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The first hundred days

In his first hundred days in office, the new president pushed forward an unprecedented number of new bills, all geared towards stabilizing the economy, providing relief to individuals, creating jobs, and helping businesses. A sympathetic Democrat-controlled Congress helped propel his agenda forward.

Relief: employment for the masses

Even as he worked to rebuild the economy, Roosevelt recognized that the unemployed millions required jobs more quickly than the economy could provide. In a push to create new jobs, Roosevelt signed the Wagner-Peyser Act, creating the United States Employment Service, which promised states matching funds if they created local employment opportunities. He also authorized $500 million in direct grants through the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA). This money went directly to states to infuse relief agencies with the much-needed resources to help the nearly fifteen million unemployed. These two bills illustrate Roosevelt’s dual purposes of providing short-term emergency help and building employment opportunities that would strengthen the economy in the long term.

Roosevelt was aware of the need for immediate help, but he mostly wanted to create more jobs. FERA overseer Harry Hopkins, who later was in charge of the Civil Works Administration (CWA), shared this sentiment. With Hopkins at its helm, the CWA, founded in early 1933, went on to put millions of men and women to work. At its peak, there were some four million Americans repairing bridges, building roads and airports, and undertaking other public projects. Another work program was the Civilian Conservation Corps    Relief Act (CCC). The CCC provided government jobs for young men aged fourteen to twenty-four who came from relief families. They would earn thirty dollars per month planting trees, fighting forest fires, and refurbishing historic sites and parks, building an infrastructure that families would continue to enjoy for generations to come. Within the first two months, the CCC employed its first 250,000 men and eventually established about twenty-five hundred camps ( [link] ).

A photograph shows a group of CCC workers building a canal.
The CCC put hundreds of thousands of men to work on environmental projects around the country. Some call it the beginning of the modern environmentalist movement in the United States.

The various programs that made up the First New Deal are listed in the table below ( [link] ).

Key programs from the first new deal
New Deal Legislation Years Enacted Brief Description
Agricultural Adjustment Administration 1933–1935 Farm program designed to raise process by curtailing production
Civil Works Administration 1933–1934 Temporary job relief program
Civilian Conservation Corps 1933–1942 Employed young men to work in rural areas
Farm Credit Administration 1933-today Low interest mortgages for farm owners
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 1933–today Insure private bank deposits
Federal Emergency Relief Act 1933 Direct monetary relief to poor unemployed Americans
Glass-Steagall Act 1933 Regulate investment banking
Homeowners Loan Corporation 1933–1951 Government mortgages that allowed people to keep their homes
Indian Reorganization Act 1933 Abandoned federal policy of assimilation
National Recovery Administration 1933–1935 Industries agree to codes of fair practice to set price, wage, production levels
Public Works Administration 1933–1938 Large public works projects
Resettlement Administration 1933–1935 Resettles poor tenant farmers
Securities Act of 1933 1933–today Created SEC; regulates stock transactions
Tennessee Valley Authority 1933–today Regional development program; brought electrification to the valley

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Source:  OpenStax, U.s. history. OpenStax CNX. Jan 12, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11740/1.3
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