FDR & the New Deal

1. Describe how people struggled to survive during the depression.
-Unemployment = very little money to support families
-Hunger - the dust bowl had cause an even greater shortage of produce for the cities
-Homelessness

2. How was what happened to men during the Great Depression different from what happened to women? Children?
MEN: Many men didn't know what to do when they lost their jobs. They were very used to supporting their families, when they were unable to do so many of them left their families. Many men also begged for money, something very few women were willing to do.
WOMEN: Many women set budgets for their families and sewed their own clothes rather then buying it at a store.
CHILDREN: Many children had very poor hygiene which resulted in a lat of illness and disease.

3. Describe the causes and effects (on people) because of the Dust Bowl.
The Dust bowl was caused by poor farming in the midwest of the United States, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado. Which caused huge and frequent dust storms across the midwest some of the dust was even recorded as reaching as far as Massachusetts (in a small amount). This huge agricultural disaster caused a large price increase in produce as well as a large shortage of it.

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)
Relief for the needy
Economic Recovery
Financial Reform

5. What did Roosevelt do during the Hundred Days?
The hundred days lasted from March 6 to June 16 1933. During this time the Roosevelt administration/ congress passed 15 major pieces of the New Deal legislation.

6. Why were Roosevelt's fireside chats significant?
The Fireside Chats were a series of radio broadcasts that focussed on the goals of the New Deal. In these broadcasts President Roosevelt talked directly to the people about his hopes for the recovery plan. He spoke in clear and simple language that made americans feel as though he was talking directly to themselves. It gave many Americans the opportunity to learn about and understand important aspects of the political and economic changes that their country was undergoing.

7. Describe four significant agencies and/or bills that tightened regulation of banking and finance.
-The Glass-Steagall Act (1933) established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) which provided federal insurance for individual bank accounts (of up to 5,000) This assured that if the bank was unable to pay back its customers the customers would not lose all of their money. The FDIC also required banks to be more cautious when borrowing money from their customers.
-The Federal Securities Act (1933) required corporations to provide complete information on all stock offerings and made them liable for any misrepresentations.
-Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) aimed to prevent people with inside information from "rigging" the stock market for their own profit.