Common questions about New Deal

Short answers, pulled from the story.

What did Franklin D. Roosevelt do on the 4th of March 1933 to stabilize the banking system?

Franklin D. Roosevelt closed every bank in the country for four days to stop the financial collapse. When the banks reopened on the 9th of March 1933, three-quarters of the Federal Reserve System banks were back in business within three days. This action led to the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which insured deposits for up to 2,500 dollars.

How did the Agricultural Adjustment Act raise farm prices in May 1933?

The Agricultural Adjustment Act raised farm prices by creating artificial scarcity through setting total output limits for commodities like corn, cotton, and wheat. The program paid land owners subsidies for leaving some of their land idle and forced up farm prices by plowing up growing cotton and killing six million piglets. This strategy doubled the average income of farmers by 1937 before the Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional in 1936.

What rights did the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 guarantee to workers?

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 guaranteed workers the rights to collective bargaining through unions of their own choice. The act established the National Labor Relations Board to facilitate wage agreements and suppress repeated labor disturbances. It also led to tremendous growth in labor union membership especially in the mass-production sector.

How many workers did the Works Progress Administration employ and what did they build?

The Works Progress Administration employed more than 8.5 million workers who built 650,000 miles of highways and roads and 125,000 public buildings. These workers also constructed bridges, reservoirs, irrigation systems, parks, and playgrounds including the Lincoln Tunnel and the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. The program also financed hospitals and schools while forbidding competition with private enterprises.

What was the purpose of the Social Security Act established in 1935?

The Social Security Act established a permanent system of universal retirement pensions and unemployment insurance for the United States. It also provided welfare benefits for the handicapped and needy children in families without a father present. Roosevelt insisted that the program be funded by payroll taxes to give contributors a legal and political right to collect their benefits.