[Music] in 1932 as Dole qes lengthened Across America 13 million were out of work nearly a third of the people relied on handouts from private Charities there was no welfare state to help them it was the time of the Great [Music] Depression evictions became a common sight as people could no longer for to keep up their payments for their furniture and their [Music] homes the Republican president Herbert Hoover really believed in self-help not government help he thought a welfare state incouraged idleness his efforts to Halt unemployment had been too little and too late now the very poor had to live in Shanty towns which they bitterly called Hoover vills [Music] in a newspaper interview at the time Hoover told a reporter nobody's actually starving the mood in town and country was one of hopelessness and despair it seemed that things would never get better the man destined to change all that was born in this house called Hyde Park in New York state he was a member of a rich Dutch American Family his name was Franklin Delano Roosevelt at this expensive boarding school he was good at sports and popular his charm captivated a distant cousin Elena in 194 they were guests at a cousin's wedding a year later they were themselves married both were Rich after leaving University Rosevelt became a lawyer and a devoted family man he entered into Politics as a Democratic party Senator and later the youngest ever assistant secretary to the Navy then in 1921 tragedy struck Roosevelt got polio he'd never walk again without support his political career seemed at an end it was his wife Elena in the coming years of vital inspiration who encouraged him back into politics she too had to make a lot of public appearances and this basically shy woman was to become extremely popular encouraged by his wife close friends and his own Ambitions Roosevelt became Democratic governor of New York in 1928 success there led him in 1932 to become the Democratic Party 's presidential candidate pledged to fight the depression let us all here assembled constitute ourselves profets of a new order of competence and of Courage this is more than a political campaign it is a call to Arms give me your help not to win votes alone but to win in this crusade to restore America to it's own people although disabled Rosevelt conducted a vigorous campaign against President Hoover his message was clear he'd offer the Americans a new deal and get the unemployed back to work he didn't spell out plans to end the Depression nor did the voters greatly care for details what they wanted and got was hope and confidence the result was never in [Applause] doubt it look my friends like a real Landslide this time so please let me let me thank you again and tell you that I hope to see you all very soon and B you an affectionate good night he'd won 42 out of the 48 states the new President's first speech to the nation was a rallying call for joint action by the government and the people first of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself nameless unreasoning unjustified Terror I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis fraud executive power to wage a war against the emergency as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign fo that same night in the White House Roosevelt got down to work to deal with the emergency he relied heavily on a small group of advisers to draft the necessary laws their first job was to restore the shattered economy since the Wall Street Crash of the 5,000 Banks had closed down people withdrew their money from the banks and kept it at home there was no confidence in the system to stop the Panic Roosevelt closed all the banks for 4 days in the famous first 100 days he persuaded Congress to pass 15 new laws to fight the emergency now something was happening and confidence began to return he believed in explaining these New Deal Laws directly to the people to gain their confidence he did this in his radio confidence of the people themselves confidence and courage let's unite in banishing fear we have provided the Machinery to restore our financial system and it is up to you to support and make it work it is your problem my friends no less than it is mine together we cannot fail one of his first acts allowed beer to be s again it signaled the end of prohibition and of gangster control over [Music] drink the new laws to help all sections of the community were nicknamed the alphabet laws farmers were given help under the AAA or agricultural adjustment act they were suffering because of rapidly falling prices for their products to raise these prices the AAA paid out money to Farmers who produced less but this meant crops plowed up and livestock killed for some critics this was a great waste it might help the farmers but what about those Americans who were going hungry Roosevelt's answer was to get the unemployed to earn money on new government building schemes for instance the WPA or workers progress administration gave work to about 8 million people on a number of projects over the years everybody is working in this town and it's worrying me night and day everybody's working in this town woring me night and day that's the mean hardworking crew says a work for the WPA to get young men out of the Soul destroying do cues in the city the SE Cc or Civilian Conservation Corp was formed they cleared thousands of acres and planted millions of trees to prevent soil being washed away in some parts of America heavy rains brought floods which washed away the soil and destroyed the local farmers livelihood the Tennessee Valley was a particularly bad example and one of the most important alphabet laws created the TVA or Tennessee Valley Authority this vast government project built a series of dams which controlled the flooding and also provided cheap electricity in the valley for the first time this angered private firms who were kept out of the scheme the Blue Eagle was the symbol of the NRA the National Recovery Administration this was one of the New Deal's most popular acts and got a lot of publicity because it encouraged firms to raise the wages of the lowest paid improve working conditions and give long overdue acceptance to trades unions large NRA parades were held showing people's growing optimism and sense of purpose to millions of Americans Across the Nation it seemed that happier times were really here [Music] [Applause] again it's very good to be here at these Virginia CCC camps I wish I could see them all over the country I wish that I could take a couple of months off from the White House and come down here and live with them because I know I'd get full of Health the way they have the only difference is that they've put on an average of about 12b a piece since they got here and I'm trying to take off1 many Americans thought having Roosevelt in the white house would be good for them and one of his first orders as president was that people in distress who got in touch with the White House should never be put off people from all walks of life wrote to the president because they thought he could deal with their problems but Roosevelt had his opponents too they were the noisy but small groups of socialists and Communists who felt he wasn't doing enough for working [Music] people then there were the rich who resented paying higher taxes to finance the New Deal they thought Roosevelt a traitor to his class a threat to their way of life some even refuse to mention his name Roosevelt faced this opposition head on it is true that the toes of some people are being stepped on and are going to be stepped on but these toes belong to the comparative few a few timid people who fear progress will try to give you new and strange names for what we are doing sometimes sometimes they will call it Fascism and sometimes communism and sometimes regimentation and sometimes socialism but in so doing they are trying to make very complex and theoretical something that is really very simple and very practical I believe in Practical explanations and in Practical policy but in the 1936 presidential elections Alfred Landon Roosevelt's Republic opponent attack the new deal as impractical and extravagant 3 years it must be obvious to everyone that waste and extravagance do not make jobs it is a pitiful spectacle to see Republican leaders call this great program waste and extravagance of course we spent money it went to put needy men and women without jobs to work rosev 1280 Landon 664 as the election results came in it was clear that Roosevelt had won another Landslide Victory most Americans wanted both him and the new [Applause] deal but there were difficult times ahead for years farming in the mid West had steadily exhausted the soil leaving it thin and dry the severe drugs and high winds between 1933 and 1936 had led to millions of Acres literally being Swept Away year after year the dust storms came turning day into [Music] night a huge dust bowl was created nothing would grow animals died many owners of small farms went bankrupt and tenants couldn't pay their rents there was little immediate help the government could give them so a mass migration from the land began thousands lured by stories of the Golden West crammed their few remaining belongings into rickety cars and set off for California but there was no welcome for them in the rich and fertile Californian Countryside once proud owners of land were lucky to earn a few dollars in the fields and Orchards of the Golden [Music] State not so many miles away the film industry in Hollywood was one of the glittering successes of the 1930s Stars continued to shine for adoring [Music] fans it was mostly a fairy tale World glamorous and light-hearted providing the kind of entertainment that helped many Americans forget their troubles [Music] but in the real world life for the refuges from the Dust Bowl in the Californian work camps was very far removed from that shown in the [Music] movies across the country in Washington opposition to the New Deal was mounted the Supreme Court the highest legal body in the United States had declared many of Roosevelt's acts unconstitutional the New Deal seemed to be at risk most of the judges were elderly and politically opposed to Roosevelt when he proposed increasing their number he was accused of trying to pack the court with his supporters and suffered a rare defeat in Congress most Americans believed that the court was above politics and outside the power of the president there was trouble on the industrial front too in spite of the New Deal's efforts some big Industries still refused to recognize trades unions so in 1936 and 1937 a wave of sitdown strikes swept the country workers in all kinds of jobs refused to leave their workplaces in protest all over industrial America especially in the steel car and rubber Industries picketing by Strikers went [Music] on some firms employed private armies of strike Breakers to break up picket lines to many Employers in 1937 all union members were dangerous Communists and deserved to be treated as such [Applause] but gradually the unions won their right to be recognized though many people frightened by the strikes didn't put their money into industry and unemployment rose again in 1938 once more the do cues appeared but at least now the government was ready to play its part the unemployed would no longer have to scavenge in dust bins to keep alive Social Security and old age pensions had been firmly established by the late 30s the New Deal had begun to transform the country government agencies built roads homes schools hospitals and public buildings of all kinds the new dams of the TVA and other schemes not only gave work and electricity to many parts of the country but it made millions of Acres fertile again there were fewer Farmers now but they were supported by guaranteed prices for their crops Roosevelt's New Deal had increased the buying power of many more people yet enforcing it through he defended many groups big business the Supreme Court as he said himself with his customary grin everybody's a gimme except the electorate he'd seen America through some very dark days [Music] but it was an event outside America the European war of 1939 with its demand for American weapons that got people back to work again ironically it was this rather than the New Deal which finally brought unemployment in the United States to an end [Music]