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Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
A U.S. federal agency organized to utilize the nation's unemployed youth by building roads, planting trees, improving parks, etc. This work relief program had the desired effect and provided jobs for many Americans during the Great Depression. The CCC was responsible for building many public works projects and created structures and trails in parks across the nation that are still in use today. -
Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC)
A public corporation that insures all demand deposits of member banks. The U.S. Congress does not appropriate funds. Instead, it is funded by premiums from banks. It also earns interest on its investments in U.S. Treasury bonds. The FDIC was created by the Banking Act of 1933 to prevent bank failures during the Great Depression. -
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)
An act of Congress that enabled the president and the National Recovery Administration to formulate and execute measures for reducing industrial unemployment. Through hearings and government intervention the hope was to balance the needs of all involved in the economy. However, the NIRA was declared unconstitutional in the landmark Supreme Court case Schechter Poultry Corp. v. U.S. The Supreme Court ruled that the NIRA violated the separation of powers. -
Security & Exchange Commission (SEC)
A U.S. federal agency created to supervise and regulate issues and transactions in securities and to prosecute illegal stock manipulations. The SEC has been responsible for protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of securities markets, and facilitating capital formation. -
Federal Housing Authority (HUD today)
The department of the U.S. federal government that institutes and administers all federal programs dealing with better housing, urban renewal, and metropolitan planning. A large number of unemployed workers combined with the banking crisis created a situation in which banks recalled loans and people lost their houses. The FHA/HUD was designed to regulate mortgages and housing conditions and still plays a major role in the financing of houses for Americans. -
National Labor Relations Board (Part of Wagner Act)
A board consisting of five members, originally set up under the National Labor Relations Act to guarantee workers' rights to organize and to prevent unfair labor practices. The NLRB has protected the rights of employees and employers, encouraged collective bargaining, and curtailed certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy. -
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
The federal agency charged with instituting and administering public works in order to relieve national unemployment. As the largest New Deal agency, the WPA affected millions of Americans and provided jobs across the nation. Because of it, numerous roads, buildings and other projects were built, it was renamed the Works Projects Administration in 1939, and it officially ended in 1943. -
Social Security Act
A law providing old-age retirement insurance, a federal-state program of unemployment compensation, and federal grants for state welfare programs. The government program provides income to retired wage earners and the disabled who have paid into the program throughout their working lives via a payroll deduction. The program has become one of the most popular government programs and is funded by current wage earners and their employers.
