New deal programs and acts

No one was concerned about the budget deficit when the world was worried about Hitler's military dominance. But concerns about the budget deficit sabotaged the New Deal from ending the Depression's global economic catastrophe. It would have ended the Depression if FDR had spent as much on the New Deal in as he did in the war in , by creating jobs, demand, and economic growth. The Depression's misery helped propel the German people to put the Nazis and Hitler in power.

It would have at least shortened, if not prevented, World War II. Many of the New Deal's programs are still safeguarding your finances. The Social Security program provides a guaranteed income for workers who have paid into the system.

Most people are familiar with the retirement benefits which can also be extended to the retiree's spouse. Social Security also pays disability benefits to eligible beneficiaries who become disabled before reaching retirement age. It pays children, surviving spouses, and dependent parents of eligible beneficiaries who die or become disabled.

It will even pay benefits to divorced spouses in some cases. There's also a Supplemental Security Income program that pays benefits to disabled children and adults with limited income. The minimum wage is the lowest legal wage that companies can pay workers.

Its purpose is to prevent employers from exploiting desperate workers. The U. The minimum wage should provide enough income to afford a living wage. That's the amount needed to provide sufficient food, clothing, and shelter. That's more than the federal poverty level for a single person, but it's lower than the poverty level for a couple. Someone trying to support a family by earning minimum wage would qualify for federal poverty assistance.

The SEC regulates stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, making investing safer. The SEC also provides information through Investor. It provides basic education, such as how the markets work, asset allocation, and a review of the different retirement plans. It has a section on "How to Select a Broker.

The FDIC also examines and supervises about 5, banks, more than half of the total system. The FDIC steps in when a bank fails. It sells the bank to another bank and transfers the depositors to the purchasing bank. The transition is seamless from the customer's point of view. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. History News Network. Federal Reserve History. History Learning Site. National Park Service. W University Libraries, University of Washington. Farm Credit Administration.

Freedom School. The University of Chicago Press Journals. Paid private contractors to build large-scale projects proposed by states. Hired unemployed directly to work on local projects; became model for WPA. Hired the unemployed directly and became the largest of all public works programs. Hired young men and women, both in and out of school, for works programs.

Made permanent by Rural Electrification Act Post Office Department Worked with the U. Treasury, and later the Public Buildings Administration PBA , to create new post office buildings and artworks in post offices. Army Corps of Engineers Built levees, dams and canals across the country, built the Missouri river basin project and made levee improvements along the Mississippi, Ohio and Sacramento Rivers.

Quartermaster Corps Responsible for the movement of supplies, food, and services to support American troops. Oversaw artworks created to enhance public buildings, notably post offices. Federal Dance Project An offshoot of the Federal Theatre Project, created to provide special opportunities for unemployed dancers. Historic Sites Act Made the conservation of historic sites a responsibility of the National Park Service and gave it power to survey, select and preserve buildings and sites of national significance.

Historical Records Survey HRS Inventoried federal, state, and local records; work product is used today by historians, researchers, and genealogists. Managed the construction and repair of most federal buildings.

The program is designed to provide work, education, and job training for unemployed young men and women. It employs 4. June 28, President Roosevelt signs the Taylor Grazing Act into law, ending open grazing on public rangelands and establishing the Division of Grazing later US Grazing Service in the Department of Interior to regulate entry and practices on 80 million acres of previously unreserved federal lands excluding Alaska.

It lasts until , but the bulk of its employment is from to August 14, : The Social Security Act is signed into law. One of the most popular and enduring programs of the New Deal, the law creates an old age pension system and other social safety net programs that have been a rock of economic security for Americans ever since.

Collectively, these programs created hundreds of thousands of artworks, performances, books, plays, historical inventories, and more. During : The unemployment rate is down to January 6, : In United States v. Butler , the U. Supreme Court finds the Agricultural Adjustment Act of unconstitutional, ruling that the control of agriculture is a state function, not a federal one. The Rural Electrification Administration REA had been created a year earlier, but new legislation was needed to address problems that the agency had encountered e.

The law attempts to curtail monopolistic control and discriminatory pricing in industry and business. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs.

And we know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me, and I welcome their hatred. November 3, : Roosevelt wins his second term as president , beating Republican challenger Alf Landon. During : The unemployment rate is down to 9. February 5, : Roosevelt introduces a plan to increase the membership of the Supreme Court, with up to six additional justices.

It is ultimately unsuccessful, but only months after it is introduced, the Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of National Labor Relations Act and the Social Security Act. July 22, : President Roosevelt signs the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act , which opens up credit to tenant farmers and sharecroppers for the purchase of farming land. Over the course of several years, the USHA makes loans to help construct hundreds of affordable housing developments. September 2, President Roosevelt signs the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act popularly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act to levy an excise tax on guns and ammunition using in hunting for the purpose of funding state wildlife refuges.

The law improves air commerce, mail delivery, airplane safety, and national defense. The law establishes a minimum wage, a standard work week, overtime pay, and also prohibits certain types of child labor. These rules still pertain today. April 3, : President Roosevelt signs into law the Reorganization Act of The reorganization ultimately creates a few new agencies and consolidates others. The FSA focuses on the educational, health, employment, and social service needs of the nation.

During : President Roosevelt and his New Deal policymakers return to public works spending. As the Great Depression took hold and unemployment rates soared, President Roosevelt and his allies in Congress recognized the need to establish some kind of safety net program for the elderly and disabled. With the passage of the Social Security Act, the U. Social Security helped not only the elderly, but also the blind , the unemployed, and dependent children. Social Security provides benefits to over 63 million Americans today, including over 46 million senior citizens.

The U. A persistent drought that started in wreaked havoc on the Great Plains. A massive dust storm, dubbed the Dust Bowl, carried the region's soil away with the wind in the mids. The problem was literally carried to the steps of Congress, as soil particles coated Washington, D.

The agency's mission was to study and solve the problem of the nation's eroding soil. The SCS performed surveys and developed flood control plans to prevent soil from being washed away. They also established regional nurseries to cultivate and distribute seeds and plants for soil conservation work.

Over time, over three thousand Soil Conservation Districts were established to help farmers develop plans and practices for conserving the soil on their land.

Today, the Natural Resources Conservation Service NRCS maintains field offices across the country, with staff trained to help landowners implement science-based conservation practices. Residents of the impoverished, rural region desperately needed an economic boost. Private power companies had largely ignored this part of the country, as little profit could be gained by connecting poor farmers to the power grid.

The TVA was tasked with several projects focused on the river basin, which spanned seven states. In addition to producing hydroelectric power for the under-served region, the TVA built dams for flood control, developed fertilizers for agriculture, restored forests and wildlife habitat, and educated farmers about erosion control and other practices to improve food production. In its first decade, the TVA was supported by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which established almost camps in the area.

While many New Deal programs faded when the U. The TVA's nitrate plants produced the raw materials for munitions. Their mapping department produced the aerial maps used by aviators during campaigns in Europe. And when the U. The Tennessee Valley Authority still provides power to 10 million people in seven states and oversees a combination of hydroelectric, coal-fired, and nuclear power plants.

Silverberg, and William R. Wheelock, David C.