Franklin D. Roosevelt's Agricultural Adjustment Act (FDR)

Since there were several bills that he vetoed that could have helped hundreds of citizens out the Depression, people no longer liked him. That year Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was elected as president. After taking office in March 1933, FDR declared a nationwide bank standstill, to prevent a bank run. FDR would speak to the public over the radio called fireside chats, where the first ones were about the banking crisis. A new act was passed called the Emergency Banking Act, to try and help the Great Depression. The purpose of the act was to allow the government to see which banks were financially stable and allow those banks to open. The impact was the people started to have faith in the banks again, and slowly started to use them again. FDR actions had helped the people and the nation’s banking crisis was coming to an end. (Great Depression

Faced with this economic decline, came other factors that included unemployment and lack of confidence in banks (Church 100). Restoring faith in banks across the United States was one goal for FDR. As depositors lost confidence in the national bank, over $1,000,000,000 was taken out in cash and hoarded (Boardman 64). The Emergency Banking Act closed all banks for four straight days, and put them under inspection by the national government (Schraff 52). Banks were put under meticulous scrutiny by the Treasury Department. The U.S. government demanded that all hoarded gold be returned and all of the $1,000,000,000 was deposited (Boardman 65). Banks were allowed to open only under a strict system of licensing (Schraff 52). Another banking program was The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, which was created by Congress to guarantee deposits up to $5000 (Gupta). In the case

Roosevelt knew that in order for other acts to pass the banks can not be closed. The first bill that was passed was the Emergency Banking Relief Act. This act required licenses for banks that were financially sound. Advisers of Roosevelt told him that there was not enough regulations for banks and the stock market. Roosevelt agreed and backed the Securities Act and the Glass-Steagall Act. The Securities Act created the Securities Exchange Commission which regulates stock trading and stops fraud and the Glass-Steagall Act created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to provide government insurance for bank deposits. These acts increased people’s confidence in the banking system.

Roosevelt had to fulfill his most important campaign promise, the new deal. “If the new deal is a success, a friend told Roosevelt in 1933, you will be remembered as the greatest American president. If I fail, Roosevelt replied, I will be remembered as the last one. “ (“FDR”) Roosevelt moved to put the government itself on a budget, freeing up federal dollars for relief and reform measures. (www.pbs.org) He boosted the morale by making the sale of beer and wine legal. FDR also launched a congregation of recovery endeavors, which were dubbed “alphabet soup” programs for the acronyms that identified them. The civilian conservation Corps (CCC) put 2.5 million men to work on conservation and reforestation projects. (Stolley, 86) FDR believed that the assembling of the National Recovery Administration was the most important legislation of the early New Deal. “The NRA was meant to stop wasteful competition, encourage better regulated pricing and selling policies and provide for higher wages and shorter hours throughout the American business community.” (Alsop, 123) During the Farm crisis, President Roosevelt initiated the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). This financed farmers for limiting the size of their crops. It assisted to make the farming community more solvent, also at the same time reducing the massive surpluses that had run down produce prices. (Alsop, 124) The most popular New Deal ideas

Two days after taking office, Roosevelt issued a proclamation closing all American banks for four days until Congress could meet in special session to consider banking-reform legislation. So great was the panic about bank failures that the "bank holiday," as the president euphemistically described it, created a general sense of relief. Three days later, Roosevelt sent to Congress the Emergency Banking Act, a generally conservative bill designed primarily to protect the larger banks from being dragged down by the weakness of smaller ones. The bill provided for Treasury Department inspection of all banks before they would be allowed to reopen, for federal assistance to some troubled institutions, and for a thorough reorganization of those in the greatest difficulty.

In February 1933, “the Senate passed a resolution calling for the newly elected president, Franklin Roosevelt to assume unlimited power” (Bailey, Beth, et al. “Chapter 22: The Great Depression and the New Deal.” A People and A Nation: Brief Tenth Edition. Vol. 2. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2015. 632-667. Book. [Further: Bailey, Blight, and Chudacoff]). Through the New Deal, Roosevelt sought to “revive the economy through economic planning and relief programs” (Bailey, Blight and Chudacoff). These relief programs helped many Americans find jobs and ultimately restore the economy.

2. From the last 3 paragraphs of the speech, what does FDR credit the National

Banks that were destroyed during the Great Depression were saved by these great men. “Some banks could not be saved but the great majority of them, either through their own resources or with government aid have been restored to complete public confidence.” (Text 3, Lines 9-10). This quote is explaining that banks that had collapsed received help from the government, gave safety and restored confidence which was a pro of FDR and his administration. Not only did these men assure the country their safety, they improved many industrializing things. One way that FDR received enterprise was becoming involved in the field of investment and improving conditions. “The second step we have taken in the restoration of normal business enterprise has been to clean up thoroughly unwholesome conditions in the field of investment” (Text 3, Lines 17-19). In other words, they straightened up any financial and economic problems occurring in the country by correcting the investment fields, causing a rise of the country’s happiness and confidence that FDR and his administration will support their struggles. To wrap up, FDR and his administration revitalized enterprise during the Great

The credit system of the country had ceased to operate, and thousands of firms went into bankruptcy (Born...,.12). Something had to be done that would provide for a flexible amount of currency as well as provide cohesion between banks across the United States. (Hepburn, 399) This knight in shining armor, as described in the story of the bank run, was the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 helped to establish banks as a united force working for the people instead of independent agencies working against each other. By providing a flexible amount of currency, banks did not have to hoard their money in fear of a bank run. Because of this, there was no competitive edge to see who could keep the most currency on hand and a more expansionary economy was possible.

Once that was a success, he sped its demise by ordering the withdrawal of federal funds. When he became president he took back all the government loans, so that the bank would have no money. Biddle called in his bank’s loans to try and show the importance of the bank by creating a minor financial crisis. Many banks crippled under the crisis.

Roosevelt in 1933. In this speech he explained to the average citizen what happened with the banking crisis, why it happened, and how the government was going to fix it. He explained in the commoner’s vernacular the system in which banks invest a large majority of money people deposit and keep only a small amount in currency. It is normally plentiful for the needs of the community, but when people had started distrusting the banks and rushed to get their money out, the banks weren’t able to meet the rushed demand. By the 3rd of March hardly any banks were open for business and to explain how the government had stopped the problem from escalating President Roosevelt commented “It was then that I issued the proclamation providing for the national bank holiday, and this was the first step in the Government’s reconstruction of our financial and economic fabric.” (Roosevelt) This shows how they had began to fix the problem, and tells why all of the banks were closed. The second step in repairing the economy was to extend the bank holiday which was to be lifted gradually as different bank facilities were being rehabilitated. The bank holiday was put into effect because it provided the time that was needed to for banks to be able to supply needed currency. Roosevelt reassured people that none of the banks were worse off than they were

Once FDR’s Inauguration ceremony concluded, he was faced with the damaging effects of the banking crisis that have plagued the nation’s economy. FDR was only in office for a single day when he “called Congress into a special session” because he wanted to start facing the beast head on starting with the banking crisis. The Emergency Banking Act was proposed, developed and signed in a signal day on March 9, 1933. This newly enacted law was “drawn up under pressure and passed promptly in order to facilitate the reopening of the nation’s banks“(Preston, 585). The Emergency Banking Act stated that there will be “12 Federal Reserve banks” that will be issuing additional currency to people with good assets and the banks that will be reopened will

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech on the radio, “”fireside chat”, in only fourteen and a half minutes of uplifting, encouraging words to the American’s that have been in a great depression. It was like the president came right inside the homes and set with them to give them the confidence they needed to get up, go to the bank, and keep living. America began to know FDR and they received many letters from many people all of the United States because they felt they could trust him. The new deal helped to alleviate the problems of the Great Depression. Even Though the New Deal did not end the Depression, it was a success in restoring public confidence and creating new programs that brought relief to millions of Americans . Overall, though the New

The Agricultural Adjustment Act in Great Depression Era in 1933 was a the United States federal law, part of the New Deal, which reduced agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies not to plant on part of their land and to kill off excess livestock. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus in order to effectively raise the value of crops. This act represented a transformation about government’s role playing in the country. Before the period, the government only taxed import or export; it didn’t touch economy. But the AAA showed that government started to have power to change its economy.

As the number of radios grew in the U.S., more people relied on this media for obtaining information and entertainment. During the Great Depression, when disappointment in the economy reached its peak, FDR resorted to speeches on the radio. These became known as “Fireside Chats” (Boorstin 624) during which FDR talked about the banking system and other economic concerns. In these chats, he could describe his actions and his reasoning so that everyone would understand what the government was doing (The Great Depression). The New Deal was a program designed to reverse the effects of the Depression. Some of the successful programs that it encompassed were ones such as the following: