THE NEW DEAL

AMERICA GETS BACK TO WORK

Learning Objectives:Section 3 - The New Deal

Affects Many Groups

• 1. Analyze the effects of the New Deal programs on women.2. Describe Roosevelt’s attitude toward African Americans.3. Identify the groups that formed the New Deal coalition.

NEW DEAL AFFECTS MANY GROUPS

• First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt helped women gain higher political positions during the New Deal

• Eleanor was influential in her role as advisor to the president

• Frances Perkins became America’s first female cabinet member (Labor)

Eleanor & Franklin

Women Make their Mark

• Frances Perkins, secretary of labor, is first female cabinet member

• FDR also appoints 2 women as diplomats, 1 as federal judge

• Women still face discrimination in workplace from male workers

• NRA sets some lower minimum wages for women• Federal work programs hire far fewer women than men• Only slight increase in overall % of women working for

wages

GR: Women• Appointees:

Frances Perkins

• PROBLEMS: Discrimination in the workplace; discriminatory wages & hiring practices

• GAINS: Women appointed to important federal positions; slight increase in the number of women working outside the home

AFRICAN AMERICANS DURING THE NEW DEAL

• The 1930s witnessed a growth of activism for black Americans

• A. Philip Randolph became head of the nation’s first all-black union – the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

• FDR appoints more than 100 African Americans to government- Mrs. Roosevelt plays key role

• Educator Mary McLeod Bethune heads Division of Negro Affairs of NYA

• Helps organize “Black Cabinet” of African-American advisers

• Daughters of American Revolution refuse Marian Anderson concert

• Mrs. Roosevelt resigns; arranges for Lincoln Memorial concert

African Americans Take Leadership Roles

The President Fails to Support Civil Rights

• FDR afraid of upsetting white Southern Democratic voters

• Refuses to approve antilynching law, end to poll tax• New Deal agencies discriminate against African

Americans• - pay them lower wages, favor whites• African Americans help organize Southern Tenant

Farmers Union• Generally support Roosevelt administration,

New Deal

AFRICAN AMERICANS GAIN POLITICAL POSITIONS

FDR appointed over 100 African Americans to positions within the government

• Mary McLeod Bethune headed the division of Negro Affairs of the NYA

• Despite these gains, FDR was never fully committed to Civil Rights Bethune

GR: African Americans• Appointees:

Mary McLead Bethume;

• William H. Haster;

• Robert C. Wagner

• PROBLEMS: Segregation; racial violence; racism; discrimination in all areas of life; poll taxes

• GAINS: increased political voice through greater access to the president; organizations created for tenant farmers

Mexican Americans Under FDR

• Mexican Americans generally support New Deal• Many come to U.S. in 1920s, settle mainly in

Southwest • - work on farms• CCC, WPA help some Mexican Americans• Disqualify migrant workers with no permanent

address

Arkansas Tenant Farmers,1936

Native Americans and the New Deal

• 1924, Native Americans receive full citizenship• John Collier, commissioner of Indian affairs, changes

policies• Indian Reorganization Act favors native autonomy,

mandates changes:- lands belong to entire tribe; government can’t sell unclaimed areas- children can attend schools on reservations- tribes elect tribal councils to govern reservations

NATIVE AMERICANS MAKE GAINS

• Native Americans made advances during the 1920s & 1930s

• Full citizenship granted in 1924

• The Reorganization Act of 1934 gave Natives more ownership of reservations

• Policy was moving away from assimilation towards autonomy

Current locations of Native American

reservations

IMPROVING LABOR RELATIONS

• In the Second New Deal FDR helped pass the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)

• This legislation protected workers, ensured collective bargaining, and preserved the right to unionizeThe NLRA was also called

the Wagner Act

• The New Deal Coalition

• • New Deal Coalition—different groups that support Democratic Party

CONGRESS PROTECTS WORKERS

• In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act which set maximum hours at 44 per week and minimum wage at 25 cents per hour

• Labor Unions Flourish

• Pro-labor legislation leads unions to donate money for FDR reelection

• 1933–1941, union membership grows from 3 million to over 10 million

• American Federation of Labor traditionally craft unions only

• Committee for Industrial Organization organizes industrial unions

• Expelled by AFL, becomes Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

GR: Labor Unions• Appointees:

Congress of Industrial Organization

• PROBLEMS: Strike violence; big business opposition to labor unions

• GAINS: Better working conditions; increased bargaining powder; dramatic increased in union membership

GR: Other Coalition Groups

• New Deal labor laws and work-relief programs aided many of them;

• Roosevelt made direct and persuasive appeals to them;

• Roosevelt appointed many officials of urban-immigrant backgrounds

FDR Wins in 1936

• Political organizations in large Northern cities support FDR

• Urban, religious, ethnic groups also support FDR

• - FDR appoints officials of urban-immigrant background

Chapter 15: Section 3 MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

• A – Why was the “Black Cabinet” important to the Roosevelt administration?– It gave FDR valuable advice on racial issues

and provided African Americans with a voice, for the first time at the highest levels of govt.

• B – Evaluate the actions and policies of the Roosevelt administration on civil rights.– FDR was not committed to full civil rights for African

Americans. – He did not support a federal antilynching law and an

end to poll taxes. – African Americans families benefited from work

relief, but some New Deal programs discriminated against African Americans/

• C – Why was life difficult for farm laborers during the Depression?– Farm laborers were essentially unprotected by

the state and federal laws.

• D – What changes occurred for Native Americans as a result of the New Deal?– The Indian reorganization Act turned Native

American lands over to individual tribes, and allowed children to attend schools on the reservations and tribes to elect tribal councils to govern their reservations.

• E – How did New Deal policies affect organized labor?– New Deal labor laws gave union’s greater

power to organize and negotiate with employers.

– As a result, unions grew in size and joined with other groups in New Deal coalition