Challenges to the New Deal

The first New Deal initiatives engendered fierce criticism and political opposition. From the right, Republicans and businesspeople charged that New Deal programs were too radical, undermining private property, economic stability, and democracy. Critics on the left faulted the New Deal for its failure to allay the human suffering caused by the depression and for its timidity in attacking corporate power and greed.

Major Legislation of the New Deal’s First Hundred Days

Name of Act Basic Provisions
March 9, 1933 Emergency Banking Act Provides for reopening stable banks and authorizing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to supply funds.
March 31, 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps Act Provides jobs for unemployed young men.
May 12, 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act Provides funds to pay farmers for not growing crops.
May 12, 1933 Federal Emergency Relief Act Provides relief funds for the destitute.
May 18, 1933 Tennessee Valley Authority Act Creates the TVA to bring electric power and conservation to the area.
June 16, 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act Specifies cooperation among business, government, and labor in setting fair prices and working conditions.
June 16, 1933 Glass-Steagall Banking Act Creates the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure bank deposits.