The New Deal was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression and included several programs designed to provide relief, reform, and recovery. Immediately after taking office, FDR promised drastic action and used radio addresses to build public confidence. His "Bank Holiday" closed banks temporarily to restore confidence and Congress passed laws to reopen banks. New Deal programs included paying farmers not to farm, establishing industry codes and wages, and regional planning to develop infrastructure. The New Deal significantly expanded the role and authority of the federal government and established important programs and agencies still in use today like Social Security. It funded massive construction projects across the country through agencies like the WPA and CCC.

1. The New Deal
EQ: What was the New Deal, and
how did it help Americans suffering
from the Great Depression?

2. Championing the New Deal
• Immediately after
taking office, promises
to take drastic action to
combat the situation
• First president to make
regular use of the radio
• Builds public
confidence in the
administration
deliberately

3. “Bank Holiday”
• Two days after taking office, FDR issues a
proclamation closing American banks for 4 days.
– Urges Calm among Americans
– Congress creates the Emergency Banking Act
– ¾ of the banks in the Federal Reserve system reopen
within 3 days and $1 Billion in hoarded currency
returns to banks

4. Overview of New Deal Programs
• Agriculture
– Pay farmers not to farm
– Brief legal troubles, but loopholes written
• Industrial Recovery
– Attempts to ensure fair employment and wages
– Run by poorly-written codes
• Regional Planning
– Deliberate attempts to develop areas where
infrastructure was poor

5. Critics of the New Deal
• Many felt that Roosevelt’s
actions were stretching the
authority of the government too
far (creating Big Government)
• Dr. Francis E. Townsend develops
plan for federal pensions for the
elderly as an alternative.
• Huey P. Long, Louisiana senator

6. Legacies of the New Deal
• Government authority is
expanded, sets a new
precedent for what the
government can and can not
do.
• Social Security is established
• Creation of the “Broker
State”
– Federal government as the
middle man between interest
groups and broad
action/consumers
• Raises questions about who
should get relief

7. Timberline Lodge
• 1932-1938, local timbers and stone
• National Historic Landmark
• Was a set for the film The Shining
• WPA & CCC project

8. LaGuardia Airport
• Major New Jersey Airport
• Was one of the most modern airports when it
opened
• 23 million passengers a year
• Funding from WPA

9. Lincoln Tunnel
• Tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan
• First tunnel of this size completed without a
fatality.
• 42 million cars through the tunnel every year
• 1.5 miles, $85 million in PWA funding

10. Overseas Highway
• Connects Miami to Key West
• 127.5 miles long
• Opened in 1938
• Follows an old railroad track built in 1912

11. Great Smokey Mountains National
Park
• Most visited national
part in America
• 10 million visitors per
year (Grand Canyon
gets 5 million)
• 814 square miles of
wilderness in North
Carolina and Tennessee
• WPA & CCC

12. Grand Coulee/Hoover Dam
• Grand Coulee Dam
– Pet project of FDR
– Eastern Washington – turn land to farmland
– $63 million in PWA funding
– One of the largest concrete structures in the world (550
feet high, almost a mile in length)
• Hoover Dam
– Originally the Boulder Dam
– $165 million, 5 years to build
– 20,000 workers employed during construction
– 726 feet tall and 660 feet wide at the base
– Electricity and irrigation Arizona, Nevada, and SoCal

14. Pacific Northwest Projects
• Silver Falls State Park
• Salem State Capitol
• Bonneville Dam