New Deal and Win The War

1
New Deal and Win The War
2

• Roosevelt was not without his critics He was
  facing still large unemployment numbers,
  production was still low, GDP and GNP was
  mediocre at best.
• He also wanted social as well as political
  reform
• The New Deal was struggling and FDR was willing
  to try many things to make it stick
• Policies, however, were destroying free
  enterprise and the private sector was reeling
  from government intrusion. Simply the Govt could
  not keep up with demand for jobs and food.

3

• One very loud critic was Father Charles Coughlin.
• An early supporter of FDR, calling the New Deal
  Christs Deal. coined the term Roosevelt or
  Ruin.
• He also used Radio to reach a large audiencehe
  was based out of Detroithe was anticommunist,
  anti-capitalist, and anti-semitism
• Fell out of favor with FDRtoo slow, not enough
  for the peopledisagreed that plowing under food
  was logical.

4

• The most powerful New Deal critic, was the
  Kingfish. Huey Long Governor of Louisiana also
  a Senator.
• He was a Big Government ideologue supporting
  infrastructure projects such as bridges, roads,
  hospitals, schools and collegesthoug he remained
  staunchly segregationist.

5

• He had a very socialistic view of wealth in
  Americahe believed in Share the Wealth.
• He believed that the New Deal was too
  conservativeaccused FDR of being a puppet to
  Big Business.
• He wanted to confiscate all the wealth from the
  richest people in the country and then dole it
  out evenly to the American people

6

• Share the Wealth Philosophy
• 1) 5,000 homestead credit allowance to all
  American families
• 2) 2,000 guaranteed annual income for all
  Americans
• 3) Free College Education for all (some would
  also be offered to minorities)
• 4) Shorter Working days
• Government storage of crops to help out both
  farmers and the poor a sort of government
  commissary to ensure all people had enough to eat
  during bad economic times.

7

• By 1935, Share-Our-Wealth clubs enlisted around 7
  million members
• He posed a significant threat to FDRs
  re-election in 1936.
• Aspirations ended abruptly with assassination in
  Sept. 1935 in the Louisiana State House
• Son-in-Law of a ruined political opponent.

8

• Other critics Dr. Francis Townsend ( a govt
  pension for every person) of California and Upton
  Beall Sinclair also of California (both very
  socialistic)
• The Follette brothers from Wisconsinformed
  communist and Marxist clubs mostly within Unions
  and Student groupsdistanced themselves from
  Russian Communismspoke more of Unions and
  Government associations with the peoples best
  interest at heartno over throw of
  government,just a reform of government.

9

• FDR responded by initiating much new legislation
  beginning in 1935.
• A very radical shift to the leftpushed through
  such initiatives WPA, Wagner Act, Social
  Security Act, and Wealth Tax Act
• WPA Works Projects Administration promoted
  economic relief and reform tried to avoid works
  of private Industrypaved streets, built bridges,
  restored forests, employed artists and authors,
  musicians and dramatistsover 7yr period it
  employed 8.5 million people, but never at one
  time and many times the same people were hired
  again and againgood if you were lucky, but only
  about 1 million employed at any one given
  timeBlacks and women were almost always
  excluded. (beginning for the National Endowment
  of the Arts)

10

• The Wagner Actpreserved and strengthened section
  7 of the NIRA (NRA)
• This is the first time that the federal govt
  protected and even recognized Unionsit
  guaranteed workers the right to collectively
  bargainwhat it doesnt say, is it mandated that
  businesses regardless of size must bargainhurt
  small business

11

• Social Security Act
• This act created a cooperative federal-state
  system to provide unemployment compensation and
  Old-Age Insurance
• Workers would pay a special tax each pay period
  and when reaching 65 would receive a pension
• Employee and Employer contributions would cover
  the costfairly radical piece of
  legislationinitially did not include farm
  laborers, domestic workers, waitresses, service
  industries or healthcare workersmostly big
  business and Industry and manufacturing.

12

• The Wealth Tax Act
• A tax designed to affect only the top wealthiest
  in the country it also created a higher tax rate
  on business, capital gains, inheritances, large
  gifts, and any profits from Real Estate
• Trusts and Holding Companies also were faced with
  restrictions instead of promoting business and
  jobs it actually contrary to many historians
  views, hurt the private sectorand until the New
  Dealers were ousted in favor of true business
  people during the War effortthe economy
  struggled alongeventually falling back into a
  deep economic depression.

13
Roosevelt Coalition

• Significant because the Democrats broadened its
  constituency to include small farmers, urban
  political bosses, ethnic blue collar workers,
  Jews, and Intellectuals and for the very first
  time African Americans
• The party of Lincoln saw almost 95 of its base
  move to the democrat partylarge cities for the
  first time also became democratic bastions

14

• Regardless of the political paradigm shift, FDR
  mainly won a huge mandate for keeping America out
  of the European War that was threatening on the
  horizon.
• I have said this before, but I shall say it
  again and again and again. Your boys are not
  going to to be sent to any foreign war!

15

• America possessed mostly an isolationist
  attitude. Movies and Books of the day told of
  horrors of warlesson stay out of war at all
  costs
• Margaret Mitchells Gone With The Wind and
  Sergeant York were Pulitzers and academy award
  winners
• The Nye Committee after investigation into the
  munitions industry contended that greedy
  industrialists and munition manufacturers
  provoked and got America embroiled into WWI.

16

• War-mongering profiteers had popularized gruesome
  atrocities abut Germany convincing the U.S. to
  join in European entanglements
• The Senate Committee suggested that even in the
  late 1930s America should ignore the propaganda
  and hyperbole enticing America into another
  foreign war
• Surely the atrocities of Hitler, Mussolini or
  Hirohito could not be as bad as reported.

17

• To ensure Americas neutrality Congress backed by
  a isolationist population was to pass Neutrality
  Actsthe only foreign policy move of any
  significance before actually entering the war was
  recognizing the Soviet UnionFDR argued that open
  negotiations and recognition of the Soviet Union
  would open large doors of trade for the United
  States.
• FDR until the day he died, though he did finally
  understand not to trust Stalin, thought he could
  charm Old Uncle Joe!

18
Neutrality Acts

• Neutrality Act of 1935prohibited shipment of
  American munitions or weapons to any belligerent
  nationFDR opposed this legislation because it
  did not differentiate between good guy or bad
  guy
• Neutrality Act of 1936forbade Americans to loan
  financial support to any belligerent nation
  again without distinguishing between aggressor or
  victim

19

• The third Neutrality Act made the first two Acts
  permanent American citizens were forbade to
  travel on ocean-going vessels of warring
  nations(try to avoid the Lusitania) It did,
  however, allow FDR to draw up a list of items
  that could be sold to belligerent nationswheat,
  rice, food stuffs and medicineand then only on a
  Cash and Carry basis.
• Publicly FDR promised not to involve America in a
  foreign war
• Privately he admitted that entry into WWII was
  inevitable.

20
(No Transcript)
21

• A quick fall of France to Germany in the Fall of
  1940 shook the American Public America also
  realized that only England stood between
  democratic nations and Totalitarian tyranny.
• How did American involvement in WWII affect both
  political attitudes of liberals and
  conservatives?
• How did WWII affect the American economy, short
  term, long term?
• How did it affect the classes of society in
  America? Rural and Urban?

22

• World War II brought about a political,
  psychological, and economic shift to the right in
  America. Three questions troubled Americans
  during the war years
• 1) Big Government
• 2) The Economy
• 3) Communism abroad and at Home
• Also the New Deal had not aided much in the
  gender and race sectors of AmericaWWII changed
  that for a while at least.

23

• The war brought about the need for
  employmentmany others filled the military
  ranksopening the work force up to the jobless,
  Women and African Americans
• The New Deal did very little if anything for
  Women, African Americans or Latinosin fact it
  did very little for the Poor Whites.

24

• By the time of Pearl Harbor almost 10 million
  Americans remained unemployed by 1942,
  unemployment was almost unheard of.
• There actually were some labor shortages the
  most dominant gender was womenas most men were
  in the military
• Rosie the Riveter was a popular icon by
  1945women made up 36 of the nations work force.

25

• Still there were great sacrifices on the part of
  everyday Americans Keynesian Economist point to
  the war as how well deficit spending was for the
  economy
• Unfortunately working and destroying production
  doesnt make an economy healthyAmericans had to
  ration and do with out for the war effort.
• There were no true consumer goods for workers to
  buyvery little that wasnt earmarked for the war
  effortmany people invested 10 of their income
  into War Bondsmade sense, no real consumer
  market.

26

• War Bonds provided a much needed supply of
  capital for the war effortwonder why deficit
  spending wasnt enough?
• Celebrity auctions for Bondsunpatriotic not to
  buy them
• War influenced American fashionto conserve cloth
  material men forwent vests, elbow patches for
  jackets, and did away with cuffs.
• Womens skirts became shorter and narrowertwo
  piece bathing suitsconserve material.

27

• Americans also cut back on food stuffs and
  consumer goods
• Needed ration cards to get meat, sugar, gasoline,
  coffee, and sort of metal needs
• Americans were somewhat frustratedfirst time in
  years they had money and nothing to buy.

28

• American began to arise form the dolfrums of
  depression
• 1) Full employmentthough standard of living
  lagged due to rationing and war effort
• 2) Labor unions due to the NRA became more
  powerful and many people joined them
• 3) Farm incomes rose, while tenant farmers
  fellex-laborers took jobs in industry
• 4) economists claimed Keynesian economics was
  working, while Friedmanites claimed that supply
  side effects were more benficialas there wasnt
  much to buyand Americans were saving their money
  and investing it in the War Effort.

29

• Still, there were issues to look at
• 1) Liberals and Reformers gave priority to
  Military needs over social and economic reform
• though a thorn in the reformers side the high
  school dropout rate increased to over 3million as
  kids looked for war industry work they also
  ignored labor laws restricting women and
  children.
• Americans ignored the tribulations of the
  Japanese-Americansover 100,000 were interned in
  dismal filthy rudimentary campsafter re-election
  in 1944 FDR canceled the internment orders.

30

• 2) FDR had to abolish segments of the New Deal,
  he needed real business men to run the war effort
  not academics and theories winning was more
  important than reforming
• 3) Rise in the Federal deficitmilitary costs
  always rise the deficit, social expenditures
  plummeted Some Senators wanted to broaden the
  range of Social Security and to include national
  healthcare coveragethe costs of the war
  restricted much increase in these areas.

31

• 4) Though the war effort put many people back to
  work, it also displaced many of the
  poor(unskilled labor). 20 million Americans lived
  at subsistence levels and near starvationunskille
  d labor made on the average of 0.64 per
  hourSkilled labor made 7 or 8 per hour.
• 5) Changes in the composition of the federal
  bureaucracy. The war effort cut many social
  programsmany liberals who wanted to win the war
  but also fund enormous social programs became
  disillusioned and left the government. What many
  historians fail to acknowledge is that
  theoreticians cannot win the war and poverty at
  the same time. Businessmen understood how to
  organize, prioritize and mange the war effort
  properly.

32

• By 1944-1045, as the war effort became more
  efficient nd productive, many unskilled laborers
  refilled the ranks of the unemployedWar material
  is not a panacea for economic ills.
• 6) Increase in government employees.
  Expenditures in Washington rose from 9billion to
  98.4 billion. Again deficit spending even on a
  war footing did not succeed in the end.
• 7) Created a Military Industrial Complex. A
  systematic relationship between Military and Big
  Business. 250 million per day was spent on
  military contractshurt many small businesses.

33

• 8) Created a huge Corporate State competing with
  a large Welfare State organized labor became
  strong and industry became dominant.
• Agriculture population fell by 17 better
  weather, improved fertilizers, modrn technology
  and better efficiency methods displaced much
  manual unskilled labor many farms were
  conglomerated in large Agribusiness entities.
• 9) A more urban and technological society
  research and development expanded, science became
  very important to production etc and more than
  15 million people moved away from the farm to the
  industrial and manufacturing centers in America.

34

• The War changed America
• 1) America emerged as a leader in global
  economics and politicswe were not devastated
• 2) U.S. possessed the Atomic Bombthe most
  powerful nation in the world
• 3) Americans were ready for a rest and return to
  laissez faire capitalist economics
• Also FDR died ending an era of depression,
  recovery, relief and reform