Chapter 1

The First New Deal

In 1929, America goes through a period know as the Great Depression. It was the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. Just when we thought there was no hope, President Franklin D. Roosevelt steps up and creates a "New Deal." The New Deal was many social liberal programs enacted in the United States in response to the Great Depression.

Roosevelt introduces us to the "First 100 Days." His presidency was a time in the history of the United States in which Roosevelt planned to put an end to the Great Depression that was thought to have been caused by Herbert Hoover, the president before him. When FDR took office on March 4, 1933, he takes initiative to end the effects of the depression. He had four priorities: 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.

In the process of recovery, on 16 June 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Banking Act into law, creating the FDIC! FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) was created by the 1933 Banking Act after the Great Depression to restore trust in the American banking system. Next in his process was the National Recovery Administration (NRA). It was a main New Deal agency and it's purpose was to rid companies of competition by bringing industry, labor, and government together to making things fair and set prices. 

Then there was the Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933 it was a HUGE public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. Created by the National Industrial Recovery Act. Finally in the process was The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is owned by a federal corporation made by congressional charter to provide tranportation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley.

Chapter 2

Opposition to the New Deal

On the journey to make things better in America, there is also unfortunately opposition to this plan. Due to the new deal, change in politics occur, making the Democratic Party the majority. With their liberal ideas, the South, traditional Democrats, big city machines, and the newly empowered labor unions and ethnic minorities. The Republicans were split, with conservatives opposing the entire New Deal and liberals accepting some of it and promising to make it easier.

For Roosevelt's next step he announces a new plan to expand the Supreme Court to 15 judges! Supposedly to make it more "efficient" Critics immediately charged that Roosevelt was trying to “pack” the court and thus neutralize Supreme Court justices hostile to his New Deal.

After this horrible attempt of packing the court is completely shut down, Huey Long comes along. Long was a Louisiana governor and U.S. senator who challenged FDR to do more for the poor and needy and proposed a popular "Share-Our-Wealth" program to tax the wealthy in order to provide a guaranteed income for the poor.

Chapter 3

The Second New Deal

The Second New Deal, although it was different in many ways, is basically the sequel to the first New Deal. In the second one, President Roosevelt decided to aim his policies more at long-term reform and work-relief programs. The Work Progress Administration (WPA) is one of the most famous examples of a work-relief program. The WPA was successful in providing jobs for more than 8.5 million people. WPA employees were known for constructing

bridges, roads, airports, public parks and public buildings.

Most WPA workers were paid an average salary of $41.57 a month and they were able to secure their funds with their own Social Security. Social Security provided economic preservation for millions of Americans including retirees,

disabled persons, and families of retired, disabled or deceased workers. 

To ensure that more of his citizens could secure jobs, President Roosevelt created the Wagner Act. The Wagner Act was a bill signed into law that established a federal agency known as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB protected the rights of private-sector employees to join together to improve their wages and working conditions. Naturally, employees wouldn't mind increasing