I. The Election of 1932:
Herbert Hoover vs. Franklin
Delano Roosevelt
Hoover: “General
prosperity had been a great ally in the election of 1928.
Great Depression was a major enemy in 1932.”
“Herbert Roosevelt and
Franklin Hoover”
--one columnist’s opinion of the two candidates
Campaign Song for FDR:
At first, “Anchors
Aweigh”
“Sounds like a funeral
march.” (two
campaign workers)
“Happy Days are Here
Again.”
Bonus Army: “Hoover sent
the army. Roosevelt
sent
his wife.”
FDR: “Above all, be sure there is plenty of
good coffee. No
questions asked. Just let free coffee flow all the time.”
Electoral Vote: 472 to
59
Inauguration: March 4,
1933
II. THE NEW DEAL
“Brain Trust”
--FDR’s
trusted advisers
--politicians and professors
First Hundred Days:
March
9 to June 16, 1933
Will Rogers:
“Congress does pass legislation—they
just wave at the bills as they go by.”
John Maynard Keynes(1883 to
1946):
Keynesian
Economics
--unemployment leads to money hoarding
--govt. must
expand money supply
--short term but massive government
spending
Nixon:
"We are all Keynesians
now."
POLICIES OF THE NEW DEAL
--RELIEF,
RECOVERY, REFORM--
A.
RELIEF:
1. work relief:
1935--1943
WPA --employed 8.5 million americans
--spent $10.5 billion
--constructed 651,087 miles of roads
--125,110 public buildings
--8192 parks
--853 airports
-- built or repaired 124,087 bridges
2. direct assistance
B.
RECOVERY:
1.
industry:
2.
agriculture:
C.
REFORM:
1.
Social Security Act:
2. Emergency Banking Act:
Was the New Deal
Successful?
III. OTHER RESPONSES TO
THE DEPRESSION:
A.
Cultural Responses
B.
Political Responses from the Left:
1. Huey Long, "Share Our Wealth"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIMi7fBA6e4 huey on “grub”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8elIlcrNf0 every man a king
2.
Dr. Townsend, "Old Age Revolving
Pension"
3. Father Coughlin, "Social Justice"
C.
Political Responses from the Right:
1. Father Coughlin turns Right
2. William Dudley Pelly's "Silver Shirts"
IV. SIGNIFICANCE:
A. desperate times require desperate policy
B. changing expectation of govt. involvement
"It is my contention that no one should be allowed to write
about FDR who did not experience that era. It really is one of those cases of
you had to be there. Roosevelt may be a myth...today, but 60 years ago that
myth looked more like hope. In his fireside chats, he turned our Philco radios
into shrines, and when he said that America could not afford to live with
one-third of a nation ill-housed and ill-fed, we thought he would do something
about it. And he did."
Daniel Schorr, "The FDR 'Myth': You Had To Be There,"
Christian Science Monitor, 25 October 1996
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