Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Hundred Days

Sixty days into the “First Hundred Days” of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, he updates the nation on the progress they have made, and what is in store for the future. May, 7th, 1933 he uses the fireside chat as a platform to push forward proposed bills that Congress had yet to act upon and encourage his nation to stand behind him. The first opportunity he speaks of is employing jobless young men, which will be later be known as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Roosevelt intended for this program to employ a quarter of a million men, especially those who had dependents while sending them to work in forestry and flood prevention projects. It would be a way of boosting income for families that had nothing. Roosevelt says, “This is a big task because it means feeding, clothing and caring for nearly twice as many men as we have in the regular army itself. In creating this civilian conservation corps we are killing two birds
with one stone. We are clearly enhancing the value of our natural resources and second, we are relieving an appreciable amount of actual distress.” (1933) According to The Enduring Vision, looking back at the CCC, it seems to have accomplished exactly what Roosevelt had intended. This early relief program did employ jobless youths in projects such as park maintenance and restoration, reforestation, erosion control and so on. “By 1935 half a million young men were earning thirty-five dollars a month in CCC camps-a godsend to desperate families.” (737) Secondly, Roosevelt talks about his request to Congress to set up a relief fund in the Tennessee Valley.
He says, “It will add to the comfort and happiness of hundreds of thousands of people and the incident benefits will reach the entire nation.”(1933) Though the address of this idea was short and to the point in the fireside chat the text books concludes that “the most innovative program of the Hundred Days was the Tennessee Valley Authority (ATV).” (Enduring Vision, 738) The people of the Tennessee Valley were extremely poverty stricken. Most of the region did not have electricity, running water, or more then one change of clothes per person. It was hard for children to go to school because they were needed to stay home and help with daily responsibilities. This act, while bringing jobs to the area, helped to bring electricity to the area and opened many new opportunities to the people of the area. The text book concludes that “TVA proved one of the New Deal’s most popular and enduring achievements.” (Enduring Vision,
738). “Next, the Congress is about to pass legislation that will greatly ease the mortgage distress among the farmers and the home owners of the nation, by providing for the easing of the burden of debt now bearing so heavily upon millions of our people.” (1933) On June 13th 1933 Congress did pass the Home Owners’ Refining Act which allotted 200 million dollars to aid in refinancing mortgages for non farm homeowners. Roosevelt had called for half a billion for this project in his fireside chat, but all in all the job at hand remained the same and was carried out as planned. Roosevelt briefly mentions planning to ask Congress for public work projects, which we see later in history to come about as National Recovery Administration, and the Public Works Administration, that provide jobs to stimulate the economy. Roosevelt continues on in his chat of encourage the American people to stand behind him and the members of Congress in their decisions throughout this hard time in history. He says, “Today we have reason to believe that things are a little better than they were two months ago,” (1933) and according to the text book due, his reason was correct. Roosevelt carried out everything he told the American people he would in this second fireside chat, and not only that, but the acts proved to be successful in helping America gain control of its economy and stability through farming, industry and transportation.