Explain the goals and major programs of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, including relief, recovery, and reform, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Social Security, and the lasting expansion of the federal government (Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies, United States History and Geography, US.23).

What this topic is asking

Standard US.23 asks what the New Deal was, what its major programs did, and how it changed the role of the federal government. For the EOC that means knowing the three R's (relief, recovery, reform), key agencies (the CCC, WPA, FDIC, SEC), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Social Security, and the lasting growth of the federal government's role in the economy and in people's lives.

Roosevelt and the three R's

When Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) took office in 1933, he promised bold action. His New Deal had three broad goals, the three R's:

FDR moved quickly in his First Hundred Days, pushing many laws through Congress. He declared a bank holiday to stop bank runs and restore trust, and spoke directly to the public in radio "fireside chats."

Relief and recovery programs

Many New Deal agencies are known by their initials ("alphabet agencies"):

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): put young men to work on conservation projects (planting trees, building parks). Relief.
• Works Progress Administration (WPA): employed millions building roads, schools, and public buildings, and supported artists and writers. Relief.
• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA): paid farmers to reduce output to raise crop prices. Recovery (for farmers).
• National Recovery Administration (NRA): set industry codes for wages and prices (later struck down by the Court). Recovery.

The Tennessee Valley Authority

Reform programs

The longest-lasting New Deal measures were reforms that changed the system:

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): insured bank deposits, so a bank failure would no longer wipe out people's savings.
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): regulated the stock market to curb the kind of reckless speculation that helped cause the crash.
• Social Security Act (1935): created old-age pensions and unemployment insurance, the foundation of the American social safety net. This is the New Deal's most enduring achievement.
• The Wagner Act protected workers' right to form unions and bargain collectively.

Opposition and limits

The New Deal was controversial. Critics on the right said it gave government too much power and cost too much; critics on the left (like Huey Long) said it did not do enough. The Supreme Court struck down some programs (the NRA and the original AAA), prompting FDR's failed 1937 plan to add justices ("court-packing"). And the New Deal did not fully end the Depression, full recovery came only with the spending of World War II.

Why this matters for the EOC

This topic generates matching items (program to the three R's or to its purpose), at least one likely Tennessee-connection item about the TVA, and point-of-view items about supporters and critics. The EOC's big idea is the changing role of government: from Hoover's limited approach to FDR's activist federal state.

Try this

Q1. Name the three R's of the New Deal and give an example of each. [3]

• Cue. Relief (CCC, WPA jobs), Recovery (TVA, AAA), Reform (FDIC, SEC, Social Security).

Q2. Explain what the Tennessee Valley Authority did. [2]

• Cue. It built dams on the Tennessee River for flood control and cheap electricity, bringing jobs and development to the Tennessee valley.