The New Deal
for America
1. After
being elected President Roosevelt asked Congress for “broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency”
a.
Called congress into special session, during the first 100 days of his presidency congress approved all 15 measures that made up the heart of the New Deal
2. His
first focus was on the banking system
a.
On March 6th he issued a proclamation closing every bank in the nation for a few day
b. The
‘Bank Holiday’ was designed to stop massive withdrawals
c.
March 9th Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, which authorized the federal government
to examine all banks and allow those that were financially stable to reopen
d. Roosevelt
hoped these measures would restore confidence in the banking system
3. March
12th 60 million Americans tuned into listen to President Roosevelt speak from the White House were called “fireside
chats”
a.
Explained how the bank holidays would protect their money
b. Encouraged
people to put their money back into the bank, by the end of the month many banks had reopened and about 1 billion in deposits had flowed into the system
c.
Confidence increased even more the next year when congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) which insured people money by the federal government
4. April
1933 Roosevelt urged congress to create the Home Owners Loan Corporation; this measure was designed to assist homeowners that
were struggling with their mortgage, by giving them low interest long term mortgage loans.
5. Roosevelt
then created the Farm Credit Administration; this provided low interest, long term loans to farmers. This allowed many farmers
to pay off mortgages and back taxes, and buy new equipment to get the farm industry moving in the right direction.
