The New Deal, 1933 (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
How Revolutionary was the New Deal? - Summary
Roosevelt’s New Deal marked a significant shift in the role of the federal government. Under Roosevelt, the government took responsibility for addressing economic and social challenges.
One of the key aspects of the New Deal was its focus on providing direct relief to those most affected by the Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) created millions of jobs for unemployed Americans. This helped to improve living standards for many people and supported the recovery of the economy.
The New Deal had a significant impact on American society. It reshaped the relationship between the government and its citizens. The US government took on a more active role in supporting US citizens and regulating the economy.
The New Deal did face some criticism and did not fully help the USA recover from the Great Depression. However, the New Deal transformed the way the government approached economic policy. It became an example to future US governments and led to the development of the modern USA.
Aims of the New Deal
Roosevelt had three key aims for the New Deal:
Relief
Providing food for people in need
Implement policies that stop people from losing their homes
Recovery
Boost the economy so that there were jobs for the unemployed
Rebuilding trade and industry
Reform
Create a welfare state in the USA
Ensure that people had access to government help for unemployment, sickness, disability and old age
Exam Tip
Your GCSE History exam requires you to remember a large amount of information. Try to create revision techniques to help you memorise this information. For example, for the three aims of the New Deal, abbreviate them to the 3Rs.
The Hundred Days
US Presidents are now often judged on their first hundred days in office
This is regarded as enough time for a president to implement changes
People use it to indicate how successful the presidency will be
This was the result of Roosevelt’s first ‘Hundred Days’ in which he achieved many things
Roosevelt’s Achievements in the ‘Hundred Days’
Issue | Action | Success or failure? | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
The banking crisis | The Emergency Banking Act (1933) | Success | Roosevelt closed all banks for four days for their accounts to be inspected. People had more confidence in the banking system and reopened accounts with them. This increased the money that banks had available to lend to businesses, especially as the government backed their loans |
The Prohibition | The Beer and Wine Revenue Act (1933) | Success | Many people openly broke Prohibition. It had become acceptable for people to ignore the government. This act ended the acceptability of breaking US laws. The government also earned revenue from taxing alcohol |
High government spending | The Economy Act (1933) | Both | Roosevelt cut the wages of all government employees by 15%. This negatively impacted this group of people. However, Roosevelt also took a pay cut. This action freed up $1 billion to help the unemployed |
A lack of communication between the people and the President | Fireside chats | Success | Roosevelt broadcast his policies on the radio. He spoke to the USA every Sunday. Over 60 million US citizens listened to his fireside chats. This was a revolutionary idea |
Exam Tip
Franklin D. Roosevelt is also known as FDR. Either version is acceptable in your exam answers. Whilst there are many abbreviations in this course, it may help in your exam answers to shorten Roosevelt’s name. When writing an answer, write “Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)” once. This will allow you to write “FDR” throughout the rest of your answer.
The Alphabet Agencies
Roosevelt did not have a clear plan at the beginning of his presidency on how to fix the Great Depression
Roosevelt assembled a group of talented people to advise him
This group was called the Brain Trust
Roosevelt’s government and advisors created the Alphabet Agencies
Each organisation was known by their abbreviations
Examples of the Alphabet Agencies
Alphabet Agency | Who did it aim to help? | Responsibilities | Impacts & reactions |
|---|---|---|---|
Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) | Farmers | Stop overproduction by paying farmers to produce less | Farmers’ revenue doubled between 1933 to 1939. Some farmers destroyed produce. People criticised this as the food could have been given to the poor |
Increase food prices and farmers’ profits | |||
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) | Unemployed | $500 million to create jobs for the poor for example, setting up soup kitchens | From 1933 to 1935, FERA distributed over $3.1 billion. It provided work for over 20 million people |
Civil Work Administration (CWA) | Unemployed | Create four million short-term jobs for unskilled workers before the winter of 1933 | Created pointless jobs known as boondoggles. These included hiring 100 people in Washington to scare pigeons away with balloons. This only lasted one winter. These 4 million people then became unemployed again |
Public Works Administration (PWA) | Unemployed | Attract skilled workers to build schools, hospitals, dams, aircraft carriers and airports | It helped the USA to recover by improving its infrastructure. This act was not useful for the millions of unskilled workers |
Create four million long-term jobs | |||
National Recovery Administration (NRA) | Employers and workers | Establish fair prices, working conditions and a minimum wage | The US government encouraged people to purchase ‘Blue Eagle’ products. By 1933, over two million employers worked with the NRA. 22 million workers benefitted from the scheme |
Ban child labour and sweatshops | |||
Businesses that met these promises could use the ‘Blue Eagle’ on their products | |||
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) | Youth | Provide temporary work to single, unemployed men aged 18 to 25 | By 1938, over two million men had served in the CCC. Each member received free food, shelter and clothing. Men learnt skills that could be transferred to other jobs. Each project only lasted 6 months. They were only paid $1 a week |
Give the men jobs such as clearing land, planting trees and making reservoirs | |||
Home Owners Loans Cooperation (HOLC) | Homeowners | Help people meet their mortgage repayments | 800,000 people repaid their HOLC loans. HOLC was not available to farmers or houses worth over $20,000 |
Lend homeowners money at lower interest rates | |||
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) | Those living in the Tennessee Valley. The area covered seven different states | Build dams to prevent the Tennessee River from flooding. This destroyed farms and caused soil erosion | The TVA built 16 hydroelectric dams by 1944. By 1940, these were the USA’s biggest source of electricity. By 1950, 93% of farmers had an electricity supply. The TVA prevented soil erosion and flooding. This improved farming in the Tennessee Valley. Car makers, paper mills and steel makers built factories in the Tennessee Valley. African-Americans could not own a TVA model farm |
Provide cheap electricity. Only 3% of farms had electricity | |||
To create new jobs. Half of the population relied on charity |
Exam Tip
Students often find it challenging to remember the number of alphabet agencies and what each one provided to people in the 1930s and 1940s. As a revision technique, you could create a character living in the USA during the Great Depression. Draw or write how each agency helped your character to improve their lives. Creating a story or adding images (dual coding) will help you better remember the role of each agency.
Worked Example
In what ways were the lives of American people affected by the New Deal?
[8 marks]
Partial answer
The lives of American people were affected by the New Deal because it improved work opportunities for the young (1). One of Roosevelt’s alphabet agencies was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) The CCC temporary work to single, unemployed men aged 18 to 25 (1). This improved people’s lives because, by 1938, it gave two million young men skills that could be transferred to other jobs. This improved their chances of getting employment and providing for themselves and their families. This also helped to reduce the number of unemployed among the young who could make valuable contributions to society (1). As a result, the New Deal targeted key groups like young men and provided them with opportunities to improve their lives (1).
Exam Tip
In this style of question, you should aim to have two or three well-explained paragraphs about how the New Deal impacted people’s lives. You should try and focus your paragraphs on different groups of people living in the USA in the 1930s. For example, your second paragraph could focus on the experience of the people living in the Tennessee Valley.
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