The Second New Deal

• The Second New Deal was a response to the radical opposition
• Roosevelt had been radicalised by his annoyance with the Supreme Court, the more radical House of Representatives and a Congress that would allow more action
• The Emergency Relief Appropriation Act was the largest appropriation of funds for relief ($45.5. billion)
• The Works Progress Administration (WPA) recruited people for public works projects
• The WPA employed 2 million people at once and in 1941, it employed 20% of the workforce
• WPA wages were $52 per month
• The WPA built 1 000 aeroport landing fields, 5 000 schools and hospitals and 12 000 playgrounds
• The WPA was not allowed to compete with private forms for contracts
• The WPA was criticised for reducing the number of field hands and domestic workers looking for work and conservatives said its projects weren't valuable
• The National Youth Administration (NYA) aimed to encourage education and provide part-time work for students
• The Rural Electrification Administration was formed in May 1935 to build generating plants and power lines in rural areas
• In 1936, 12.6% of farms had electricity, since supplying it wasn't profitable to private firms
• Local co-operatives had been unable to get loans to develop electricity
• The REA offered loans at low interest rates and encouraged farm co-operatives
• By 1941, 35% of farms had electricity
• In May 1935, all rural rehabilitation projects were merged into the Resettlement Administration (RA)
• The RA's plan was to move 500 000 families to more promising land by buying new land, teaching farmers to use it effectively and modernising their technology
• The RA only resettled 4 441 families because it was costly and most people didn't want to move
• Net farm migration was lower in the 1930s than in the 1920s
• The Revenue (Wealth Tax) Act was implemented in June 1935 to pay for the New Deal reforms and was seen as an attack on the right of Americans to become rich
• Roosevelt didn't want to redistribute wealth, but to reduce government deficit spending
• Taxes on the rich had been minimal - people earning more than $16 000 per year paid less than $1 000 of tax
• The Revenue Act's new taxes only raised $250 million because only 1% of the population earnt more than $10 000. The act was a precedent for high taxes in WW2
• The Wagner-Connery National Labour Relations Act was approved, not supported, by Roosevelt in July 1935
• The Wagner-Connery National Labour Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to collective bargaining through unions of their choice, chosen through a secret ballot. A 3-man National Labour Relations Board was set up to ensure fairness and employers couldn't discriminate against unionists
• The Wagner-Connery National Labour Relations Act was the first act giving unionists legal rights and committed the federal government to involvement in labour relations
• The August 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act ordered the breakup of all companies more than twice removed from the operating company by making holding companies register with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)
• The SEC ordered unsatisfactory companies to be eliminated by 1st January 1940
• The SEC was given access to all the companies' financial transactions and stock issues
• The August 1935 Social Security Act was the first direct federal help as a workers' right. It included old-age pensions funded by employers' and employees' contributions, as well as unemployment insurance paid through payroll taxes
• The Social Security Act was inadequate: pensions were $10-85 starting in 1940 and unemployment benefits were only $18 per week for 16 weeks
• The Social Security Act created assistance programmes for the disabled, but even if states received the same amount, actual relief payments varied by state
• Agricultural workers, domestic servants and people working for small firms were excluded from the Social Security Act entirely
• Health insurance was limited by the American Medical Association
• The Banking Act was passed in August 1935 and aimed to give the federal government control of American banking
• The Federal Reserve Board approved reserve rates, rediscount rates and new heads of Federal Reserve Banks. All large banks who wanted federal deposit insurance had to register with and accept the authority of the board
• The Banking Act removed control of banking from private firms and gave it to the central government. The centre of financial management shifted from New York to Washington