History HW - Write 2 page paper,answer 13 questions, create complex thesis per instructions

The New Deal 707

THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT One of the most important achievements of the New Deal was creating the Social Security system. The Social Security Act, passed in 1935, was created by a committee chaired by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins. The act had three major parts:

• Old-age insurance for retirees 65 or older and their spouses. The insurance was a supplemental retirement plan. Half of the funds came from the worker and half from the employer. Although some groups were excluded from the sys- tem, it helped to make retirement comfortable for millions of people.

• Unemployment compensation system. The unemployment system was funded by a federal tax on employers. It was administered at the state level. The ini- tial payments ranged from $15 to $18 per week.

• Aid to families with dependent children and the disabled. The aid was paid for by federal funds made available to the states.

Although the Social Security Act was not a total pension system or a complete welfare system, it did provide substantial benefits to millions of Americans.

EXPANDING AND REGULATING UTILITIES The Second New Deal also includ- ed laws to promote rural electrification and to regulate public utilities. In 1935, only 12.6 percent of American farms had electricity. Roosevelt established under executive order the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), which financed and worked with electrical cooperatives to bring electricity to isolated areas. By 1945, 48 percent of America’s farms and rural homes had electricity. That figure rose to 90 percent by 1949.

The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 took aim at financial cor- ruption in the public utility industry. It outlawed the ownership of utilities by multiple holding companies—a practice known as the pyramiding of holding companies. Lobbyists for the holding companies fought the law fiercely, and it proved extremely difficult to enforce.

As the New Deal struggled to help farmers and other workers overcome the Great Depression, it assisted many different groups in the nation, including women, African Americans, and Native Americans.

D

Second New Deal Group How Helped

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

D

Drawing Conclusions

Whom did Social Security help?

MAIN IDEA 2. TAKING NOTES

Create a chart similar to the one below to show how groups such as farmers, the unemployed, youth, and retirees were helped by Second New Deal programs.

Which group do you think benefited the most from the Second New Deal? Explain.

CRITICAL THINKING 3. EVALUATING DECISIONS

Why might the Social Security Act be considered the most important achievement of the New Deal? Think About:

• the types of relief needed in the 1930s

• alternatives to government assistance to the elderly, the unemployed, and the disabled

• the scope of the act

4. INTERPRETING VISUAL SOURCES Many WPA posters were created to promote New Deal programs—in this case the Rural Electrification Administration. How does this poster’s simplistic design convey the program’s goal?

•Eleanor Roosevelt •Works Progress Administration (WPA)

•National Youth Administration

•Wagner Act •Social Security Act

1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.