Follow Along & Stay Connected

Stay connected with Dr. G and the podcast community:

📘 Facebook

📸 Instagram: @star_spangled_studies

Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share Star-Spangled Studies with fellow history lovers!

Hello y'all.

2

It's me.

3

It's me.

4

It's Dr.

5

G.

6

And welcome back to Star Spangled Studies.

7

In our last episode, we checked out

8

twenties, the decade of innovation

and prosperity, but also a decade that

9

seethed with a lot of underlying tension.

10

An era that would in spectacular

fashion crash deeply in giving us the

11

biggest economic despair in American

history, the Great depression,

12

and the bold and controversial and

transformative response of the New Deal.

13

So let's go.

14

The dawn of the 1920s found the

United States in a peculiar state.

15

The nation was emerging from the shadow

of the Great war, A conflict that our

16

textbook in chapter 22 highlighted,

and it left it grappling with the

17

quote, the shock of World War I,

the explosion of racial violence and

18

political repression in 1919, and.

19

Bolstered by the Bolshevik

Revolution in Russia, a red

20

scare compounding this unease.

21

The devastating influenza pandemic

22

700,000 Americans leaving an

indelible mark of loss and anxiety.

23

Waves of labor strikes in even

anarchist bomb plots further unsettled

24

the populace yearning for stability.

25

This Desire for calm was a direct

response to decades of profound upheaval.

26

The unfulfilled promises of reconstruction

and the Gilded Age cast a long shadow,

27

particularly in southern states where

economic vulnerability and entrenched

28

racial hierarchies persistent.

29

The failure to secure lasting

equality for African Americans

30

during that period directly shaped

31

And this subsequent New Deal era with what

our textbook noted that many Americans

32

quote, revived with millions of new

members, the Ku Klux Klan end quote.

33

Simultaneously, the gilded ages rapid

industrialization had birthed immense

34

fortunes, but also stark in inequalities.

35

Teaming urban centers grappling

with new social problems and fierce

36

conflicts between capital and labor.

37

These preexisting fault

lines, racial injustice.

38

Economic disparity and social tensions

were the very ground upon which the

39

glittering prosperity of the 1920s was

constructed, and ultimately the ground

40

that would give way to its collapse.

41

If you recall the administrations of

Warren g Harding and his successor,

42

Calvin Coolidge firmly steered the

nation towards a pro-business agenda.

43

Coolidge famously declared, quote,

the chief business of the American

44

people is business End quote.

45

This wasn't merely an

endorsement of commerce.

46

It was a guiding philosophy that

championed minimal government and

47

intervention and prioritized economic

growth above nearly all else.

48

Politics, like significant tax cuts

often refer to as the Mellon plan, aim

49

to reduce the burden on corporations and

the wealthy, with the belief that this

50

would stimulate investment and prosperity.

51

High protective tariffs were enacted

to shield American industries from

52

foreign competition and a general

trend towards deregulation took hold.

53

This era witnessed the

blossoming of the mass consumer

54

culture we talked about last.

55

Episode a phenomenon intrinsically

linked to the industrial capacity.

56

Built in the preceding decades, new

technologies flooded the market,

57

automobiles, radios, as well as a host

of household appliances promising to

58

transform American life as one farm

wife succinctly put it, when asked

59

why her family bought a car before.

60

Indoor plumbing, like

I said, last episode.

61

Why you can't go to town in a bathtub.

62

The automobile in particular

became the symbol of freedom and

63

aspiration and fueling all of

this was the advertising industry.

64

Ads created the first we need to have

this now and we cannot wait, sort of

65

mentality in the consumer culture and

crucially then this became a consumer's

66

paradise, but it was accessed then

through expansion of consumer credit.

67

If you need to have it now

and you don't have the money.

68

You gotta pay with credit.

69

The buy now pay later became

70

As I had mentioned last episode, a

staggering 75% of cars were purchased on

71

credit, as well as a similar percentage

of radios and furniture followed suit.

72

This.

73

Coolidge prosperity, as it was known,

was for many a tangible reality in

74

rising wages as well as accessible goods.

75

Yet this prosperity, while

dazzling on the surface, concealed

76

growing economic vulnerabilities.

77

The heavy reliance on consumer credit and

installment plans created a prosperity

78

that was built on debt, making the

economy exceptionally sensitive to

79

any shocks in consumer confidence.

80

Or credit availability.

81

While wages did rise for some,

they often didn't keep pace with

82

the desire for new goods, further

fueling the need for more credit.

83

I.

84

Thanks advertisers.

85

Simultaneously, the pro-business

environment and the strategies like

86

welfare, capitalism, where companies

offered benefits to discourage

87

unionization, like we saw with Ford, led

to a decline in the power of labor unions.

88

This suppression of organized

labor may have kept wedge wages

89

from rising more broadly, thus

increasing the dependence on credit.

90

To participate in the consumer boom.

91

The keeping up with the Joneses

became harder and harder.

92

Therefore, the glittering prosperity

of the roaring twenties was built

93

off somewhat precarious foundation,

widespread debt and the unequal

94

distribution of its benefits, leaving

the economy highly susceptible to a

95

downturn, and boy did a downturn show up.

96

The very industrial production

capacity honed in the Gilded Age now

97

churned out goods at an incredibly.

98

Debt leverage population and was

urged to consume through advertising,

99

but they had to do so without the

broad based purchasing power or the

100

robust safety nets to sustain this

model through a significant crisis.

101

The roaring twenties with all its

exuberance and excesses came to a

102

screeching halt on October 29th, 1929,

a day forever, seared in American memory

103

as Black Tuesday, the stock market, which

had climbed two dizzying heights, fueled

104

by rampant speculation and easy credit.

105

Collapsed as our textbook vividly

describes quote, stock values evaporated.

106

Shares of US Steel

dropped from $262 to $22.

107

General motor stock fell from $73 a share

to $8 four fifths of John d Rockefeller's

108

Fortune the greatest in American history.

109

Vanished end quote.

110

But the crash itself was more

a symptom than the sole cause

111

of the Great Depression.

112

Several underlying weaknesses had been

developing throughout the twenties.

113

As we had talked about wealth inequality.

114

It was stark.

115

While per capita income rose,

the wealthiest 1% saw their

116

income skyrocket by 75%.

117

Benefiting from the conservative tax

policies and easy credit, that channel

118

money into speculative investments.

119

Rather than a broader economic

foundations domestic demand for durable

120

goods like automobiles and radios,

which had fueled much of the decades,

121

growth was beginning to saturate.

122

By the late 1920s, you really

only needed one radio, and at this

123

time, most people only had one car.

124

When these products failed to

sell, continuously growing upwards,

125

inventories piled up, leading to

production, cutoffs and layoffs.

126

In factories further shrinking

consumer purchasing power.

127

This all happened before the crash.

128

The agricultural sector had actually

been in a state of depression for much

129

of the 1920s, not getting into the

boom, as the urban areas tended to

130

post-war recovery in Europe, reduced

demand for American farm products and

131

domestic overproduction coupled with

widespread soil exhaustion led to falling

132

prices and mounting farm foreclosures.

133

This rural collapse acted as a

significant drag on the national economy.

134

Through the 1920s, you can think of

it this way, a kind of canary in the

135

coal mine, and it largely went unheated

by policy makers who were mesmerized

136

by industry and financial growth.

137

The agricultural crisis was a long

standing, unaddressed problem that

138

significantly amplify the impact of the

financial crash when it finally came.

139

Internationally.

140

President Herbert Hoover signed the

141

to protect American industries, and

it backfired spectacularly Other

142

nations retaliated with their own

tariffs causing international trade.

143

To plummet from 36 billion in 1929

144

This economic nationalism of

tariff battles choked the global

145

market at a time when they were

most needed to be cooperating.

146

Finally, the human element of

the panic played a critical role

147

as fear of a depression spread.

148

People rushed to withdraw

their money from banks.

149

The Federal Reserve in an attempt to

curb speculation, had raised interest

150

rates and tighten credit, which

inadvertently put more pressure on

151

banks that were already struggling.

152

Bank runs became common, and

th thousands of banks failed.

153

The banks went bankrupt and it

wiped out the savings of millions.

154

If the bank is bankrupt and can't give

you your money, you don't have any money.

155

In 1930 alone, 1,352

banks closed their doors.

156

By 1932, that number had

157

This cascade of failures demonstrated

the profound fragility of a

158

financial system built on speculation

and insufficient regulation.

159

The devastating consequences of

policies intended to be protectionists.

160

In an increasingly

interconnected global economy,

161

as the nation spiraled into

economic despair, president Herbert

162

Hoover found himself at the helm.

163

His philosophy was deeply rooted in

what he termed American individualism.

164

And a belief in volunteerism.

165

And this shaped his administration's

response to the greatest

166

depression we had ever seen.

167

In a 1932 speech, as the crisis

deepened and the presidential election,

168

loomed Hoover warned against the

proposals of his opponent, Franklin

169

d Roosevelt stating quote, I.

170

This campaign is more than

a contest between two men.

171

It is a contest between two

philosophies of government.

172

Opponents are proposing changes

in so-called new deals, which

173

would destroy the very foundations

of our American system.

174

End quote.

175

This captures his ideological

resistance to the kind of large

176

scale federal intervention that

many were beginning to demand as

177

the depression continued to worsen.

178

Initially, Hoover relied on appeals

to private charity and urged

179

local and state governments to

take the lead in relief efforts.

180

He established one of the most tone

deaf presidential organization names

181

the president's organization of UN

on Unemployment Relief, POUR, poor.

182

Most people are poor, POOR.

183

Terrible job.

184

But he established this to coordinate

these voluntary efforts, but private

185

charities were quickly overwhelmed

by the sheer scale of the suffering.

186

Even as bankers and businessmen urged

more direct federal action, Hoover

187

remained hesitant, famously stating in

188

of a world economic depression End quote.

189

His administration did

eventually take some steps.

190

The Reconstruction Finance

Corporation, the RFC, which was

191

created in 1932, was authorized to

provide emergency loans to banks and

192

railroads and other large businesses.

193

While this represented a significant

use of direct government aid, it

194

was criticized by figures like.

195

Congressman Fiorello LaGuardia as a quote,

millionaire's dole because it appeared to

196

prioritize financial institutions giving

them money, bailing them out instead

197

of the direct needs of the millions

of struggling citizens in the country.

198

Some public projects like the Hoover

Dam, though its primary purpose,

199

wasn't initially depression relief.

200

It became a symbol of such efforts, and

it was also undertaken under Hoovers.

201

Presidency.

202

Hoover's responses, however, were

fundamentally constrained by his

203

deep-seated belief in limited

government and individual self-reliance.

204

These ideals traditionally celebrated

in America, proved tragically inadequate

205

for the unprecedented systemic crisis

of the Great depression itself.

206

Americans.

207

Weren't having any of it.

208

His associational, a concept he championed

as Secretary of Commerce, which encouraged

209

voluntary cooperation between government

and business, lacked the coercive power

210

needed to combat the economic free fall.

211

Hoover's presidency, thus became a

poignant illustration of the clash

212

between cherished American ideals

and the harsh new realities of a

213

modern industrial economy in crisis

revealing the profound limitation.

214

Of those older ideals.

215

The Great Depression was not

an abstract economic event.

216

It was a period of profound

human suffering that reshaped the

217

lives of millions of Americans.

218

Unemployment skyrocketed,

reaching nearly 25%.

219

By 1933, higher among African

Americans was closer to 50%

220

unemployed, and many more people were.

221

Underemployed poverty became a grim

reality for vast swaths of the population.

222

Shanty towns mushroomed, and they

were derisively called Hoovervilles,

223

and they sprang up on the outskirts

of cities and in public parks.

224

They were makeshift shelters for

the homeless and the destitute.

225

Added to all of this was the

environmental catastrophe of the

226

dust pole in the Great Plains, which

compounded this economic misery, years

227

of unsustainable farming practices.

228

Encouraged by the earlier push of westward

expansion and agricultural mechanization

229

combined with a severe drought turned

fertile farmlands into a barren wasteland.

230

Dust storms choked the sky and

they buried homes in black clouds.

231

Anne-Marie Lowe in her dust bowl diary

captures the desolation quote, life

232

in what the newspapers call the dust

bowl is becoming a gritty nightmare.

233

End quote.

234

Lawrence Fida, a Kansas farmer

chronicled his own desperate

235

struggle against the elements.

236

Quote, fighting in the frontline

trenches, putting in crop after crop

237

year after year, only to see each crop

in turn destroyed by the elements.

238

This crisis was in many ways,

a manmade disaster amplified by

239

nature, revealing the ecological and

social vulnerabilities created by

240

unchecked agricultural expansion.

241

This dual crisis of economic

depression and ecological devastation

242

spurred a massive wave of migration.

243

Families often referred to as oakies,

even though they came from states

244

beyond Oklahoma and included places

like Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas,

245

they had lost their farms and they

headed west primarily to California

246

in search of work in a new life.

247

Their journey was immortalized in John

248

wr, and it became a powerful symbol

of the depression's human cost and

249

the shattering of the American dream.

250

For many Steinbeck had this

to say about his effort.

251

Quote, I've done my damnest to

rip the reader's nerves to rags.

252

And indeed the novel provoked intense

contemporary reactions, both praise

253

for its empathy and condemnation for

its stark betrayal of the suffering.

254

The poem, I'd Rather Not Be on

Relief by Lester Hunter himself.

255

A Dust Bowl migrant gives voice to the

pride and desperation of these displaced

256

workers, and he wrote this quote, we have

to live in lean tos or else we live in a

257

tent for when we buy our bread and beans.

258

There's nothing left for rent.

259

End quote.

260

Yet, despite such hardship,

hunter's poem also reflects a

261

strong sense for self-sufficiency.

262

Quote.

263

I'd rather not be on the rolls

of relief or work on the WPA.

264

We'd rather work for the farmer if the

farmer could raise the pay end quote.

265

Bertha McCall of the National Traveler's

Aid Association testified before

266

Congress in 1940 about these moving

people, as she called them, noting that.

267

Contrary to popular belief, they were

not simply quote bums and hobos, but

268

often quote, enterprising and energetic

individuals and families who had

269

been displaced by economic necessity.

270

Their plight underscored the systemic

nature of the crisis in the inadequacy

271

of existing supports systems.

272

Now, the summer of 1932

witnessed a particularly grim

273

chapter in Hoover's presidency.

274

The Bonus Army incident over 15,000

unemployed World War I veterans.

275

Many of them with their families

converged on Washington dc.

276

They were petitioning for the early

payment of a bonus promised to them for

277

their wartime service in World War I.

278

A bonus that was not due to

279

But given the dire economics of

the time, this bonus represented

280

for many, the only lifeline.

281

They established a large hooverville in

Anacostia flats and called themselves

282

the bonus expeditionary force.

283

They marched, they demonstrated, and

they voiced their frustration in one

284

common complaint being quote, while

there were billions for bankers, there

285

was nothing for the poor end quote.

286

President Hoover concerned about

the federal budget opposed the

287

bill for immediate payment, and the

Senate ultimately voted it down.

288

While many veterans dispersed a

significant number remained Hoover

289

labeled them insurrectionists

and ordered their removal.

290

The task fell to General Douglas

MacArthur, who accompanied by Major

291

Dwight d Eisenhower and Major George S.

292

Patton, led an army detachment

including infantry, cavalry, and tanks

293

against the veteran's encampment.

294

The result was a shocking spectacle.

295

As our textbook describes it,

troops chased men and women tear gas

296

children and torched the shanty town.

297

Two marchers were shot and

killed, and an infant reportedly

298

died from exposure to tear gas.

299

The national media broadcast, the

images and accounts of this violent

300

dispersal, and the American public

was appalled the site of the US Army

301

attacking its own unarmed veterans, men

who had served heroically in World War.

302

I was a profound shock to the nation.

303

It starkly contrasted with the

patriotic fervor the government

304

had cultivated during the war with

campaigns like the Liberty Bonds that

305

called upon citizens for sacrifice.

306

The bonus Army incident became

a potent symbol of the Hoover

307

Administration's perceived insensitivity

and inability to connect with the

308

suffering of ordinary Americans.

309

And how could he?

310

He was a millionaire in his own right.

311

It was a public relations catastrophe that

further discredited traditional responses

312

to the social unrest and dramatically

amplified the public's yearning for a

313

new deal, one that would prioritize the

welfare of its citizens over millionaires.

314

Like Hoover,

315

the election of 1932, then was a.

316

Watershed moment.

317

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Democratic

governor of New York, promised a new

318

deal for the American people and he won

a landslide victory over Herbert Hoover.

319

This was a clear mandate

for decisive action.

320

Upon taking office in March

321

confronted the banking crisis.

322

He declared a national bank

holiday, closing all banks to halt

323

the run on banks and allowed for

assessment and reorganization.

324

This was the first major step in what had

become known as the first a hundred days,

325

a period of intense legislative activity

that laid the groundwork for the new deal.

326

Central to Roosevelt's approach was

his ability to communicate directly

327

with the American people through

his fireside chats on the radio.

328

These informal addresses explain complex

policies in simple reassuring terms,

329

helping to restore public confidence.

330

After his first fireside chat in March

of 19 33, 1 listener wrote, I felt

331

that he walked into my house, sat down

and in plain and forceful language,

332

explained to me how he was tackling the

job I and my fellow citizens gave him.

333

End quote.

334

Another listener from Minneapolis

wrote, quote, I have regained faith in

335

the banks due to your earnest beliefs.

336

I had decided that as soon as the

banks in Minneapolis reopened,

337

I would withdraw my money.

338

When you said that people's money

would be safer in banks than under

339

their mattresses, I decided to

leave my money just where it is.

340

End quote.

341

His May 7th, 1933 Fireside chat further

outlined the new deals aims, discussing

342

initiatives like the civilian Conservation

Corps, mortgage relief for farmers

343

and homeowners, and the forthcoming

National Industrial Recovery Act.

344

Always emphasizing a partnership between

the government and the citizenry.

345

The first new deal unleashed a

fury and flurry of alphabet soup

346

agencies, the Agricultural Adjustment

Act, the A a A aimed to raise

347

farm prices by paying farmers to

reduce production of certain crops.

348

While it did increase pro crop prices,

it was criticized for its impact on

349

sharecroppers and tenant farmers,

many of whom were displaced when

350

landowners took land out of cultivation.

351

The National Industrial Recovery

Act created the National Recovery

352

Administration, which sought to

stabilize industry through codes of

353

fair competition, setting minimum wages

and maximum hours, and importantly,

354

guaranteeing workers' rights to

organize under Section seven A.

355

Businesses displayed the Blue Eagle

to show compliance, but the NRA faced

356

criticism for being overly bureaucratic

and sometimes favoring large corporations.

357

The Civilian Conservation Corps,

the CCC provided jobs for young

358

unemployed men in conservation

projects like reforestation, soil

359

erosion control, and park development.

360

In a 1935, message to Congress.

361

Roosevelt emphasized its value, quote,

more important than the material gain.

362

It is the improvement we find in moral

and physical wellbeing of our citizens

363

who have been enrolled in the core oral

histories from CCC workers like Ashton

364

Burris from Camp Roosevelt recalled the

work quote, the first work I'd done was

365

help cut the right of way for that road.

366

James Cree, another enrollee,

described the structured daily life.

367

Get up at a certain time.

368

Went to eat at a certain time.

369

Everything was pretty much on schedule.

370

End quote.

371

Another was the Tennessee

Valley Authority, the TVA.

372

It was a bold experiment in regional

development aimed at controlling

373

floods, improved navigation, and

generate hydroelectric power for the

374

impoverished Tennessee Valley region.

375

Financial reforms were

also key to this new deal.

376

The Glass Stegel Act created the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,

377

the FDIC, to ensure bank deposits

restoring faith in the banking system.

378

Well go to a bank today.

379

You'll see a sign that says FDIC, the

Securities and Exchange Commission.

380

The SEC was established to regulate

the stock market and prevent

381

the abuses that contributed to

the crash in the first place.

382

The first new deal was largely

experimental, a series of pragmatic

383

responses to an unprecedented crisis.

384

It marked a significant expansion

of federal power and responsibility.

385

I.

386

However, these early programs had

often contradictory outcomes and did

387

not fundamentally dismantle existing

power structures, particularly

388

those related to race and class.

389

For instance, the AAA's benefits

often flow to landowners rather

390

than the sharecroppers and tenants

farmers themselves who worked the

391

land disproportionately harming

African American agricultural workers.

392

Nras code sometimes sanctioned

lower pay scales for black workers

393

and CCC camps were segregated.

394

This, while the first new deal

provided crucial relief and began to

395

restore the national confidence, its

implementation was frequently filtered

396

through and sometimes reinforced

existing societal inequalities.

397

These actions may be

better labeled inactions.

398

Where often the result of political

compromise is necessary to pass the

399

sweeping legislation, particularly to

appease those powerful Southern Democrats.

400

Now, despite all the bold initiatives,

the New Deal quickly drew criticism from

401

both the left and the right, reflecting

the deep ideological divisions that

402

were gripping the nation from the left.

403

Critics argued Roosevelt wasn't

going far enough for everybody.

404

I.

405

Senator Huey p.

406

Long of Louisiana the flamboyant

Kingfish captivated many with

407

his share our wealth program.

408

He proposed a radical wealth

redistribution famously to quote,

409

clearing quote, every family to

be furnished by the government.

410

A homestead allowance, no family's

annual income would be less than

411

2000 to $2,500 long advocated for.

412

Capping personal fortunes and

providing pensions and free education

413

financed by taxing the rich.

414

His populist appeal was undeniable,

though he was assassinated in

415

1935 before he could mount a

serious presidential challenge.

416

Another powerful voice from the

left was Father Charles Coughlin, a

417

Catholic priest from Detroit, whose

radio sermons reached millions.

418

Initially, a supporter who coined

the phrase Roosevelt or ruin.

419

Coughlin, grew, disillusioned.

420

He attacked Roosevelt for his

quote, not being tough enough on

421

the money changers in bankers.

422

And in 1936 speech, he lamented quote,

Roosevelt or Ruin is the order of

423

the day because the money changers

have not been driven from the temple.

424

End quote.

425

Coughlin advocated for monetary

reforms like the nationalization of

426

bank and the free coinage of silver.

427

His messages increasingly became tinged

with antisemitism and fascist sympathies,

428

and by the end of the decade, he had

swung completely to the right, eventually

429

leading to his silencing by the church.

430

From the right wing of things.

431

The American Liberty League

432

business leaders and disaffected

Democrats like Al Smith and John W.

433

Davis mounted a fierce opposition.

434

They condemned the new deal as

an assault on individual liberty,

435

an assault on free enterprise,

and on the Constitution itself.

436

In their pamphlets and speeches,

they branded programs like the

437

A A A As, quote, A trend towards

fascist control of agriculture.

438

And they argued that the Social

Security Act would quote Mark the end

439

of democracy 1 19 36 League pamphlet.

440

The New Deal versus Democracy declared

that quote, the New deal has sought to

441

destroy the American system of government,

composed of three coordinate branches, and

442

to upset the dual sovereignty as between

state and nation, which the Constitution

443

provides these diverse criticisms,

underscore the profound ideological

444

battle wage during the New deal.

445

Roosevelt, how to navigate a treacherous

political landscape caught between

446

those demanding more radical change

and those fearing he was dismantling

447

American capitalism and liberty.

448

The New Deal, therefore, was not merely

a collection of government programs.

449

It was the crucible in which

competing visions for America's

450

future were fiercely debated.

451

Forcing a national reckoning with the

social contract in an industrial democracy

452

facing ongoing economic hardship

and spurred by these critiques.

453

Roosevelt launched a new wave

454

referred to as the second new deal.

455

This phase aimed at more fundamental

long-term reforms as well as

456

a broader social safety net.

457

The cornerstone of the second new deal

was the Works Progress Administration,

458

the WPA, and it was established in 1935.

459

The WPA became the nation's largest

employer putting millions to work on

460

a vast array of public work projects,

including the constructions of roads,

461

bridges, public buildings, and parks.

462

It also famously included arts programs

like the Federal Writers Project.

463

Federal Theater Project and the

Federal Art Project, which provided

464

employment for artists, writers and

performers, and created actually a

465

rich cultural legacy while lauded

for providing crucial employment.

466

By 1943 had employed 8.5

467

million people.

468

The WPA also faced criticism for

alleged boondoggling and inefficiency.

469

While some projects reportedly

cost significantly more than

470

private sector equivalents.

471

Perhaps the most enduring legacy

of the second new deal is the

472

Social Security Act of 1935.

473

This landmark legislation established a

system of old age pensions, unemployment,

474

insurance, and aid to dependent children,

and the disabled funded through payroll

475

taxes on employees and employers.

476

It created a crucial safety

net for millions of Americans.

477

However, its passage was not

without controversy then or now.

478

Contemporary debates at the time

highlighted its limitations, particularly

479

the exclusion of agricultural and domestic

workers from its initial provisions,

480

a decision that disproportionately

affected African Americans and many

481

women reflecting the political compromise

is necessary for its enactment.

482

Labor also received a significant

boost with the passage of the NA

483

National Labor Relations Act of 1935,

commonly known as the Wagner Act.

484

This act affirmed the right of workers

to organize unions and engage in

485

collective bargaining and establish

the National Labor Relations Board

486

to oversee union elections and

investigate unfair labor practices.

487

President Roosevelt in signing this

act stated quote, A better relationship

488

between labor and management is

the high purpose of this act.

489

The Wagner Act led to a surge in union

membership, empowering workers in a

490

way unseen since the Gilded Age, I.

491

And finally, the Labor, the Fair Labor

492

national minimum wage set, maximum

working hours, and significantly

493

abolished oppressive child labor.

494

This act aimed to create a

baseline of decent working

495

conditions across the nation.

496

The second new deal represented a more

structured and arguably more radical phase

497

of Roosevelt's response to the depression.

498

It fundamentally reshaped the

relationship between American

499

government and its citizens.

500

Established a lasting federal

response for social welfare and

501

significantly strengthened the

position of organized labor.

502

Yet these transformative achievements

were still products of their time

503

marked by political compromises

that often perpetuated existing

504

inequalities, particularly along

lines of race and gender as we'll.

505

Explore next.

506

The new deal's impact was far from

uniform across the diverse tapestry

507

of American society from the South.

508

Programs like the Agricultural Adjustment

Administration left a mixed legacy while

509

aiming to stabilize agricultural prices.

510

AAA policies often benefited landowners

at the expense of the sharecroppers

511

and tenant farmers, as I mentioned

earlier, and a significant number

512

of those were African Americans.

513

As one analysis pointed out, landowners

can make more money leaving land

514

until leading to the eviction of over

515

alone, the Tennessee Valley Authority.

516

However, the.

517

Brought much needed modernization,

electricity and flood control

518

to a vast impoverished region,

transforming its landscape and economy.

519

Yet even with these interventions,

deep seated poverty and racial

520

hierarchy, persistent in the south.

521

For the African Americans nationwide.

522

The New Deal offered both opportunity

but also profound disappointments.

523

Discrimination was rampant in

many of these government programs.

524

The CCC camps were segregated.

525

NRA codes sometimes permitted lower pay

for black workers for the same jobs.

526

And the Federal housing authority.

527

The FHA often refuse to guarantee

mortgages for black families trying

528

to buy homes in white neighborhoods.

529

A practice known as redlining.

530

The Social Security Act initially

excluded agricultural and domestic workers

531

occupations in which a large percentage

of where African Americans were employed.

532

President Roosevelt, who relied on the

support of powerful Southern Democrats in

533

Congress, often shied away from directly

challenging Jim Crow, or supporting

534

federal anti-lynching legislation.

535

However, there were avenues of progress,

specifically the works Progress

536

Administration was generally colorblind

in its employment practices, particularly

537

in northern cities, and it provided

crucial jobs for many African Americans,

538

the National Youth Administration.

539

Thanks.

540

In part to the advocacy of figures like

Mary McLeod Bethune ensured that black

541

youth received a fairer share of the aid.

542

Bethune was a prominent black

educator and became a key figure in

543

Roosevelt's unofficial black cabinet,

an informal group of African American

544

advisors who lobbied for black

interests within the administration.

545

While their direct policy influence

was often limited by the political and

546

racist realities of the time, their

presence marked an important step in black

547

political engagement at the federal level.

548

Women also played significant roles

and experienced mixed outcomes.

549

Under the New Deal, Eleanor

Roosevelt, the First Lady, emerged

550

as a powerful and independent

voice tirelessly advocating for the

551

poor, for minorities and for women.

552

She famously declared as the first lady.

553

She was now quote in a position

where I can do the most good

554

to help the most people.

555

She used her platform to bring

attention to new deal programs

556

and push for greater inclusivity.

557

Francis Perkins made history as

the first female cabinet member

558

serving as the Secretary of Labor.

559

She was the principal architect of

the Social Security Act and champion

560

legislation for unemployment insurance,

minimum wage, and the abolition of child

561

labor, driven by a desire, as she put

it, quote, unemployment insurance, old

562

age insurance, and health insurance.

563

However, despite these individual

achievements and some gains

564

through new deal programs.

565

Broader progress on equal terms for

women, such as the proposed Equal Rights

566

Amendment stalled during this period.

567

The New Deal, therefore, is a complex

tapestry of progress and compromise.

568

It offered unprecedented federal

intervention and relief, yet its

569

application was often shaped and

constrained by the enduring structures

570

of racial and gender inequality.

571

The political necessity of appeasing

Southern Democrats meant that many

572

programs failed to fully address.

573

And sometimes possibly even exacerbated

the economic and social injustices rooted

574

in the failed promises of reconstruction.

575

This complicated legacy would in turn lay

some of the groundwork for the intensified

576

civil rights movement in the decades

to follow as African Americans having.

577

Tasted both the potential and

the limitations of federal action

578

escalated their demands for

full citizenship and equality.

579

As the depression deepened and

Roosevelt's new deal expanded the role

580

of the federal government, anxiety

among conservative business elites

581

grew these fears culminated in one of

the most bizarre and debated episodes

582

of the era, the business plot of 1933.

583

Retired Marine Corps major General Smedley

Butler, a popular and highly decorated

584

military figure, testified before a

congressional committee that a group

585

of wealthy businessmen and financiers.

586

Had approached him with a plan to

overthrow President Roosevelt and install

587

a fascist style dictator with Butler

himself envisioned as the leader of a

588

massive veterans army to carry out the

coup butler who had become a vocal critic

589

of American imperialism and capitalism

famously stated that he had been quote.

590

High class muscle man for big business,

for Wall Street and the bankers.

591

His testimony, detailed meetings with

individuals like Gerald McGuire, a bond

592

salesman tied to JP Morgan interest,

who allegedly outlined the plot.

593

While the Congressional Committee

concluded that such a plot had been

594

discussed, no criminal prosecutions

followed and many in the press at

595

the time dismissed it as far fetched.

596

However, the business plot whether

a fully realized conspiracy or

597

an overblown alarm reflected the

genuine and extreme anxieties of some

598

powerful conservative circles about

the direction of the New deal and

599

its perceived threat to capitalism.

600

So much so that they were

willing to try fascism.

601

It also underscores the concerns

602

were not solely in Europe.

603

Indeed, American reactions to Mussolini's

604

varied, so we have to keep that in mind.

605

I.

606

Beyond the business plot.

607

There were other homegrown, fascist

608

such as William Dudley Pellys

Silver Shirts, or the Silver Legion.

609

These groups often fueled by antisemitism,

by xenophobia and anti-communist hysteria.

610

Echoed some of the rhetoric

of European fascist movements.

611

While these domestic fascist movements

never achieved mass political

612

power, their existence alongside

the business plot highlights the

613

intense ideological polarization of

the depression era and the extent to

614

which some were willing to consider.

615

Anti-Democratic alternatives in

response to the economic crisis of

616

the Great Depression, as well as the

transformative policies and government

617

intervention of the New deal.

618

So the new deal's momentum, so

powerful in its initial years

619

began to wane by the late 1930s.

620

A significant blow came with the

Roosevelt recession of 19 37, 19

621

38, just as the economy seemed to be

recovering, a sharp downturn occurred.

622

Industrial production

once again, declined.

623

And unemployment, which had.

624

Fallen had now jammed back up to 14.3%

625

in May of 1937 and up even

626

Economists and historians attribute

this recession to several factors,

627

including Roosevelt's attempt to

balance the budget by reducing federal

628

spending and the new social security

taxes, taking money out of circulation

629

before benefits began to be paid.

630

This economic setback weakened

public and political confidence.

631

In the ongoing efficacy of more

new deal spending, simultaneously

632

conservative opposition in Congress,

which had been present throughout the

633

New Deal, began to grow more potent.

634

A bipartisan conservative coalition

comprising of many Southern Democrats

635

and Northern Republicans, increasingly

and blocked further new deal legislation.

636

Historian James T.

637

Patterson notes this coalition

successfully opposed key administration

638

measures such as the Fair Labor Standards

639

and reorganization bills in 1938 and 1939.

640

This growing resistance signal, the

shift in the political landscape

641

making further large scale domestic

reforms increasingly difficult.

642

Perhaps the most significant factor in

the decline of the new deal's impetus was

643

the ominous rise of international threats.

644

The expansionist ambitions of the

fascist Nazi Germany and Europe and

645

the Imperial Japan and Asia began

to dominate national attention in

646

resources as President Roosevelt himself

647

The focus had shifted from Dr.

648

New Deal, the specialist

in internal medicine to Dr.

649

Win the war, the ortho Orthopedic surgeon.

650

While some new deal agencies like the

WPA and CCC were shut down during the war

651

years, the underlying shift in national

priority from domestic reform to military

652

preparedness and foreign policy was

653

The end of the New deal was not a singular

event, but a gradual fading, driven by

654

a confluence of economic stumbles, a

resurgent conservative political block,

655

and the overwhelming overshadowing

imperative of an impending global war.

656

I.

657

This transition illustrates the

contingent nature of reform movements

658

and how external crises can profoundly

reshape domestic priorities, pushing

659

aside even the most ambitious programs

for social and economic change.

660

The decade spanning the Roaring twenties,

the Great Depression and the New Deal,

661

irrevocably transformed the United States.

662

The freewheeling prosperity and

663

way to the deepest economic crisis in

the nation's history, a crisis that

664

challenged the very foundations of

American capitalism and democracy.

665

In response, Franklin d Roosevelt's New

Deal ushered in an unprecedented expansion

666

of federal power and responsibility,

fundamentally altering the relationship

667

between the government and its citizens.

668

The New deal's legacy is

complex, but also enduring.

669

It established a crucial social

safety net with programs like social

670

insecurity, enshrined vital labor rights

through the Wagner rock, and left the

671

physical imprint on the landscape.

672

Through the works of the CCC and

the TVA, it demonstrated that the

673

federal government could and would

interfere to address economic

674

catastrophe and social distress.

675

However, the New Deal was also

a product of its time marked by

676

compromises that often perpetuated

racial and gender inequalities.

677

Its benefits were not evenly

distributed, particularly in the

678

South, where the political power of

conservative Democrats often blunted

679

efforts towards racial justice.

680

Echoing the unfinished business of

reconstruction, the exclusion of

681

many African Americans and women

from key new deal protections laid

682

the groundwork for future struggles

for civil rights inequality.

683

As the 1930s drew to a close, the

immediate crisis of the depression

684

began to recede, partly due to the

new deals efforts, but increasingly.

685

Due to the economic stimulus of

impending war, the nation while

686

changed, carried with it the unresolved

legacies of these tumultuous decades.

687

The anxieties about modernity, the

deep cultural fissures, the questions

688

about economic justice and the role

of government, these would continue

689

to shape American life to this day.

690

And as the shadows of global conflict

lengthened, America stood on the

691

cusp of another transformative

era, world War ii, a conflict that

692

would further test its ideals and

redefine its place in the world.

693

In his second inaugural address,

Roosevelt spoke of the ongoing journey.

694

We are determined to make every

American citizen the subject of

695

his country's interest and concern.

696

The test of our progress is

not whether we add more to the

697

abundance to those who have much.

698

It is whether we provide enough for

those who have too little end quote.

699

As America faced new global challenges,

the question of how to live up to

700

that ideal for all of its citizens.

701

Remained.

702

I'm Dr.

703

G and I'll see y'all in the past.