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1 A New World
2 Beginnings of English America, 1607–1660
3 Creating Anglo-America, 1660–1750
4 Slavery, Freedom, and the Struggle for Empire, to 1763
5 The American Revolution, 1763–1783
6 The Revolution Within
7 Founding a Nation, 1783–1789
8 Securing the Republic, 1790–1815
9 The Market Revolution, 1800–1840
10 Democracy in America, 1815–1840
11 The Peculiar Institution
12 An Age of Reform, 1820–1840
13 A House Divided, 1840–1861
14 A New Birth of Freedom: The Civil War, 1861–1865
15 “What Is Freedom?”: Reconstruction, 1865–1877
16 America’s Gilded Age, 1870–1890
17 Freedom’s Boundaries, at Home and Abroad, 1890–1900
18 The Progressive Era, 1900–1916
19 Safe for Democracy: The United States and World War I, 1916–1920
20 From Business Culture to Great Depression: The Twenties, 1920–1932
21 The New Deal, 1932–1940
22 Fighting for the Four Freedoms: World War II, 1941–1945
23 The United States and the Cold War, 1945–1953
24 An Affluent Society, 1953–1960
25 The Sixties, 1960–1968
26 The Triumph of Conservatism, 1969–1988
27 Globalization and Its Discontents, 1989–2000
28 September 11 and the Next American Century

Chapter 21: The New Deal, 1932–1940

Sources of Freedom

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This chapter concentrates on the history of the New Deal era, examining legislation, protest movements, and the impact of the New Deal upon minorities. The chapter opens with the Grand Coulee Dam, a magnificent piece of civil engineering, yet it flooded hundreds of acres of Indian hunting and farming land for which the Native Americans were not compensated.

Roosevelt's New Deal accomplished significant achievements, but also had many limitations. The chapter explores the economic recovery programs of the First New Deal and the subsequent wave of protests from men like Upton Sinclair, Huey Long, Father Charles Coughlin, and Dr. Francis Townsend. Pressured by these voices of protest, Roosevelt's Second New Deal focused more on economic security.

Labor made remarkable gains during the New Deal, as seen with the establishment of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Led by John Lewis, the CIO had a clear vision of what democracy and freedom meant for labor. This understanding is highlighted in his 1936 radio address in Voices of Freedom. Roosevelt's "reckoning with liberty" is discussed next, looking at how he gave liberalism its modern meaning as well as his court fight. The limits of the New Deal are then explored, examining the hardships faced by women, Indians, Mexicans, and African-Americans. Finally, the chapter looks at the appeal of the Communist Party during the New Deal and the conservative congressional response to the Popular Front with the establishment of House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the Smith Act.


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