The 5 New Deal Legislations

The Economy Act

The Economy Act, drafted by Director Lewis Douglas was passed on March 20, 1933. The act proposed to give stability to the regular federal budget by dropping the salaries of government employees and also pensions to veterans by about 40%. President Roosevelt argued there were two budgets; these budgets were the regular federal budget which he poised and the emergency budget that needed to end the Depression.

The Farm Programs

Roosevelt, being interested in farm issues and emphasizing that true prosperity would not return until farming was flourishing, created farm programs directed towards farmers. The first hundred days produced a federal program to defend profitable farmers from the doubts of the depression through funding and manufacturing. This program began with the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which led into creating the Agricultural Adjustment Administration; this is what Congress had passed in May 1933.

The "Bank Holiday" and the Emergency Banking Act

By March 4^th, all banks in the country were pretty much closed by their governors, and Roosevelt kept them all closed until he could pass this new legislation. Roosevelt sent to Congress the Emergency Banking Act, drafted in part by Hoover's administration; the act was passed and signed into law very soon the same day. This Act provided for a system of reopening banks under Treasury management. Three quarters of the banks in the Federal Reserve System reopened within the next three days, so this Act was quite helpful. Billions of dollars in brought in money and gold back into them within a month, this sent to stabilize the banking system.

Relief Acts

The largest programs that tied into relief were the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Civil Works Administration, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the National Youth Administration, and most of all, the Works Progress Administration. The Works Progress Administration employed an utmost amount of 3.3 million in November 1938. Though, even at this level of employment, unemployment was still in a low percentage at the time.

The Cancel of Prohibition