So Mr. President, What Did You Do During Your Term in Office? (15)

Topic: The Roosevelt Administration: Years 1933 #3

May 27, 1933
Congress passes the Federal Securities Act, which instructs the Federal Trade Commission to police all new stock and bond issues.

June 5, 1933
In joint resolution, Congress supports President Roosevelt's earlier proclamation and takes the country off the gold standard by making all Government and private obligations payable in "lawful money."

June 13, 1933
The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) is set u p with a capital of $200,000,000 and authority to raise ten times that amount by issuing bonds. The money is to be used to help nonfarm homeowners escape from high mortgage payments by refinancing all obligations on the home into one long-term, low-payment mortgage.

June 16, 1933
The Banking Act of 1933 (The Glass-Steagall Act) is passed, setting up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) which guarantees individual accounts in banks up to $5,000.

June 16, 1933
The Farm Credit Act becomes law, to assist farmers with loans for production and marketing and for providing refinancing of farm mortgages at favorable terms. The act is administered by the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), set up earlier in the year to handle all Federal legislation pertaining to farm credit.

June 16, 1933
The National Industrial Recovery Act (NRA), is passed with the purpose of improving business activity and providing jobs. Specifically the act sets up codes of fair practice concerning working conditions, wages, and business practices. These codes are to be enforced by the National Recovery Administration (NRA). Another section of the NIRA gives workers the right to "organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing." Title II of the NIRA sets up the Public Works Administration (PWA), with the purpose of stimulating the economy through the construction of huge public works projects that require large numbers of workers, such as dams, port facilities, sewage plants, roads, airports, bridges, and hospitals.

To be continued: The Roosevelt Administration 1933 #4

Sources For Information: The American Presidents by David C. Whitney; Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (1996), The New York Public Library American History Desk Reference; A Stonesong Press Book (1997) The Bicentennial Almanac Edited by Calvin D. Linton, Ph.D. Publishers, Thomas Nelson Inc. (1975) The Presidents of the United States Vol 2, A.S. Barnes & Co. (1973): Roosevelt in Retrospect, A Profile in History by John Gunther; Harper & Brothers, Publishers, (1950): Society and Thought in America: Volume II by Harvey Wish, Publishers: David McKay Company, Inc.1952

To contact: miriam@thehistorybox.com
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