1. Discovering the Legacy of
the New Deal
Roosevelt and the Liberal
Response to the Great Depression

2. Essential Questions
• What is the proper role of
government in people’s lives?
• How can economic excesses
contribute to hardship and instability
in America?
• Did the New Deal move America
closer or further from its founding
ideals?

3. State Standards
• 8.1.9.B Analyze and interpret historical sources.
• 8.1.9.C Analyze the fundamentals of historical
interpretation.
• 5.2.9.G Analyze political and civic participation in
government and society.
• 5.3.9.G Explain how the government protects individual
rights.
• 6.1.9.D Describe historical examples of
expansion, recession and depression in the United States.
• 6.1.9.H Analyze the economic roles of governments in
market economies.
• 6.3.9.A Describe ways to deal with scarcity.
• 6.4.9.E Analyze how Pennsylvania consumers and
producers participate in the global production and
consumption of goods or services.

4. What does
Roosevelt mean
by the
phrase, ―the only
thing we have to
fear is fear itself‖?
What problem in
the Depression
might he be trying
to address?

5. Set up your notebook
New Description of How Program How Program
Deal Program Affected Has Affected
Program Society During Contemporary
the Depression Society
Aid to
Elderly
Aid to
Farmers
Direct
Relief

6. The Hundred Days Video
Questions
• What was Roosevelt’s plan to deal with the Great Depression?
• Which of the following accomplishments did he achieve in his
first hundred days? (Circle the correct answer.)
– He ended the Great Depression.
– He put tens of thousands of people back to work.
– He took over the banking industry.
– He pledged to stop foreclosures.
– He provided relief for unemployment.
– He restored confidence in the banks.
– He reduced the tax rate of most Americans.
• What was the relationship between business and government
under the NRA? Which political ideology does that connect to?
• How many major bills were signed into law at the end of the
Hundred Days?
• Put it all together: Why might some people view F.D.R.’s First
Hundred Days as a success?

7. The Hundred Days

8. Directions
• 1. Examine the laminated visual.
• 2. Match the placard to the
laminated written information.
• 3. Summarize the information about
the New Deal program and its
influence on American society.
• 4. Get a new placard.
• 5. Repeat the process.

9. New Deal Programs
• Aid to the Elderly • Promotion of
• Aid to Farmers Workers’ Rights
• Direct Relief • Public Housing
• Insured Bank • Public Works
Deposits • Regulated Stock
• Investment in Market
Youth • Rural Electrification
• Jobs Programs • Support for the
Arts

10. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Aid to the Provided care The government In 2006,
Elderly for the elderly imposed a two American
through the percent Social workers and
Social Security Security tax on their employers
Act. (SSA) the wages paid a Social
Federal earned by U.S. Security tax of
government employees. about 15 % of
provide financial Social Security the worker’s
support for payments went earnings.
most retired in to effect in Maximum
workers who 1940 monthly
were over the payment to
age of 65. retirees was
just over
$2,000.

11. The Legacy of the New Deal
Did the New Deal move America
closer or further away from its
founding ideals?

12. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Aid to Farmers The The government Early 2000s, the
Agricultural subsidized— federal
Adjustment paid for— government
Act (AAA) farmers to plant continued to
aimed to adjust fewer crops and pay generous
farmers’ destroy a subsidies to
production of portion of their American
goods to match crops and farmers.
the country’s livestock.
declining ability
to purchase and
consume
those goods.

13. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Direct Relief The government States set up Today
attempted to food kitchens government
aid people in and food- continues to
desperate need distribution provide relief to
with the warehouses for needy families
Federal the hungry. through federal
Emergency Some families and state
Relief Act received small welfare
(FERA). It cash payments programs.
provided $500 for living Public
million in expenses. It assistance
federal grants to converted programs
state and local farmers’ include monthly
agencies. surpluses into payments to
food for the family, free and
needy. low-cost health
care and food
stamps.

14. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Insured Bank Federal The agency In the early
Deposits Deposit regularly 2000s, the FDIC
Insurance monitored continued to
Corporation banks in order operate,
(FDIC) protects to ensure that insuring
bank depositors’ their practices depositors’
money were both money up to
if their banks profitable and $250,000.
failed. The fair. It
mission of the guaranteed that
FDIC was ―to people who
maintain made deposits
stability and in federally
public approved banks
confidence in would not lose
the nation’s all their money
banking if their banks
system.‖ closed.

15. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Jobs Programs The New Deal These programs Government
established employed created jobs
various jobs about 15 million continued in
programs people and some form until
including the spent nearly the 1970s. In
Civilian $14 billion in the 1980s and
Conservation federal funds. 90s most of the
Corps (CCC), Most work-relief jobs were
the Civil Works jobs were in eliminated and
Administration construction by the 2000s
(CWA), and and creating were replaced
the Works goods for the with state-run
Progress needy. It also programs.
Administration included
(WPA). professionals for
public
assistance
projects.

16. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Regulated Stock Securities and All stock-issuing The SEC’s
Market Exchange companies were functions have
Commission required to remained
(SEC) regulated register with the virtually
the stock by government and unchanged
passing a series reveal, the state since the New
of laws. It is of certain Deal. It
also charged information. continues to
with enforcing Companies also regulate the
these laws. needed to stock market as
submit regular well as
financial reports investigate
and fully unethical
disclose all conduct by
stock stockholders
transactions. It and investors.
limits the
amount of credit
banks could
lend for the
purchase of
stock.

17. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Rural Tennessee It prevented The TVA
Electrification Valley flooding, continues to
Authority stimulated crop operate as a
(TVA) radically growth, large and cheap
transformed the preserved supplier of
lives of southern natural electrical power.
rural families. resources and Dams
It implemented educated constructed
a far-reaching farmers. It also then also
plan to bring brought electric continue to
electrical power to hundreds of provide power
and economic thousands of and water to
recovery to rural southern regions that
impoverished homes. I t would be
farmers along caused private sparsely
the Tennessee utility populated.
River. companies to
lower their rates
to compete with
government
electric.

18. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Investment in The government The NYA paid In the early
Youth established the young men and 2000s, the
National women $6 to government
Youth $25 per month continued to
Administration to perform a support a
(NYA) to variety of jobs. variety of
oversee work It also provided programs
programs and work-study dedicated to
educational assistance, providing youth
grants for men which offered with a solid
and women students future.
ages 16 to 25. financial aid and
part-time jobs.
It helped 2
million students
pay for college
or stay in high
school.

19. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Promotion of The federal Labor unions The federal
Workers’ Rights government increased in size labor board
established its and strength. continues to
first national Membership operate as the
labor policy with jumped from Department of
the National 3.2 million to Labor. It
Labor Relations 10.5 million in enforces labor
Act (Wagner 1941. Workers laws and
Act). It declared strikes doubled investigates and
that workers had within to years prosecutes
the right to of the act going violators.
organize. Labor into effect. Membership in
unions and elect unions is in
representation to decline recently.
fight for their
interests. A
federal labor
board was
established to
enforce labor
laws and monitor
businesses.

20. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Public Housing Public Works The new public A federal
Administration housing had agency devoted
(PWA) had many healthy to community
workers advantages over and housing
demolish slums the other slums. development
and build low- It renovated still exists under
rent housing. and built farm the Department
In its first few housing and of Housing and
years, the PWA camps for Urban
built almost migrant workers Development.
21,700 and other It provides
dwellings in 37 homeless job funds for low-
communities. seekers. income housing
projects and
financial help to
private
homebuilders.

21. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Public Works Public Works The agency The agency
Administration spent about $4 started to be
(PWA) created billion on dissolved in
government- thousands of 1939 and has
funded building never been
construction projects. It revived. Today
jobs to provide generated the government
unemployed almost 5 billion still provides
Americans, hours’ worth of funds for a
encourage work for men. variety of
industrial It built a variety projects.
growth, and of structures
improve the across the
landscape. country.

22. Program Description Affects Then Affect Now
Support for the Federal Art It employed These programs
Arts Project funded more than are now
projects in fine 40,000 continued
art, music, professionals. N through the
literature, and Their work was National
theater. brought to Endowment for
millions of the Arts (NEA).
Americans. The The NEA
projects provides grants
celebrated to a variety of
American life or artists. It also
praised aspects funds art
of the New organizations
Deal. and activities.

23. Criticism of FDR 2:05
• Why did the Right
criticize Roosevelt?
• Why did the left
criticize Roosevelt?
• Name some of the
details from the
plans of his critics
on the Left.

24. Wrap Up
• 1. You group will share your answers to
one New Deal program with the class.
• 2. Decide where your program belongs on
the spectrum to the degree to which New
Deal programs affected American society.
• 3. We will look at the New Deal program
based on three spectrums.
– Most positive effect on Life in the 1930s
– Greatest Impact on Life Today.
– Programs the federal government should not be
involved in.