Depression and the New Deal 1930–1939

1. Roosevelt administration implements economic safeguards to revive U.S. economy

2. U.S. government expands role as employer of and provider for U.S. citizens

3. Tensions begin to rise in Europe as Germany once again asserts itself

1930		Smoot-Hawley Tariff raises taxes on almost 20,000 items; some economists argue that tariff worsened Great Depression or that stock market crash of 1929 was in part caused by anticipation of this act becoming law
1932		Reconstruction Finance Corporation provides loans to struggling businesses and state and local government
		Bonus Army of World War I veterans marches on Washington, D.C., demanding compensation but are rebuffed by force
		Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected 32nd president
1933		U.S. unemployment rate reaches 25%; Roosevelt proclaims five-day bank holiday
		Glass-Steagall Act separates activity between commercial banks and investment banks
		FDR appoints first-ever female cabinet member, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins
		FDR gives first “fireside chat” on radio; tradition continues until 1944
		FDR’s first 100 days in office see creation of countless jobs designed to pull nation out of Depression; seen as perhaps most productive 100 days of any presidency
		Unemployment Relief Act creates Civilian Conservation Corps to employ destitute Americans in conservation and other public works projects
		Agricultural Adjustment Act controls production of crops, compensates farmers for cooperation
		Tennessee Valley Authority established to construct series of dams on tributaries of Tennessee River to generate electricity for region
		Federal Securities Act passed; precursor to Securities and Exchange Commission
		National Industrial Recovery Act sets nationwide business practices; establishes National Recovery Administration to manage industry recovery, Public Works Administration to employ jobless
		20th Amendment shifts presidential inaugurations from March to January
		21st Amendment repeals 18th Amendment (Prohibition)
		Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany, promotes policies of Nazi Party
		United States recognizes USSR, establishes diplomatic relations
		FDR’s Good Neighbor policy seeks to improve relations with Latin America

 

Major New Deal Policies

1. Emergency Banking Act (1933): Permits Reconstruction Finance Corporation to buy stocks of banks in trouble, infusing new capital; validates “bank holiday”

2. Glass-Steagall Banking Act (1933): Establishes Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to secure bank deposits

3. Federal Emergency Relief Administration (1933): Provides work on building projects

4. Civilian Conservation Corps (1933): Provides jobs related to conservation of natural resources

5. Agricultural Adjustment Act (1933): Pays subsidies to farmers to limit production, which drives prices higher

6. National Industrial Recovery Act (1933): Administers fair practice codes to businesses; creates Public Works Administration; declared unconstitutional 1935

7. Securities Act (1933): Requires corporations to make public disclosure of financial information before issuing new stock

8. Tennessee Valley Authority (1933): Builds and operates dams on Tennessee River, sells electric power generated by dams; important step in modernizing region

9. Farm Credit Administration (1933): Provides easily accessible farm mortgages

10. Home Owners Loan Corporation (1933): Provides easily accessible home mortgages

11. Securities and Exchange Act (1934): Places securities exchanges under federal regulation and oversight; creates Securities and Exchange Commission

12. Banking Act of 1935: Reorganizes Federal Reserve system

13. National Youth Administration (1935): Provides jobs for Americans age 16–25

14. Works Progress Administration (1935): Creates jobs related to infrastructure projects; also provides jobs for artists, actors, writers

15. Social Security Act (1935): Creates unemployment and old-age funds, state grants to care for elderly, needy, and physically disabled; excludes approximately 80% of African Americans, however

16. National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act (1935): Creates National Labor Relations Board to regulate union elections and labor practices

17. Fair Labor Standards Act (1938): Sets minimum wage, 44-hour work week

1934		Securities and Exchange Commission established
		Wheeler-Howard Act (Indian Reorganization Act), partly repeals Dawes Act, restores some Native American tribal rights
		Senator Huey Long organizes “Share Our Wealth” program that proposes large tax burden for wealthiest U.S. citizens
1935		Schecter Poultry v. U.S. ruling invalidates National Industrial Recovery Act, barring nationwide business standards
		Emergency Relief Appropriation Act allows president to fund relief programs of his choosing; FDR allocates funds to Works Progress Administration
		National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) supports union rights, protects collective bargaining
		Social Security Act establishes funds for unemployed and elderly
		Revenue Act raises personal income taxes on wealthy
		First Neutrality Act prohibits arms shipments to wartime belligerents
		George and Ira Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess debuts on Broadway
		Italy invades Ethiopia
1936		Butler v. U.S. ruling finds Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional
		Margaret Mitchell publishes novel Gone With the Wind
		Spanish Civil War begins; ends with Francisco Franco’s rise to power in 1939
		Black sprinter Jesse Owens wins four track-and-field gold medals at Summer Olympic Games hosted by Hitler in Berlin
		Germany reoccupies Rhineland
		Rome-Berlin Axis formed between Hitler and Italian ruler Benito Mussolini
		FDR reelected president
		John Dos Passos completes final novel in U.S.A. trilogy
		Second Neutrality Act prohibits U.S. from making loans to wartime belligerents
1937		United Auto Workers stages sit-down strikes
		FDR gives foreign policy speech urging collective security and “quarantining” of aggressor nations
		Zora Neale Hurston publishes novel Their Eyes Were Watching God
		Japan attacks Nanking, China, killing more than 250,000 people, mostly civilians
		Japan sinks gunboat USS Panay in China, formally apologizes afterward
1938		Congress of Industrial Organizations becomes independent union
		Germany launches Anschluss with annexation of Austria
		Thornton Wilder publishes play Our Town
		Irving Berlin song “God Bless America” becomes national hit in rendition sung by Kate Smith
		In Munich Pact, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain agrees to policy of appeasement, grants Czech territory of Sudetenland to Germany
1939		Germans and Soviets sign Nonaggression Pact
		Germany invades Poland, starting World War II
		United States repeals policy of military embargo toward wartime belligerents
		Fourth Neutrality Act requires cash-on-delivery for trade with wartime belligerents
		John Steinbeck publishes novel The Grapes of Wrath
		Nathanael West publishes novel The Day of the Locust
		USSR invades Baltic states