs it did was construction and production of goods. Women got jobs like cleaning up parks and museums. It gave people jobs, both men and women. Agricultur Adjustment Act tried to reduce crop surplus. The government paid the farmers not to plant part of their land. Farmers were paid to plant less crops. Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act restricted agricultural production by paying farmers to reduce crop area and livestock because of overproduction. The SCDAA was a lot like the AAA because they both wanted to conserve soil and prevent erosion. SCDAA educated farmers on how to use their land without damaging it. It took immediate actrion to contain the effects of the Dust Bowl like planting trees and native grasses. The SCDAA caused soil erosion to drop by 65% three years later.

factory workers/labor- National Recovery Administration (NRA) was an American statute. It gave the president authority to regulate industry. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was goaled toward eliminating competition by bringing industry. National Labor Relations Act really stressed collective bargaining which was groups trying to bargain with unions or whatever to try to get better pay and conditions. NLRA prevents wildcat strikes which a strike without getting it approved from the labor union. NLRA also protects the workers. The National Labor Relations Board fought for the workers rights and supported and enforced labor unions. NLRA doesn't apply to agricultural employees, domestic employees, supervisors, federal, state or local government workers, independent contractors. Fair Labor Standards Act set the hourly wage at 25 cents and the maximum work week at 44 hours. Today's minimum wage is $7.25 and the maximum work week is 40 hours.
young people- Civilian Conservation Corps was a work relief program that provided men with jobs. This was the most popular New Deal Program. The CCC lasted over 9.5 Years. The CCC did lots of things ranging from wildlife to transportation to structural improvments. Men were not married and were unemployed. They got $30 per month and $22-25 of it went to their parents. The National Youth Administration was a part of the WPA and it provided part time jobs for high school students and college students. The NYA was very successful. The NYA ended because Congress stopped funding the organization.

banks/business-RFC: gave loans to banks, state and local gov, gave states loans for emergency relief needs, started under Hoover, not as successful as Hoover had hoped. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) preserves and promotes public confidence in the US finiancial system by insuring deposits in banks. The FDIC is still around today. Securities Exchange Act (1934) is a government commision created by congress to regulate the stock market and protest investors. SEA also protects people from dishonest people or businesses. It basically just made people be honest in businesses and in the stock market. SEC made people more confident in investing their money in the stock market. The FDIC was not meant to be permanent. The FDIC preserves public confidence in the baking system. Banking Act makes the FDIC permanent and in provides insurance for depositors just in case a bank fails, so people would get their money back. The FDIC and the Banking Act were successful because they are still around today.

home owners- Home Owner's Loan Corporation and Federal Housing Administration were two of the top 5 New Deal Programs. A mortgage is a loan to finance the purchase of a home. Redlining was refusing a loan or insurance to someone because they lived in an area that is looked to be a poor financial risk. HOLC stopped giving loans to people in 1935. Roosevelt asked Congress to help protect home owners from foreclosure. HOLC lent money to non-farm homes worth less than $20,000. HOLC was created by lawmakers. HOLC extended loans from 5-7 years to 15-30 years. 35,000 applications processed/week in the spring of 1934. Employed approx. 21,000 people and the HOLC ended in 1951. FHA lowered down payments on home loans and stretched out years to pay back loans. Its part of National Housing Act of 1934 and successfully increased the housing market. FHA gave the low income and minority families a chance to own a home, which differentiated that FHA from the HOLC. Redlining became illegal. and today the FHA is the largest insurer of mortgages in the world today. United States Housing Authority was mostly set up to help the low income families. Al Smith started these programs. USHA only lasted for about 5 years, and housed many families in that time. USHA was changed into the Federal Public Housing Agency.


elderly-Social Security Act was designed to pay the retired with a steady income (people over 65). The SSA also helped orphaned children and widowed spouses. SSA was successful because it helped many elderly and needy people.


Native Americans- Indian Reorganization Act was passed in June of 1934. aka the Indian New Deal. It gave Native Americans their land back and decreased in reservation resources. Indians were forced onto reservations with little food and water. Indians got to lead their own type of government. This act terminated the Dawes Act.

Impacted Americans: FDC: made certifications of food coloring additives mandatory. It also affected cosmetics. 3 different types of drugs: New drugs, generic drugs and over the counter drugs. This act made it safer for consumers. Cosmetics still are not as closely monitored as the drugs are.

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