Special Sub-Topic: Are You Familiar with the New Deal? Click Here To Play: Are You Familiar with the New Deal?

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the "mind" behind the New Deal, won the presidential election in 1932 against which president (who had governed between 1929 and 1933)?

Herbert Hoover. In the 1932 election was a veritable landslide victory for Roosevelt. He in fact won the election with about seven million more votes than Hoover. This was the biggest victory recorded in an American presidential election up to that time.

Franklin D. Roosevelt belonged to which political party?

Democrats. As a democrat, FDR believed that government should have taken an active role and interfered in people's lives to prevent the rich benefiting at the expense of the poor. Up to that moment, Hoover had governed under Republican ideas (the "Rugged Individualism" belief), and by not interfering in a moment of crisis such as the Great Depression, he became more and more unpopular among the people. This is one of the reasons why Roosevelt won the elections.

This was one of Roosevelt's first promises to the American people?

"Action, and action now.". "Prosperity is just around the corner" was said by Hoover, poor little man, who didn't believe that the Depression would last long, so he did nothing to help the people, who were suffering. One of the banners carried in a demonstration read: "In Hoover we trusted, and now we are busted!".

Roosevelt was indeed a smart man, but he didn't come up with the programme for the New Deal all by himself. He worked with a panel of experts. What was it called?

the Brain Trust. Since conditions in the U.S. were terrible, Roosevelt asked for extra powers in order to act quickly. The Congress organised a special session which lasted for 100 days (8 March - 16 June 1933) and gave Roosevelt the same authority as if the country was being invaded.

The New Deal program had three main aims, which were what?

Relief, Recovery, Reform. "Relief" was aimed at relieving extreme poverty (i.e. feeding the hungry and clothing the poor). "Recovery" meant getting U.S. industry going again. "Reform" concerned making the USA a better place for ordinary people to live in.

Roosevelt, first of all, closed all the banks for a ten-day holiday. He wanted to rescue the banks.

t. After 1930 the banking system was on the verge of collapse ... Roosevelt announced the "bank holiday" and only the banks which were honest and well run were allowed to reopen. Different internet sources give different lengths for the closure.

In 1933 Roosevelt set up the first of a series of government agencies, which were the means of his New Deal, designed to give the American people support. Since their names were often not very short, they quickly became know as ...?

Alphabet Agencies. Roosevelt was prepared to provide a huge amount of money to finance these agencies ...!

In 1933 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established as a temporary emergency measure. In 1935 it was in effect replaced by a much larger program, which lasted till into the World War II. What was this latter program called?

Works Progress Administration . Between 1935 and 1942 nearly 3,000,000 men took part in schemes run by the Works Progress Administration. Women were not allowed to participate.

The CCC gave the young men working in its camps a wage of $2 per day.

f. The men earned $1 per day, and at the end of the month they had to send $25 home to help their families.

What was the purpose of the agency named HOLC?

It loaned money to people who risked losing their homes. HOLC stands for Home Owners' Loan Corporation.

What is the name of the agency which was set up to develop the Tennessee Valley, a really poverty-stricken area?

TVA & Tennessee Valley Authority. The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) was Roosevelt's pride, because it created thousands of jobs and made the Tennessee Valley prosper both environmentally (through soil conservation) and economically.

The Wagner Act of 1935 gave more power to what?

Trade unions. The Wagner Act was introduced by Senator Robert Wagner to prevent employers from sacking workers who were union members.

The Civilian Works Administration (CWA) created as many jobs as possible. Many of them were really useless, and were called "boondoggles". Which of these is an example of a "boondoggle"?

researching the history of the safety pin. Another "boondoggle" consisted of frightening pigeons from public buildings.

What was the symbol of the NRA, the National Recovery Administration, which helped industries to flourish again?

the Blue Eagle. The NRA gave workers shorter working hours and better working conditions in the factories.

Not all of the USA saw the New Deal as a positive influence and method to get the country out of the Great Depression. Some extremely influential characters in American society did not support the New Deal. Who were they?

All of these (The Republicans, The Big Businessmen, The Rich). The Republicans thought the New Deal was interfering too much in people's lives and that the project was costing too much. The businessmen saw their projects being taken away by agencies such as the TVA or the WPA, so they lost important contracts and money. The rich resented having to pay higher taxes to pay for the work of the New Deal agencies.