The New Deal: Reform, Relief, and Recovery

Naomi Zimmermann

The New Deal: Reform, Relief, and Recovery

The New Deal emphasized Reform the most, and it sought to bring ultimate relief to the American people through its programs. This contrasts with immediate reform, which the New Deal centered less on. The reforms sought to change the structure of the American

Although there were some programs that provided immediate relief to the people, the most notable of which is the Federal Emergency Relief Act, most of them didn’t provide immediate relief. FDR was critical of just handing people money or food, and preferred providing them with the means to make money and afford these things. The Unemployment Relief Act established the Civil Conservation Corps(CCC), which was an opportunity for urban young men to work in environmental conservation and other public works. The Tennessee Valley Authority also provided jobs to people in the TN Valley to build dams. There was also legislation that helped the workers help themselves in the form of unions. The NIRA allotted workers the right to unionize and bargain with employers through elected officials. Later, the Wagner Act, which allowed workers to bargain and outlawed spying in factories. The National Labor Relations Board was established with this to regulate union activity and serve as a compliance officer for labor union actions with employers.

Banks were also reformed so that there wouldn’t be bank failures again. The Emergency Banking Relief Act inspected and reorganized the banks which established a more effective system. The Glass-Steagall Act separated banks out into separate industries.

FDR embraced the idea that the government should spend lots of money to try to help the economy and the people, even if it meant that the US would accumulate a considerable amount of debt.

Sources:

People’s Century Breadline

Alphabetocracy

Chapter 36 from textbook