PROSPERITY DEPRESSION THE NEW DEAL American History II

PROSPERITY, DEPRESSION, & THE NEW DEAL American History II - Unit 4

EFFECTS OF THE NEW DEAL Unit 4. 10 Mr. Duncan

Women • Women in Government • Frances Perkins – first female cabinet member (major role in Social Security Act and supervising labor legislation) • Eleanor Roosevelt - encouraged FDR to appoint women to positions which would hopefully garner the female vote → 2 female diplomats and 1 female federal judge

Women • Women in the Workplace • Faced discrimination from men seeking jobs → 1936 Gallup poll showed 82% of Americans said a wife should not work if her husband had a job • Lower minimum wages • New Deal labor acts hired far fewer women than men (CCC = only men) • Despite these obstacles, married women in the workplace increased from 11. 7% to 15. 6% by the end of the 1930 s.

African Americans • African Americans in Leadership Roles • A. Philip Randolph – organized first all- black trade union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters • Most African American voices in the White House at that point in history

African Americans • African Americans in Leadership Roles • Mary Mc. Leod Bethune • appointed to the National Youth Administration to head the Division of Negro Affairs → worked to hire black administrators and provided education and job training to minority students • Helped organize the “Black Cabinet” of influential African Americans to advise the FDR Administration on racial issues (included black appointees in the Department of the Interior)

African Americans • Civil Rights and the New Deal • FDR was cautious not to upset white Democrat voters in the South (large percentage of vote) • Promoted racial equality but never fully committed to civil rights • Refused to approve a federal anti-lynching law and an end to poll tax • New Deal labor acts gave black workers lower wages • However, blacks supported FDR and the New Deal seeing this as their best hope for the future of civil rights.

Mexican Americans • Mexican Americans tended to support the New Deal even though they received even fewer benefits than blacks. • Settled mostly in the Southwest, laboring on farms → Depression lowered farm wages to 9 cents/hour

Mexican Americans • Farmers who tried to unionize met violence from employers • The CCC and WPA discriminated against Mexican Americans and migrant workers by denying aid to those without permanent addresses

Native Americans • 1924 – full US citizenship for Native Americans • 1933 – FDR appointed John Collier as commissioner of Indian Affairs • Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 - moved away from assimilation toward Native American autonomy, restored some reservation lands to tribal ownership

Labor Unions • New Deal labor legislation (Wagner Act) → better working conditions and increased union power • FDR = “A Friend of Labor” • Unions donated campaign money and pledged votes • Undivided support in 1936 election

New Deal Coalition � New Deal Coalition – an alignment of diverse groups dedicated to supporting the Democratic Party � Southern whites � Farmers � African Americans � Unionized industrial workers � Women � � Contributed to the eventual party shift… FDR re-elected in 1936, 1940, and 1944 thanks to diverse support

The End of the New Deal • By 1937, the economy had improved enough to allow many Americans to believe that the Depression was ending • FDR did not favor increased deficit spending • Congress pressured FDR to scale back New Deal programs → industrial production dropped again, unemployment increased… • 1939 – New Deal effectively over and FDR needed to switch focus to affairs in Europe (Hitler’s rise to power)

New Deal Supporters and Critics Supporters • FDR struck a balance between unregulated capitalism (what caused the Great Depression) and over regulated socialism Critics • Conservatives • New Deal and FDR gave federal gov’t too much power • Gov’t suppressed free enterprise and individual initiative • Liberals • New Deal didn’t do enough to socialize the economy and eliminate social and economic inequalities

Legacy of the New Deal • FDR expanded the power of the federal gov’t and the POTUS • Infusing money into the economy • Creating federal jobs • Attempting to regulate supply and demand (economy) • Increased role in settling labor and management disputes • FDR practiced a great deal of deficit spending putting the US deeply in debt (furthered by US involvement in WWII in the early 1940 s)