PEOPLE
Herbert Hoover
.
Republican
President of the United States, 1929-1933
.
Acclaimed
as Secretary of Commerce before he became President
.
Great
Depression struck months after he took office, ruining his presidency
.
His
policies failed to end Depression or help suffering people, making him a hated
figure among the public
Huey P. Long
.
Populist
U.S. Senator from Louisiana and Governor of Louisiana (simultaneously!)
.
Popular
but corrupt; advocated simplistic plan of wealth redistribution from rich to
poor
.
Assassinated
in Louisiana statehouse, 1935
Eleanor Roosevelt
.
First
Lady of the United States; wife (and distant cousin!) of Franklin Roosevelt
.
Advocate
of liberal causes and early Civil Rights hero
Franklin Delano
Roosevelt
.
Democratic
President of the United States, 1933-45
.
Implemented
New Deal domestic reforms in response to Great Depression
.
One of
most influential presidents in history
.
First
and last president to serve four terms in office
.
Died
in office, 1945
Upton Sinclair
.
Muckraking
author of The Jungle
.
Ran
for and nearly won governorship of California, 1934
.
Advocated
radical plan to "End Poverty In California" by putting unemployed citizens to
work in state-sponsored cooperative factories and farms
Owen Roberts
.
Supreme
Court Justice during New Deal
.
Switched
from conservative to liberal bloc of court, 1937
.
Roberts's
switch probably a political rather than principled decision
.
Saved
country from major constitutional showdown as Roosevelt sought to stop Supreme
Court from blocking his agenda
EVENTS
1932 Presidential
Election
.
Franklin
D. Roosevelt pledged a "new deal" for America at Democratic Party convention
.
Roosevelt
ran an incoherent campaign but easily defeated unpopular President Hoover,
winning 57% of the popular vote and 89% of electoral votes
1933 First Hundred
Days
.
FDR
called special session of Congress to enact a flurry of legislation at start of
his presidency
.
Arguably
most significant burst of legislative activity in American history
.
Instituted
bank holiday, stabilizing U.S. financial system
.
Legalized
the sale of beer after 14 years of Prohibition
.
Created
Civilian Conservation Corps, providing jobs in forest conservation
.
Took
U.S. off gold standard
.
Passed
Federal Emergency Relief Act, providing unemployment benefits
.
Passed
Agricultural Adjustment Act, reducing farm overproduction in hopes of raising
prices for crops
.
Created
Tennessee Valley Authority, which built dams to provide hydroelectric power to
rural South
.
Passed
Federal Securities Act, committing federal government to regulation of Wall
Street
.
Passed
National Industrial Recovery Act, signature piece of legislation, which made
several major economic changes
1933 Twenty-First
Amendment
.
Officially
ended Prohibition of alcohol
1934 Federal
Housing Admin. Created
.
Provided
loans for housing repair and construction; helped struggling housing industry
.
Controversial;
many policies have since been attacked as racist
1935 Schechter
v. United States
.
a.k.a.
the "sick chicken" case; plaintiff was poultry company harmed by New
Deal policies
.
National
Industrial Recovery Act ruled unconstitutional by Supreme Court
.
Beginning
of constitutional struggles between Roosevelt and Supreme Court
1935 Social
Security Act
.
Established
Social Security, which provided retirement benefits to workers
.
Made
retirement attainable for middle- and working-class Americans
.
Considered
crowning achievement of New Deal; probably most popular government program ever
1937 Court-Packing
Controversy
.
Roosevelt,
angered by Supreme Court rejection of his programs, proposed raising the number
of justices to fifteen to enable him to appoint a favorable majority
.
Blatant
violation of separation of powers proved to be most unpopular political move of
Roosevelt's career
1937 West Coast
Hotel
Case
.
Supreme
Court flip-flop on constitutionality of New Deal in West Coast Hotel case staved off showdown with FDR
.
Court
soon after approved Social Security Act and National Labor Relations Act
GROUPS
Share the Wealth
Clubs
.
Organized
by Huey Long to advocate for redistribution of wealth from rich to poor
.
Long
likened economy to a barbecue:
"We've got to call Mr. Morgan and Mr. Mellon and Mr. Rockefeller back
and say, come back here, put that stuff back on this table here that you took
away from here that you don't need."
.
Share
the Wealth movement collapsed following Long's assassination in 1935
Civilian Conservation
Corps
.
Established
by Congress, 1933
.
Employed
250,000 young people to work in reforestation in National Parks and Forests
Works Progress
Administration
.
Established
by Congress, 1935
.
Received
$5 billion in funding, employed eight million workers on public-works projects
around the country
.
Included
artists and writers in ranks
.
Built
much infrastructure still used today
CONCEPTS
Underconsumption
.
When
an economy's demand for goods and services falls far below potential output
.
Many
economists and historians believed underconsumption was fundamental economic
problem of Great Depression
PLACES
Tennessee Valley
.
Heartland
of rural South, plagued by underdevelopment and economic crisis during
Depression
.
Location
of Tennessee Valley Authority, huge federal project to build dams to provide
cheap hydroelectric power to promote development of South