New Deal

Bank Stabilization

Mar 9, 1933

Franklin D. Roosevelt calls Congress into special session, sending up as his first piece of proposed legislation a bill to stabilize the country's failing banking system. Congress passes the bill that very day.

Economy Bill

Mar 11, 1933

Congress passes Franklin D. Roosevelt's economy bill, slashing government spending by cutting $500 million in scheduled payments to veterans and federal employees.

First Fireside Chat

Mar 12, 1933

Franklin D. Roosevelt conducts his first "Fireside Chat," going on the radio to communicate directly with the American people. Roosevelt reassures the country that its banks are now safe for business.

Confidence in Banks Restored

Mar 13, 1933

Franklin D. Roosevelt lifts the nationwide bank holiday he imposed one week earlier. Customers, buoyed by FDR's confidence in the banking system, deposit more money than they withdraw, ending the country's banking crisis.

Civilian Conservation Corps

Mar 31, 1933

Congress creates the Civilian Conservation Corps, which will put 250,000 young unemployed men to work in reforestation and development of the National Parks and Forests.

Federal Emergency Relief Act

May 12, 1933

Congress passes the Federal Emergency Relief Act, distributing hundreds of millions of dollars to the states for dispersal to the one-fourth of the national workforce unable to obtain jobs.

Agricultural Adjustment Act

May 12, 1933

Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which seeks to alleviate rural misery by reducing farm output and raising prices.

Federal Securities Act

May 27, 1933

Congress passes the Federal Securities Act, for the first time committing the federal government to the regulation of Wall Street.

National Industrial Recovery Act

Jun 16, 1933

Congress passes the National Industrial Recovery Act, the signature piece of legislation of the First New Deal, which Roosevelt hopes will lift the industrial economy out of Depression.

Federal Housing Administration Created

Jun 28, 1934

Congress creates the Federal Housing Administration to insure loans for construction and repairs of homes.

Emergency Relief Appropriations Act

Apr 8, 1935

Congress passes the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act, which allocates $5 billion for work relief projects administered through the new Works Progress Administration, which will ultimately employ more than eight million Americans.

National Industrial Recovery Act Ruled Unconstitutional

May 27, 1935

In Schechter v. United States, the Supreme Court rules that the National Industrial Recovery Act—the centerpiece of the First New Deal—is unconstitutional.

Social Security Act

Aug 14, 1935

Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act, the signature piece of legislation of the entire New Deal era, which permanently changes the relationship between the American people, their government, and the free market.

Supreme Court Upholds National Labor Relations Act

Apr 12, 1937

The Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Act.

Supreme Court Upholds Social Security Act

May 24, 1937

The Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the Social Security Act.