From Crisis to Triumph: The New Deal to World War II

  1. Renewed Regulatory Impulse
    1. Finance
      1. Banking Reform
        1. Deposit Insurance
        2. Separation of Investment, Commercial Banking--The Glass-Steagall Act
        3. A Strengthened Federal Reserve
      2. Making Investments Transparent--The Securities and Excahnge Commission
      3. New Banking Institutions for Farmers, Mortgages (Fannie Mae), etc.
    2. Extending Regulation of Competition
      1. Transportation--Trucking and Airlines
      2. "Sick" Commodities--Petroleum and Coal
      3. Agriculture
        1. Guaranteeing Farm Prices--"Parity"
        2. Aiding Innovation
  2. The Labor Revolution
    1. Impact of the Depression
      1. The Collapse of "Welfare Capitalism"
      2. Chaos on the Workfloor
        1. The Struggle for Work
        2. Intensification of Work--The "Stretch-Out" and the "Speed-Up"
    2. A New Labor Militance
      1. The Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) and Industrial Unionism
      2. The "Sit-Down" Strikes of 1937
    3. Federal Protection for Workers' Organization
      1. Section 7(a), National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)
      2. National Labor Relations Act (1935)
        1. "Unfair Labor Practices" Defined
        2. Enforcement--The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
      3. Federal Workplace Regulation--The Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
  3. Assessing the New Deal
    1. Limitations
      1. Failure to End the Depression
      2. Stability at the Expense of "Creative Destruction"
    2. BUT
      1. Restored Confidence
      2. Enhanced Transparency
      3. Coordinated New Industries--The Airlines
      4. Socialized "Welfare Capitalism"--Social Security, Etc.
  4. From Depression to World War
    1. Impact of Wartime Spending
    2. Business and War Production
      1. "Cost-Plus" Contracting
      2. Federal Construction of War Facilities, Managed by Private Corporations
      3. Shifts in Regional Distribution of Manufacturing--California and Texas
      4. Wage and Price Controls
      5. Federal Dependence on Business Expertise--The "Dollar-a-Year" Men
      6. Federal Demands for "Labor Peace" and a Second Surge of Union Organization
  5. Business Wins the War--Its Finest Hour