Chapter 14: The New Deal

Chapter 14 examines the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and how his New Deal programs tried to pull a despairing nation out of the Great Depression.

Section 1 introduces President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his approach to the problems of the Depression era. By demonstrating confidence and promising a New Deal, Roosevelt won the presidential election of 1932. Roosevelt's first three months in office, called the Hundred Days, were marked by a flurry of legislative and policy actions designed to address the issues of relief, reform, and recovery. Although some programs were controversial, the New Deal distributed millions of dollars in federal aid and created jobs for millions of unemployed workers. The friendly informality of Roosevelt's White House made Americans feel personally connected to the president and his wife.

Section 2 discusses why recovery under the New Plan was incomplete and describes Roosevelt's Second New Deal. Objections to Roosevelt's New Deal came from tenant farmers, labor unions, radicals, and conservatives who either felt that the government wasn't doing enough or that it was interfering too much. Roosevelt restructured his policies and introduced the Second New Deal. These new relief programs were designed to keep people working and to offer benefits to those who could not work. By the election of 1936, Americans' faith in Roosevelt had been restored. After his reelection, Roosevelt continued to garner support for his New Deal policies even after the Supreme Court overturned key legislation.

Section 3 examines how the New Deal's reforms addressed the needs of women, African Americans, and Native Americans. The attitudes and actions of the First Lady influenced how the president and the government viewed women and African Americans. More than any other previous administration, the Roosevelt administration offered women and African Americans political recognition. While Roosevelt did not take a strong stand on civil rights, New Deal programs worked to end some discriminatory practices against African Americans and provided some relief to Native Americans. The federal government's influence expanded under Roosevelt, and for the first time it acknowledged responsibility for the economic welfare of the country and its individual citizens.