GREAT DEPRESSION

UNIT 5
 HOOVER TAKES OVER THE
NATION
Although economic disaster was around the corner, the election of 1928 took place in a mood of apparent
national prosperity.
This election pitted Republican candidate Herbert Hoover against Democrat Alfred E. Smith.
Hoover, the secretary of commerce under Harding and Coolidge, was a mining engineer from Iowa who had
never run for public office. Smith was a career politician who had served four terms as governor of New York. He
was personable and enjoyed being in the limelight, unlike the quiet and reserved Hoover.
Still, Hoover had one major advantage: he could point to years of prosperity under Republican administrations
since 1920. Many Americans believed him when he declared, “We in America are nearer to the final triumph
over poverty than ever before.”
It was an overwhelming victory for Hoover. The message was clear: most Americans were happy with Republican
leadership.
The crash of 1929, and the depression that followed, dealt a crushing blow to the hopes and dreams of millions
of Americans. The high-flying prosperity of the 1920s was over. Hard times had begun. Left to new president
Hoover to tackle.
HOOVER’S PHILOSOPHY OF RUGGED
INDIVIDUALISM
After the stock market crash of October 1929, President Herbert Hoover tried to reassure Americans to
remain optimistic and to go about their business as usual. Americans believed depressions were a normal part
of the business cycle as periods of rapid economic growth were naturally followed by periods of depression.
Like many Americans of the time, Hoover believed that one of government’s chief functions was to foster
cooperation between competing groups and interests in society. This cooperation must be voluntary rather
than forced, he said. Government’s role was to encourage and facilitate cooperation, not to control it.
Hoover belived in “Rugged Individualism”—the idea that people should succeed through their own efforts.
They should take care of them selves and their families, rather than depend on the government to bail them
out.
Thus, Hoover opposed any form of federal welfare, or direct relief to the needy. He believed that handouts
would weaken people’s self-respect and “moral fiber.”
His answer to the needy was that individuals, charities, and local organizations should pitch in to help care for
the less fortunate. The federal government should direct relief measures, but not through a vast federal
bureaucracy.
STEPS TAKEN BY HOOVERTO
MITIGATE GREAT DEPRESSION
Many believed that since Hoover was committed to small bureaucracy he did nothing while the
economy collapsed in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash. But far from being a bystander,
Hoover actively intervened in the economy, advocating and implementing polices that were quite
similar to those that Franklin Roosevelt later implemented.
Let us first look at some of the steps taken by him that proved to be unsuccessful:
1. He urged them to work together to find solutions to the nation’s economic woes and to act in
ways that would not make a bad situation worse.
2. He asked employers not to cut wages or lay off workers, and he asked labor leaders not to
demand higher wages or go on strike.
3. He also created a special organization to help private charities generate contributions for the
poor.
Huge Criticism of Hoover-By 1930, people were calling the shantytowns* in American cities
“Hoovervilles”—a direct slap at the president’s policies. Homeless people called the newspapers they
wrapped themselves in “Hoover blankets.” Empty pockets turned inside out were “Hoover flags.”
* an area in or near a city in which poor people live in small, badly built houses.
 ACTIVIST APPROACH/SUCCESSFUL STEPS
TAKEN BY HOOVER TO MITIGATE
DEPRESSION
1. Construction of Boulder Dam - Hoover authorized the construction of Boulder Dam (later
called Hoover Dam) which was the world’s tallest dam at 726 ft. high and 1,244 ft. long. In
addition to providing electricity and flood control, the dam also provided a regular water
supply, which enabled the growth of California’s massive agricultural economy. Today, the
dam also helps to provide water for cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
2. Hoover backs Cooperatives-He backed the creation of the Federal Farm Board, an
organization of farm cooperatives. The Farm Board was intended to raise crop prices by
helping members to buy crops and keep them off the market temporarily until prices rose.
3. NCC-Hoover tried to prop up the banking system by persuading the nation’s largest banks to
establish the National Credit Corporation. This organization loaned money to smaller banks,
which helped them stave off bankruptcy.
4. Federal Home Loan Bank Act-Hoover appealed to Congress to pass a series of measures to
reform banking, provide mortgage relief, and funnel more federal money into business
investment. In 1932, Hoover signed into law the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, which low ered
mortgage rates for homeowners and allowed farmers to refinance their farm loans and avoid
foreclosure.
5. Glass-Steagall Banking Act- Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Banking Act, which separated
investment from commercial banking and would, Congress hoped, prevent another crash.
6. Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)- Hoover’s most ambitious economic measure,
however, was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), approved by Congress in January
1932. It authorized up to $2 billion for emergency financing for banks, life insur ance companies,
railroads, and other large businesses. Hoover believed that the money would trickle down to the
average citizen through job growth and higher wages.
 HOOVER LOOSES OUT TO
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
Between 10,000 and 20,000 World War I veterans and their families arrived in Washington, D.C., from various parts of
the country. They called themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force, or the Bonus Army.
The Patman Bill authorized the government to pay a bonus to these World War I veterans who had not been
compensated adequately for their wartime service.
Hoover thought that the Bonus Marchers were “communists and persons with criminal records” rather than veterans.
He opposed the legislation and decided that the Bonus Army should be dis banded under a force of 1,000 soldiers
under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.
 In the course of the operation, the infantry gassed more than 1,000 people, including an 11-month-old baby, who
died, and an 8-year-old boy, who was partially blinded. Two people were shot and many were injured. Most Americans
were stunned and outraged at the government’s treatment of the veterans.
President Hoover’s image suffered and now an election was nearing. In November, Hoover would face a formidable
opponent, the Democratic candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The downturn in the economy and Hoover’s inability to deal effectively with the Depression had sealed his fate. As
economic difficulties increased, the political tide turned against Hoover and the Republicans.
In the 1930 congressional elections, the Democrats took advantage of anti-Hoover sentiments to win more seats in
Congress. As a result of that election, the Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives and saw their
majority in the Senate dwindle to one vote.
BACKGROND/CAUSES TO THE
GREAT DEPRESSION
1. Industries in Trouble: Key basic industries, such as railroads, textiles, and steel had barely made
a profit. Mining and lumbering, which had expanded during wartime, were no longer in high
demand. Coal mining was especially hard-hit, the boom industries of the 1920s—automobiles,
construction, and consumer goods—weakened. When housing starts to fall, so do jobs in many
related industries, such as furniture manufacturing and lumbering.
2. Farmers need a lift- During World War I, prices rose and international demand for crops such as
wheat and corn soared. Farmers had planted more and taken out loans for land and equipment.
However, demand fell after the war, and crop prices declined by 40 percent or more.
3. Consumers have less money to spend- As farmers’ incomes fell, they bought fewer goods and
services, but the problem was larger. By the late 1920s, Americans were buying less—mainly
because of rising prices, stagnant wages, unbalanced distribution of income, and overbuying on
credit in the preceding years. Production had also expanded much faster than wages, resulting
in an ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor.
4. Living on credit- Although many Americans appeared to be prosperous during the 1920s, in fact they were
living beyond their means. They often bought goods on credit— an arrangement in which consumers agreed
to buy now and pay later for purchases. This was often in the form of an installment plan (usually in monthly
payments) that included interest charges. Faced with debt, consumers cut back on spending.
5. Uneven distribution of wealth- the rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. Between 1920 and 1929, the
income of the wealthiest 1 percent of the population rose by 75 percent, compared with a 9 percent
increase for Americans as a whole. This unequal distribution of income meant that most Americans could
not participate fully in the economic advances of the 1920s. Many people did not have the money to
purchase the flood of goods that factories produced. The prosperity of the era rested on a fragile foundation.
6. Stock market on the rise- Through most of the 1920s, stock prices rose steadily. Eager to take advantage of
this “bull market”—a period of rising stock prices— Americans rushed to buy stocks and bonds. By 1929,
about 4 million Americans—or 3 percent of the nation’s population—owned stocks. Many of these investors
were already wealthy, but others were average Americans who hoped to strike it rich.
7. People doing Speculation and Buying on Margin- People were engaging in speculation—that is, they
bought stocks and bonds on the chance of a quick profit, while ignoring the risks. Many began buying on
margin—paying a small percentage of a stock’s price as a down payment and borrowing the rest. With easy
money available to investors, the unrestrained buying and selling fueled the market’s upward spiral. The
government did little to discourage such buying or to regulate the market. In reality, these rising prices did
not reflect companies’ worth. Worse, if the value of stocks declined, people who had bought on margin had
no way to pay off the loans.
 STOCK MARKET CRASHES
In early September 1929, stock prices peaked and then fell. Confidence in the market started to
waver, and some investors quickly sold their stocks and pulled out.
On October 24, the market took a plunge. Panicked investors unloaded their shares. But the
worst was yet to come.
On October 29—now known as Black Tuesday—the bottom fell out of the market and the
nation’s confidence. Shareholders frantically tried to sell before prices plunged even lower.
The number of shares dumped that day was a record 16.4 million. Additional millions of shares
could not find buyers. People who had bought stocks on credit were stuck with huge debts as the
prices plummeted, while others lost most of their savings.
By mid-November, investors had lost about $30 billion, an amount equal to how much America
spent in World War I.
The stock market crash signaled the beginning of the Great Depression—the period from 1929 to
1940 in which the economy plummeted and unemployment skyrocketed.
 FINANCIAL CRASH
After the crash, many people panicked and withdrew their money from banks. But some couldn’t get their money
because the banks had invested it in the stock market.
In 1929, 600 banks closed. By 1933, 11,000 of the nation’s 25,000 banks had failed. Because the government did not
protect or insure bank accounts, millions of people lost their savings accounts.
The Great Depression hit other businesses, too. Between 1929 and 1932, the gross national product—the nation’s total
output of goods and services—was cut nearly in half, from $104 billion to $59 billion. Approximately 90,000 businesses
went bankrupt.
As the economy plunged into a tailspin, millions of workers lost their jobs. Unemployment leaped from 3 per cent (1.6
million workers) in 1929 to 25 percent (13 mil lion workers) in 1933. One out of every four workers was out of a job.
Those who kept their jobs faced pay cuts and reduced hours.
The United States was not the only country gripped by the Great Depression. Much of Europe, for example, had suffered
throughout the 1920s. European countries trying to recover from the ravages of World War I faced high war debts.
 In addition, Germany had to pay war reparations—payments to compensate the Allies for the damages Germany had
caused. The Great Depression compounded these problems by limiting America’s ability to import European goods. This
made it difficult to sell American farm products and manufactured goods abroad.
IMPACT OF GREAT DEPRESSION
1. In cities across the country, people lost their jobs, were evicted from their homes and ended up
in the streets. Some slept in parks or sewer pipes, wrapping themselves in newspapers to fend
off the cold. Shanty towns sprang up
2. Soup kitchens offering free or low-cost food and bread lines, or lines of people waiting to
receive food provided by charitable orga nizations or public agencies, became a common sight.
3. Conditions for African Americans and Latinos were especially difficult. Their unemployment
rates were higher, and they were the lowest paid. They also dealt with increasing racial
violence from unemployed whites competing for the same jobs.
4. With falling prices and rising debt, though, thousands of farmers lost their land. Between 1929
and 1932, about 400,000 farms were lost through foreclosure—the process by which a
mortgage holder takes back property if an occupant has not made payments. Many farmers
turned to tenant farming and barely scraped out a living.
 DUST BOWL
5. The Dust Bowl-
The drought that began in the early 1930s wreaked havoc on the Great Plains. Farmers had exhausted the
land through overproduction of crops, and the grasslands became unsuitable for farming.
When the drought and winds began in the early 1930s, little grass and few trees were left to hold the soil
down.
 Wind scattered the topsoil, exposing sand and grit underneath. The dust traveled hundreds of miles. One
windstorm in 1934 picked up millions of tons of dust from the plains and carried it to East Coast cities.
The most severe storms were called “black blizzards.” They were said to have darkened the sky in New York
City and Washington. The region that was the hardest hit, including parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New
Mexico, and Colorado, came to be known as the Dust Bowl.
Plagued by dust storms and evictions, thousands of farmers and sharecroppers left their land behind. They
packed up their families headed west, following Route 66 to California. Some of these migrants—known as
Okies —found work as farmhands. But others continued to wander in search of work.
By the end of the 1930s, hundreds of thousands of farm families had migrated to California and other Pacific
Coast states.
 FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
(FDR)
Born into an old, wealthy New York family, Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered politics as a state senator in 1910 and later
became assistant secretary of the navy.
 In 1921, he was stricken with polio and became partially paralyzed from the waist down. He struggled to regain the use
of his legs, and he eventually learned to stand with the help of leg braces.
Roosevelt became governor of New York in 1928, and because he “would not allow bodily disability to defeat his will,” he
went on to the White House in 1933.
He was popularly as known as FDR, the two-term governor of New York and a distant cousin of former president
Theodore Roosevelt.
After becoming president, he worked with his team of care fully picked advisers—a select group of professors, lawyers,
and journalists that came to be known as the “Brain Trust.”
Roosevelt began to formulate a set of policies for his new administration. This program, designed to alleviate the
problems of the Great Depression, became known as the New Deal, a phrase taken from a campaign speech in which
Roosevelt had promised “a new deal for the American people.”
New Deal policies focused on three general goals: relief for the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform.
On taking office, the Roosevelt administration launched a period of intense activity known as the Hundred Days, lasting
from March 9 to June 16, 1933. During this period, Congress passed more than 15 major pieces of New Deal legislation.
These laws, and others that followed, significantly expanded the federal government’s role in the nation’s economy.
MEASURE
PROGRAMS UNDER
NEW DEAL POLICY
 A. REFORMS IN BANKING AND
FINANCE:
1. On March 5, one day after taking office, Roosevelt declared a bank holiday and closed all banks to prevent further
withdrawals. He persuaded Congress to pass the Emergency Banking Relief Act, which authorized the Treasury
Department to inspect the country’s banks. Those that were sound could reopen at once; those that were insolvent
—unable to pay their debts— would remain closed. Those that needed help could receive loans. This measure
revived public confidence in banks, since customers now had greater faith that the open banks were in good financial
shape.
2. Congress took another step to reorganize the banking system by passing the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which
established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The FDIC provided federal insurance for individual
bank accounts of up to $5,000, reassuring millions of bank customers that their money was safe. It also required
banks to act cautiously with their customers’ money.
3. Congress and the president also worked to regulate the stock market, in which people had lost faith because of the
crash of 1929. The Federal Securities Act, passed in May 1933, required corporations to provide complete information
on all stock offerings and made them liable for any misrepresentations.
4. In June of 1934, Congress created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the stock market. One
goal of this commission was to prevent people with inside information about companies from “rigging” the stock
market for their own profit.
5. In addition, Roosevelt persuaded Congress to approve a bill allowing the manufacture and sale of some alcoholic
beverages. The bill’s main purpose was to raise government revenues by taxing alcohol. By the end of 1933, the
passage of the 21st Amendment had repealed prohibition altogether.
 B. RURAL ASSISTENCE
1. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) sought to raise crop prices by lowering production, which the
government achieved by paying farmers to leave a certain amount of every acre of land unseeded.
2. The theory was that reduced supply would boost prices. In some cases, crops were too far advanced
for the acreage reduction to take effect. As a result, the government paid cotton growers $200 million
to plow under 10 million acres of their crop.
3. It also paid hog farmers to slaughter 6 million pigs. This policy upset many Americans, who protested
the destruction of food when many people were going hungry.
4. It did, however, help raise farm prices and put more money in farmers’ pockets.
5. An especially ambitious program of regional development was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA),
established on May 18, 1933.
6. Focusing on the badly depressed Tennessee River Valley, the TVA renovated five existing dams and
constructed 20 new ones, created thousands of jobs, and provided flood control, hydroelectric power,
and other benefits to an impoverished region
C. PROVIDING WORK PROJECTS
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
1. The administration also established programs to provide relief through work projects and
cash payments.
2. One important program, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), put young men aged 18 to 25
to work building roads, developing parks, planting trees, and helping in soil-erosion and
flood-control projects.
3. By the time the program ended in 1942, almost 3 million young men had passed through the
CCC. The CCC paid a small wage, $30 a month, of which $25 was automatically sent home to
the worker’s family.
4. It also supplied free food and uniforms and lodging in work camps. Many of the camps were
located on the Great Plains, where, within a period of eight years, the men of the CCC
planted more than 200 million trees.
5. This tremendous reforestation program was aimed at preventing another Dust Bowl.
C. PROVIDING WORK PROJECTS
Civil Works Administration (CWA)
President Roosevelt established the Civil Works Administration in November 1933. It provided 4 million
immediate jobs during the winter of 1933–1934. Although some critics of the CWA claimed that the
programs were “make-work” projects and a waste of money, the CWA built 40,000 schools and paid the
salaries of more than 50,000 schoolteachers in America’s rural areas. It also built more than half a million
miles of roads.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

National Recovery Administration (NRA) was created which set prices of many products to ensure fair
competition and established standards for working hours and a ban on child labor. The aim of the NRA was
to promote recovery by interrupting the trend of wage cuts, falling prices, and layoffs.
D. FOOD, CLOTHING, AND
SHELTER
A number of New Deal programs concerned housing and home mortgage problems.
The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) provided government loans to homeowners who faced foreclosure
because they couldn’t meet their loan payments.
 In addition, the 1934 National Housing Act created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This agency
continues to furnish loans for home mortgages and repairs today.
Another program, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), was funded with $500 million to pro
vide direct relief for the needy.
Half of the money was given to the states as direct grants-in-aid to help furnish food and clothing to the
unemployed, the aged, and the ill.
The rest was distributed to states to support work relief programs—for every $3 within the state program,
FERA donated $1.
 Harry Hopkins, who headed this program, believed that, whereas money helped people buy food, it was
meaningful work that enabled them to gain confidence and self-respect.
 CRITICISM ON NEW DEAL
Conservatives were angered by laws such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the National Industrial
Recovery Act, which they believed gave the federal government too much control over agriculture and
industry. It interfered with the workings of a free-market economy.
In 1935, the Court struck down the NIRA as unconstitutional. It declared that the law gave legislative powers
to the executive branch and that the enforcement of industry codes within states went beyond the federal
government’s constitutional powers to regulate interstate commerce.
The next year, the Supreme Court struck down the AAA on the grounds that agriculture is a local matter and
should be regulated by the states rather than by the federal government.
Fearing that further Court decisions might dismantle the New Deal, President Roosevelt proposed in
February 1937 that Congress enact a court-reform bill to reorganize the federal judiciary and allow him to
appoint six new Supreme Court justices.
This “Court-packing bill” aroused a storm of protest in Congress and the press. Many people believed that
the president was violating principles of judicial independence and the separation of powers.
In 1934, some of the strongest conservative opponents of the New Deal banded together to form an
organiza tion called the American Liberty League. The American Liberty League opposed New Deal measures
that it believed violated respect for the rights of individuals and property.
THE SECOND NEW DEAL
The Second New Deal was under way by the time of the 1936 presidential election won by him again.
The 1936 election was a vote of confidence in FDR and the New Deal.
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, 1936
When the Supreme Court struck down the AAA early in 1936, Congress passed another law to replace
it: the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. This act paid farmers for cutting production of
soil depleting crops and rewarded farmers for practicing good soil conservation methods.
Second Agricultural Adjustment Act, 1938
Two years later, in 1938, Congress approved a second Agricultural Adjustment Act that brought back
many features of the first AAA. The second AAA did not include a processing tax to pay for farm
subsidies, a provision of the first AAA that the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional.
Farm Security Administration (FSA), 1937
It loaned more than $1 billion to help tenant farmers become landholders and established camps for
migrant farm workers, who had traditionally lived in squalid housing.
THE SECOND NEW DEAL
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Headed by Harry Hopkins, WPA set out to create as many jobs as possible as quickly as possible. It spent $11 billion
to give jobs to more than 8 million workers, most of them unskilled. These workers built 850 airports throughout the
country, constructed or repaired 651,000 miles of roads and streets, and put up more than 125,000 public buildings.
National Youth Administration (NYA)
It was created specifically to provide education, jobs, counseling, and recreation for young people. The NYA
provided student aid to high school, college, and graduate students. In exchange, students worked in part-time
positions at their schools.
National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act
the act reestablished the NIRA provision of collective bargaining. The federal government again protected the right
of workers to join unions and engage in collective bar gaining with employers. The Wagner Act also prohibited unfair
labor practices such as threatening workers, firing union members, and interfering with union organizing. The act
set up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hear testimony about unfair practices and to hold elections to
find out if workers wanted union representation
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Headed by Harry Hopkins, WPA set out to create as many jobs as possible as quickly as possible. It spent $11 billion
to give jobs to more than 8 million workers, most of them unskilled. These workers built 850 airports throughout the
country, constructed or repaired 651,000 miles of roads and streets, and put up more than 125,000 public buildings.
National Youth Administration (NYA)
It was created specifically to provide education, jobs, counseling, and recreation for young people. The NYA provided
student aid to high school, college, and graduate students. In exchange, students worked in part-time positions at
their schools.
National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act
the act reestablished the NIRA provision of collective bargaining. The federal government again protected the right
of workers to join unions and engage in collective bar gaining with employers. The Wagner Act also prohibited unfair
labor practices such as threatening work ers, firing union members, and interfering with union organizing. The act
set up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hear testimony about unfair practices and to hold elections to
find out if workers wanted union representation.
Fair Labor Standards Act
In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set maximum hours at 44 hours per week, decreasing
to 40 hours after two years. It also set min imum wages at 25 cents an hour, increasing to 40 cents an hour by 1945.
In addition, the act set rules for the employment of workers under 16 and banned hazardous work for those under
18.
Rural Electrification Administration (REA)
The Second New Deal also includ ed laws to promote rural electrification and to regulate public
utilities. In 1935, only 12.6 percent of American farms had electricity. Roosevelt established
under executive order the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), which financed and
worked with electrical cooperatives to bring electricity to isolated areas. By 1945, 48 percent of
America’s farms and rural homes had electricity. That figure rose to 90 percent by 1949.
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935
The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 took aim at financial corruption in the public
utility industry. It outlawed the ownership of utilities by multiple holding companies—a
practice known as the pyramiding of holding companies. Lobbyists for the holding companies
fought the law fiercely, and it proved extremely difficult to enforce.
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT
One of the most important achievements of the New Deal was creating the Social Security
system. The Social Security Act, passed in 1935, was created by a committee chaired by
Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins. The act had three major parts:
1. Old-age insurance for retirees 65 or older and their spouses. The insurance was a
supplemental retirement plan. Half of the funds came from the worker and half from the
employer. Although some groups were excluded from the system, it helped to make
retirement comfortable for millions of people.
2. Unemployment compensation system. The unemployment system was funded by a federal
tax on employers. It was administered at the state level. The initial payments ranged from
$15 to $18 per week.
3. Aid to families with dependent children and the disabled. The aid was paid for by federal
funds made available to the states.
 IMPACT OF NEW DEAL POLICY ON
THE AMERICANS
1. New Opportunities for Women- One of the most notable changes during the New Deal was the
naming of several women to important government positions. Frances Perkins became America’s
first female cabinet member. As secretary of labor, she played a major role in creating the Social
Security system and supervised labor legislation. President Roosevelt, encouraged by his wife
Eleanor and seeking the support of women voters, also appointed two female diplomats and a
female federal judge.
2. AFRICAN AMERICANS TAKE LEADERSHIP ROLES- Roosevelt appointed more than 100 African
Americans to key positions in the government. Mary McLeod Bethune—an educator who dedicated
herself to promoting opportunities for young African Americans—was hired by the president to head
the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth. Bethune also helped organize a “Black Cabinet”
of influential African Americans to advise the Roosevelt administration on racial issues.
3. Role of First lady Eleanor Roosevelt- Eleanor Roosevelt played a key role in opening doors for African
Americans in government. She was also instrumental in bringing about one of the most dramatic
cultural events of the period: a performance by the African-American singer Marian Anderson in
1939. When the Daughters of the American Revolution chose not to allow Anderson to perform in
their concert hall in Washington, D.C., because of her race, Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the
organization. She then arranged for Anderson to perform at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday.
4. Native Americans get rights- Native Americans received strong government support from the
New Deal. In 1924, Native Americans had received full citizenship by law. In 1933, President
Roosevelt appointed John Collier as commissioner of Indian affairs. Collier helped create the
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. This act was an extreme change in government policy. It
moved away from assimilation and toward Native American autonomy. It also helped to restore
some reservation lands to tribal ownership. The act mandated changes in three areas:
1. Economic—Native American lands would belong to an entire tribe. This provision
strengthened Native American land claims by prohibiting the government from taking over
unclaimed reservation lands and selling them to people other than Native Americans.
2. Cultural—The number of boarding schools for Native American children was reduced, and
children could attend school on the reservations.
3. Political—Tribes were given permission to elect tribal councils to govern their reservations.
5. New Deal Coalition- In fact, one of FDR’s great achievements was to create the New Deal
coalition—an alignment of diverse groups dedicated to supporting the Democratic Party. The
coalition included Southern whites, various urban groups, African Americans, and unionized
industrial workers. As a result, Democrats dominated national politics throughout the 1930s and
1940s.
6. LABOR UNIONS FLOURISH- As a result of the Wagner Act and other prolabor legislation passed
during the New Deal, union members enjoyed better working conditions and increased bargaining
power. In their eyes, President Roosevelt was a “friend of labor.” Labor unions donated money to
Roosevelt’s reelection campaigns, and union workers pledged their votes to him. Unionization
especially affected coal miners and workers in mass-production industries, such as the automobile,
rubber, and electrical industries. It was in these industries, too, that a struggle for dominance
within the labor movement began to develop.
7. LABOR DISPUTES- One of the main bargaining tactics of the labor movement in the 1930s was
the sit-down strike. Instead of walking off their jobs, workers remained inside their plants, but they
did not work. This prevented the factory owners from carrying on production with strikebreakers,
or scabs. Some Americans disapproved of the sit-down strike, calling it a violation of private
property. Nonetheless, it proved to be an effective bargaining tool.