New deal legislation and programs

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. National Archives. Department of Economics, Iowa State University. Securities and Exchange Commission. Justice Information Sharing. National Labor Relations Board. The Fair Housing Center.

Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Digital Public Library of America. Miller Center, University of Virginia. Roosevelt: Domestic Affairs. Department of Labor. Seeking Alpha. Sacred Heart University.

Bureau of Economic Analysis. 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. The unemployment rate drops from The FSCC had distributed millions of tons of food and commodities e.

July 25, : President Roosevelt, by Presidential Proclamation , consolidates all wildlife areas under federal jurisdiction into a single system of National Wildlife Refuges and merges the Bureau of Biological Survey and the Bureau of Fisheries into the U. November 5, : President Roosevelt wins his third term as president , beating Republican challenger Wendell Wilkie.

December 30, : In its annual report, the U. During : After seven years of the New Deal, the unemployment rate is 9. From , the gross domestic product has risen another Between and , there are a total of bank failures — compared to 14, bank failures from through December 7, : Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. December 11, : Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. We are fighting to cleanse the world of ancient evils, ancient ills.

The men of the CCC had planted 3 billion trees and created, developed, or improved state parks. Many go onto leadership roles in the armed forces.

During its existence the WPA employed 8. All functions, powers, duties, etc. Between and , this art program created over 1, murals and over sculptures for federal buildings, e. In , the program had been transferred to the newly-created Public Buildings Administration. However, many of their projects, e.

During its 8-year existence, the NYA had employed over 4. November 7, : Roosevelt wins his fourth term as president , beating Republican challenger Thomas Dewey. During : The tide of the war turns decisively in favor of the allies. D-Day June 6, opens up a western front and marks the beginning of the end of the war.

But it provided a firm base upon which all manner of men, of all races and colors and creeds, could build our solid structure of democracy. He was August 15, : Japan surrenders and the war ends. About 60 million soldiers and civilians were killed during World War II. After : With New Deal policies and infrastructure in place, the post-war economy expands along New Deal roads, across New Deal bridges, and out of New Deal airports.

The middle-class experiences unprecedented growth. Planning has already started on a national system of interstate and military highways, which will be built with funding from the Highway Act.

Its functions are absorbed into the Rural Utilities Service. Also, much of the infrastructure created by New Deal work programs, e. 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. Managed electric power grid and sales from the Columbia River project. Treasury Procurement Division. Agricultural Adjustment Act , Reauthorized Created Agricultural Adjustment Administration AAA for price stabilization and income support through government purchases, marketing boards, and land retirement. Virgin Islands Company Rehabilitated the sugar and rum industries of the Virgin Islands; reduced unemployment; provided various farm services and loan programs; coordinated with a homesteading program.

Shelterbelt Project A large tree-planting project in the Great Plains, to protect against wind erosion and to provide work for the unemployed. Resettlement Administration RA Evolved from earlier emergency relief legislation. Created planned communities for Americans whose livelihoods had been upturned by the Depression; rehabilitated overused land; made loans to farmers.

Provided financial assistance to home owners and the mortgage industry.