American_History_Journals

2nd Set of Journal Entries Entry 1. National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 was signed into a law on June 16, 1933. National Industrial Recovery Act was one of the most important and daring measures of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. NIRA was divided into three sections, or titles. Title I promoted centralized economic planning by instituting codes of fair competition for industry. Title II provided $3.3 billion for public works projects. Title III contained minor amendments to the Emergency Relief and Construction Act of 1932. NIRA created the National Recovery Administration (NRA) to oversee the drafting and implementation of the codes of fair competition. Under the supervision of the NRA, several hundred industry codes were rapidly enacted, but public support soon diminished. The codes tended to increase efficiency and employment, improve wages and hours, prevent price cutting and Unfair Competition, and encourage collective bargaining. Entry 2. Agricultural Adjustment Act The Agricultural Adjustment Act was signed on May 12, 1933. This act was also known as AAA. The Agricultural Adjustment Act restricted production during the New Deal by paying farmers to reduce crop area. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus so as to effectively raise the value of crops, thereby giving farmers relative stability again. The farmers were paid subsidies by the federal government for leaving some of their fields unused. The Act created a new agency, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which was to oversee the distribution of the subsidies. The agency oversaw a large-scale destruction of existing cotton crops and livestock in an attempt to reduce surpluses. No other crops or animals were affected in 1933, but six million piglets and 220,000 pregnant cows were slaughtered in the AAA's effort to raise prices. Many cotton farmers plowed under a quarter of their crop in accordance with the AAA's plans Entry 3. Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority also known as the TVA was created by congressional charter in May 1933. The TVA is a federally owned corporation in the United States to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly hard hit by the Great Depression. The TVA was envisioned not only as an electricity provider, but also as a regional economic development agency that would use federal experts and electricity to rapidly modernize the region's economy and society. The TVA's jurisdiction covers most of Tennessee, parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small slices of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. It is a political entity with a territory the size of a major state, and with some state powers it has no citizenry or elected officials. It was the first large regional planning agency of the federal government and remains the largest. Entry 4. The Social Security Act The Social Security Act was establish a law on August 14, 1935 under President Fanklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. The Social Security Act of 1935 is one of the most important pieces of legislation in American history. With the collected one percent of workers' wages to be set aside for the workers' retirement. Businesses also had to contribute an amount equal to their employees' contributions. Once workers reached retirement age, they would receive this money back in monthly payments, assisting these people in supporting themselves when they were less employable due to their age, collected one percent of workers' wages to be set aside for the workers' retirement. Businesses also had to contribute an amount equal to their employees' contributions. Once workers reached retirement age, they would receive this money back in monthly payments, assisting these people in supporting themselves when they were less employable due to their age. Entry 5. .