11.6, Reader #05 – The Second New Deal Takes Hold
Read & Highlight Important Info
The Second Hundred Days
What did voters think about the New Deal?
The economy improved in the first two years of Roosevelt’s presidency. But it did not improve much. Still, the New Deal was very popular. Democrats increased their majority in Congress in the midterm elections of 1934.
FDR launched a second wave of reforms- sometimes called the Second New Deal. These were programs designed to help poor people. The president’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, traveled around the country. She reported to the president on the suffering of the poor. She spoke up for women and minorities. The 1936 election was an overwhelming victory for Roosevelt, the Democrats, and the New Deal. Americans voted Democratic. And it was the first time that labor unions supported a single candidate. They supported Roosevelt.
1. What did the elections of 1934 & 1936 tell about the New Deal?
Helping Farmers
How did the Second New Deal help farmers?
Things were still tough for farmers in the mid 1930s. The first AAA had helped some farmers before it was struck down by the Supreme Court.
Now Congress passed new laws to replace the first AAA. One program paid farmers to use soil conservation measures in managing their land. The second AAA was passed without the tax that had made the first one unconstitutional.
Other laws helped sharecroppers and tenant farmers. They provided loans to help farmers buy land. New laws also helped migrant workers by providing better housing for them.
2. What action did the Second New Deal take to help farmers?
Roosevelt Extends Relief
What were the WPA & NYA?
A new agency called the Work Progress Administration set out to create jobs a quickly as possible. The WPA used millions of workers to build airports, roads, libraries, schools, and hospitals. Sewing groups made clothes for the needy.
Some people criticized the WPA as a...