First 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency
The first hundred days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency was a time in the history of the United States in which Roosevelt planned to put an end to the Great Depression that have been caused by the policies of his predecessor, Herbert Hoover. When FDR took office on March 4, 1933, he immediately addressed the effects of the depression. His main four priorities were to get Americans back to work, protect their savings and create prosperity, provide relief for the sick and elderly, and get industry and agriculture back on their feet.
Background
Franklin D. Roosevelt spent the first week of his Presidency dealing with a month-long series of bank closings that was ruining families nationwide.[1]:78 He closed the entire American banking system on March 6, 1933. On March 9 Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, which Roosevelt used to effectively create federal deposit insurance when the banks reopened.[2] At 10 p.m. ET that Sunday night, on the eve of the end of the bank holiday, Roosevelt spoke to a radio audience of more than 60 million people, to tell them in clear language "what has been done in the last few days, why it was done, and what the next steps are going to be".[1]:78–79 It was the first of 30 evening radio addresses that came to be called the fireside chats.
The result, according to economic historian William L. Silber, was a "remarkable turnaround in the public's confidence … The contemporary press confirms that the public recognized the implicit guarantee and, as a result, believed that the reopened banks would be safe, as the President explained in his first Fireside Chat." Within two weeks people returned more than half of the cash they had been hoarding, and the first stock-trading day after the bank holiday marked the largest-ever one-day percentage price increase.[2]
Roosevelt also set up several organizations with a variety of roles.
The New Deal
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration challenged the urgent needs of the poor. It spent $500 million on soup kitchens, blankets, employment schemes and nursery schools.
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps allowed unemployed men to work for only six months on environmental projects (e.g., national parks) and send the money home to their families. Men would make about $30: $5 would be kept by the men, and the rest sent back to their families. This employed 2.5 million men and their families.
Agricultural Adjustment Administration
The Agricultural Adjustment Administration set quotas to reduce farm production in order to raise crop prices. Farmers helped to modernize and use conservative farming methods. In extreme cases, the agency helped some farmers with their mortgages. While it mostly helped farmers, industrialization forced laborers out of work with technology that was faster than the average man.
National Industry Recovery Act
The National Industry Recovery Act set up the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the National Recovery Administration (NRA). The PWA used government money to build infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, for the state. This demand for construction created new jobs, which achieved Roosevelt's main priority. The National Recovery Act also improved working conditions and outlawed child labor. Wages increased, so workers were able to earn and spend more.
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority was established to build dams. These dams were designed to stimulate farming in the area to end poverty while creating hydroelectricity. The hydroelectric power was used to provide electricity for nearby houses.
Reception of the New Deal
Criticism
Many people did not like the idea of the New Deal. They included Republicans and Big Businesses. The primary complaints were that it cost too much and overstepped the government's rights. While it's true that the government had never before attempted a project the scale of the New Deal, Roosevelt's innovations have persisted since the New Deal and are now considered one of the most important functions of the government.
Some detractors of the New Deal criticized the TVA for its competition with private businesses. They compared the TVA to communism on the grounds that government-run enterprise would stifle other companies' ability to compete. In the same vein as those who called the TVA communistic, the TVA was criticized for disadvantaging those who worked their lives to be successful, only to have the government make their success unsustainable. The Republicans then launched a series of attacks on FDR. They said that FDR was in a wheel chair not because of Polio but because of a sexually transmitted disease.
Not doing enough
This was led by Huey Long (Governor of Louisiana). He famously championed the poor and black people of America e.g. introduced huge taxation on big business in Louisiana from 1928 on-wards in order to help build schools, roads etc. He said that big businesses and the rich should do more. e.g. restrict personal wealth to $3 million, provide pensions for people over 60, and free washing machines and radios for all.
Support
Roosevelt implemented the New Deal to try to help bring up the economy after the depression. Many considered these actions to be successful, as they created employment for many people who had lost their jobs and increased the value of the farm and its owners. This made the farmers earn a lot of money for selling their crops.
See also
References
- 1 2 "FDR's First Fireside Chat". Radio Digest. 1 (1): 78–82. February 1939.
- 1 2 Silber, William L. (July 2009). "Why Did FDR's Bank Holiday Succeed?". Economic Policy Review. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 15 (1). Retrieved 2016-02-28.
