Franklin D. Roosevelt, a distant cousin of former president Theodore Roosevelt, came from a wealthy family. Ambitious and charming, FDR decided on a career in politics. In 1905, he married Theodore Roosevelt’s niece, Eleanor Roosevelt, and she became a tireless partner in his public life. FDR’s political career began with his election to the New York state senate in 1910. In 1913, he became Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and in 1920, the Democrats chose him as their candidate for vice president. The Democrats lost the election to Warren G. Harding, but Roosevelt’s political future seemed bright.

Then, in 1921, polio struck Roosevelt, paralyzing both his legs. Yet FDR’s will remained strong. After a few years, FDR decided to return to politics. He never publicly mentioned his paralyzed legs, and he asked journalists not to photograph his leg braces or wheelchair. Elected governor of New York in 1928 and reelected in 1930, Roosevelt earned a national reputation as a reformer. He drew on the advice of a group of progressive lawyers, economists, and social workers, known as the Brain Trust, to develop relief programs for the state. When he decided to run for president, he counted on the Brain Trust to help him guide the nation to recovery.

Two days after the inauguration, Roosevelt ordered all banks closed for four days. He also called Congress to a special session, at which he presented the administration’s plan for handling the banking problem. About seven hours later, Congress had passed and Roosevelt had signed the Emergency Banking Relief Act. The act proposed a wide range of presidential powers over banking and set up a system by which banks would open again or be reorganized. By mid-March, half of the nation’s banks had reopened.

At the end of his first week in office, FDR assured Americans in a radio broadcast “that it is safer to keep your money in a reopened bank than under the mattress.” The next day deposits far exceeded withdrawals. The banking crisis had ended. The president’s radio talk was the first of many. He called these informal talks “fireside chats” because he sat next to a fireplace in the White House as he spoke. These fireside chats helped FDR gain the public’s confidence.

After solving the banking crisis, Roosevelt quickly tackled other areas of national concern. He sent Congress a stack of proposals for new programs to deal with the nation’s economic problems. In all, Roosevelt sent 15 proposals to Congress, and Congress approved every one of them. Lasting about three months, the special session of Congress that Roosevelt called to launch his programs came to be called the Hundred Days. It was an amazingly productive time. Optimism swept through the capital. Journalist

The new laws that Congress passed during the Hundred Days and in the months and years that followed came to be called the New Deal. New Deal laws and regulations affected banking, the stock market, industry, agriculture, public works, relief for the poor, and conservation of resources. These laws changed the face of America dramatically.

In the early days of his presidency, FDR counted on big business to support his efforts to revive the economy. The National Recovery Administration, for example, invited participation from the business community. In general, however, the business world opposed the New Deal. Business leaders accused Roosevelt of spending too much government money and of trying to destroy free enterprise. In 1934, some of these conservative critics formed the Liberty League to “defend and uphold the Constitution.” The League wanted government to let business alone and play a less active role in the economy. Although the Liberty League did not win widespread support, its existence convinced FDR that big business was against him.

At the same time, Roosevelt drew fire from liberal critics. They wanted a more active government. Three men gained wide popularity with schemes to help the average American. One of Roosevelt’s critics was Father Charles Coughlin, a Detroit Catholic priest who reached millions of listeners through his weekly radio program. Coughlin, once a Roosevelt supporter, attacked FDR for not dealing firmly enough with big business, calling him “Franklin Double-Crossing Roosevelt.” Coughlin used his radio show to attack bankers, Jews, Communists, and labor unions, as well as the New Deal. In time, Coughlin lost support because of his extreme views, and was shut down by American bishops.

Francis Townsend, a California doctor, rose to fame with his plan for a monthly pension, or payment, for older people. Older workers who quit their jobs, making them available to younger people, would receive a pension. Townsend’s plan received little support from Congress. It did, however, force many Americans to think about the plight of the elderly poor and the needs of retired people.

Of greatest concern to Roosevelt, however, was Senator Huey Long of Louisiana. When he was governor of Louisiana, Long had won wide support with public works projects and attacks on big businesses. In 1932, Long supported FDR, but within a year, the two men had split. One of Long’s major complaints against the president was that he had not taken steps to redistribute wealth in the United States. By 1934, Long had developed his own plan for doing so. His “Share Our Wealth Plan” called for taxing the rich heavily, then using that money to give every American a home and $2,500 a year. As his appeal spread, Long became a threat to Roosevelt. Polls indicated that in 1936 he might receive as many as four million votes on a third-party ticket. However, Long was assassinated in 1935.

By the mid-1930s, the economy had improved slightly, but the Depression was far from over. FDR took bolder steps. To bring in more government funds, Roosevelt pushed Congress to pass the Revenue Act of 1935. The act raised taxes on wealthy people and corporations. Critics accused him of “soaking the rich” to pay for his programs, but many Americans cheered. In 1935, Roosevelt launched a new set of programs and reforms, often called the Second New Deal. The laws passed at this time changed American life even more than the Hundred Days had done.

Millions of people, 20 percent of the workforce, were still unemployed in 1935. In April, Congress created the Works Progress Administration, or WPA, to give people jobs and help the country. Led by Harry Hopkins, the WPA kept about two million people employed between 1935 and 1941. WPA workers built or repaired about 800 airports, 125,000 public buildings, 75,000 bridges, and 650,000 miles of roads. The WPA also found work for unemployed writers, artists, and musicians. WPA painters decorated the new public buildings with murals. Writers and photographers documented life throughout America. The writers produced Life in America, 150 volumes that recorded folktales and songs, African American narratives, and Native American traditions.

Before the Second New Deal, America was the only advanced industrial nation without a national government program to help the needy. In August 1935, Congress passed the Social Security Act. The act created a tax on workers and employers. That money provided monthly pensions for retired people. Another tax, on employers alone, funded unemployment insurance payments to people who lost their jobs. In addition, Social Security helped people with disabilities, the elderly poor, and children of parents who could not support them. With the Social Security Act, the federal government took responsibility for the welfare of all citizens. It launched the American welfare system.

Labor unions grew stronger as workers battled the Depression. In 1937 workers at the General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, used a new technique—the sit-down strike. Strikers continuously occupied the plant and refused to work until management agreed to negotiate with them about their demands. For 44 days families and friends of the Flint strikers brought them food. Finally, the strikers won the right to organize their union.

The most influential labor leader during the 1930s was John L. Lewis, head of the United Mine Workers. To increase labor’s power, Lewis strived to unite workers in every industry in a single union. Most unions in the American Federation of Labor (AFL) represented only skilled workers. Lewis called for industrial unions to include unskilled workers, the largest group in the labor force. In 1935, Lewis formed a new union called the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which helped create industrial unions. By 1938, the CIO had four million members, including large numbers of women and African Americans.

Unions found support in the New Deal. The 1935 National Labor Relations Act, also called the Wagner Act after its sponsor, Senator Robert Wagner of New York, guaranteed workers the right to form unions to bargain collectively with employers. The act also created the National Labor Relations Board to enforce its provisions. In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, which banned child labor and set a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour. The FLSA and the Wagner Act form the basis ofAmerican labor rights today.