FDR & the New Deal

1. Describe how people struggled to survive during the depression.
Many people lost their jobs, were evicted from their homes, and ended up stranded on the streets. Some people slept with newspapers wrapped around them for warmth, others built makeshift shafts out of scrap materials. Shanty Towns were covered around cities, little towns consisting of shacks. Everyday people would dig through garbage cans, or beg people on the streets for money. Soup kitchens offered free or low costed foods, and bread lines became a common sight.

2. How was what happened to men during the Great Depression different from what happened to women? Children?
Men were much more effected from the Great Depression. Their usual role was to work and support the families so they had a harder time dealing with unemployment. Some men became so discouraged that they stopped trying, some even simply abandoned their families. Women on the other hand worked harder to support their families during the great depression. Many women canned foods and sewed clothes, they also carefully managed household budgets. Many Americans also assumed that women had an easier time during the great depression than men did because few were seen begging on the streets, but they were only too ashamed to be seen. For children, poor diets and lack of money for health care led to serious health problems. Fallen tax revenues also caused school boards to shorten the year, many schools even shut down. So instead these children turned to labor. Teenagers tried to find ways to get out of suffering. Many teenagers hopped aboard freight trains in search of work, adventure, and overall an escape from poverty.

3. Describe the causes and effects (on people) because of the Dust Bowl.
Thousands of farmers and sharecroppers left their land behind. Thousands migrated to California and other Pacific coats states. But many people lost their will to survive. Other made sacrifices that affected their lives forever. Adults stopped going to the doctors, and the dentists because they couldn't afford it. Young people gave up their dreams of going to college. Others put off marriage, having children, or having children at all. But besides that during the Great Depression many people showed kindness to strangers who were down on their luck. People often gave out food, clothes, and a place to stay for the needy.

Objective: Summarize the initial steps Franklin D. Roosevelt took to reform banking and finance.

4. What was the New Deal and its three general goals? (The 3 Rs)
The New Deal was a program designed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to alleviate the problems of the Great Depression. Its general three goals were, find relief for the needy, form economic recovery, and form financial reform.

5. What did Roosevelt do during the Hundred Days?
During the hundred days Roosevelt and his administration launched a period of intense activity. Congressed passed more than 15 major pieces of New Deal legislation. These laws, and others that followed, expanded the federal governments role in the nations economy.

6. Why were Roosevelt's fireside chats significant?
Roosevelt's fireside chats were significant because it made Americans feel as if the President was talking directly to them. It led many Americans to trust their President and to have hope that he knows how to fix the problem.

7. Describe four significant agencies and/or bills that tightened regulation of banking and finance.
1.) Glass-Steagall Act: established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which provided federal insurance for individual bank accounts up to $5000. Reassuring millions of bank customers that their money was safe.

2.) Federal Securities Act: required corporations to provide complete information on all stock offerings and made them liable to any misrepresentatives.

3.) Securities and Exchange Commission: regulated stock market. also prevented people with inside information about companies from rigging the stock market for their own profit.

4.) 21st Amendment: repealed prohibition all together which raised governments revenue.