Chapter 21 Terms 1 Bank Holiday On March 4 1933 when Roosevelt took office the banking system was on the verge of collapse Bank funds invested in stock market lost value depositors withdrew savings banks were shutting down and banking in many states had been suspended people couldn t gain access to the money from their accounts Because of all of this Roosevelt declared a bank holiday where all banks were to temporarily halt all operations and Congress was called into special session 2 Emergency Banking Act After the March 4th bank holiday Congress rushed the Emergency Banking Act passed on March 9th This provided funds to banks so that they could reopen under strict conditions It was important because this was the first New Deal measure but also because it took the United States off of the gold standard a way of establishing the value of currency in terms of how much gold could be exchanged for a fixed amount of money and vice versa 3 Hundred Days The Emergency Banking Act was only the first of a torrent of legislation during the first 3 months of FDR s presidency Taking advantage of the sense of crisis of the country and the momentum of electoral victory Roosevelt was able to pass laws he hoped would help promote the economy happened very rapidly Also convinced Congress to create various agencies that are still important today like the NRA and AAA 4 National Recovery Administration Established by the National Industry Recovery Act this administration worked with groups of business leaders to establish standards for industry such as set standards on pricing output and working conditions The administration allowed unions which is HUGE won support of laborers because of the allowance for unions and meant governmental support for the idea of industrial freedom NRA quickly established codes standardizing output price and wages for textile steel mining and auto industries It was the first real sign of federal regulation over industry which is what made this an important administration and act PROBLEM large corporations dominated the code writing process and so they actually really just used the NRA to increase prices while limiting production thus raising their own profit margins fire employees and drive away smaller companies by dividing the market Even though the NRA did combat the popular belief that the government wasn t doing anything to remedy the state of the economy it had a couple of glaring failings First of all it didn t help economic recovery but A for effort Second it didn t bring peace between laborers and companies 5 Civilian Conservation Corps Another effect from the legislature storm of the Hundred Days were government efforts to provide relief to those in need Nearly 25 of the workforce was unemployed so in May 1933 the Federal Emergency Relief Administration was created to provide grants to agencies dedicated to helping people impoverished by the Depression But FDR was more in favor of the creation of temporary jobs because it was a 2 pronged solution First it combated unemployment Second at the same time it improved national infrastructure by building parks public buildings roads bridges etc So in March 1993 Congress established the Civilian Conservation Corps which sent unemployed men to work things like forest preservation flood control improvement of national parks and wildlife Program ended in 1942 But provided 3 million unemployed American men with wages of 30 per month working on government projects 5 Public Works Administration 1935 Created by the national industrial recovery act and funded by the act with 3 3 billion dollars this administration greatly improved the infrastructure of the country by building roads schools hospitals and other public facilities that still exist today Examples are New York Triborough Bridge and the Overseas Highway connecting Miami and Key West This was funded by the New Deal By today s standard the New Deal spent 250 billion on the construction of 40 000 public buildings 6 The Dust Bowl 1935 The Dust Bowl devastated American farms in the Midwest The mid 1900s onset in 1930 was a very dry period for the region Due to the destruction of topsoil and the killing of native grasses that were key in preventing erosion which was all caused by mechanized agriculture winds blew topsoil away in what we now refer to as the Dust Bowl This displaced more than 1 million farmers The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms 7 Federal Housing Administration FHA Because of the Depression the construction of new homes all but stopped Banks savings loan administrations that funded home ownership collapsed or foreclosed on many homes and many Americans were thus forced to move into overcrowded unsanitary slums or shoddy rural dwellings State intervention was FDR aimed to protect homeowners against foreclosure and to stimulate The FHA insured millions of long term mortgages issued by private banks This administration significantly helped to put homeownership within reach of tens desperately needed construction 1933 1934 of millions of families 8 Congress of Industrial Organizations Traditionally the American Federation of labor organized workers by craft instead of mobilizing all workers in a given industry When 30 AFL leaders called for creation of unions of industry workers 1934 it was brought to the AFL convention of 1935 and rejected That caused the walkout led by John L Lewis of the United mine workers in this pretty the new labor organization Congress of industrial organizations It aimed to gain economic freedom and industrial democracy for American workers It advocated for fair share and wealth produced by their labor and a voice in determining labor conditions So US Steel recognized Steel Workers Organizing Committee This victory echoed throughout industrial America Companies were scared of sit down protests because the federal government wouldn t do anything to stop it 9 Sit Down Strike In December 1936 the young CIO union called the United Auto Workers utilized the sit down pioneered by the IWW Workers knew that if they walked out in strike Fisher Body Plant management would bring in strikebreakers So instead they halted production but stayed inside This movement spread to the automobile production epicenter GM Plants in Flint MI The strikers cleaned the plant oiled the idled machinery and settled problems amongst themselves with wives bringing them food On February 11 General Motors agreed to negotiate with the UAW 10 Works Progress
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