3. The Early New Deal

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we'll look at the passage of the early New Deal and describe what each part of it did. In particular, we'll look at: (i) the reforms of the financial system and the banking sector, including the suspension of the gold standard and the bank holidays; (ii) the economic recovery and Roosevelt's reelection in 1936; (iii) the policies of the New Deal, including crop subsidies, the Civil Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration; (iv) how the New Deal affected worth black and white workers, including its effect on the Great Migration; and (v) the New Deal and civil rights.

Course

In this course, Professor Eric Rauchway (UC, Davis) discusses the New Deal. We start by looking at the economic conditions of the election year of 1932. After this, we compare and contrast the beliefs and motivations of the two candidates of the 1932 election - Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the penultimate module, we'll look at the passage of the early New Deal and describe what each act did. Finally, we'll look at the end of the New Deal and discuss the transformations and limitations of the legislative program.

Lecturer

Eric Rauchway is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on the New Deal and the Second World War, and he has consulted for the U.S. Department of Justice and a major Hollywood studio. He has written a number of books including Why the New Deal Matters, which was published by Yale University Press in 2021.