Did the lives of African Americans improve as a result of the New Deal?

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  • Created by: Eli
  • Created on: 10-11-13 16:21

Did the lives of African Americans improve as a result of the New Deal?

Advantages

  • New Deal Agencies like the CC, the TVA and the WPA gave work to African Americans
  • Eleanor Roosevelt used her influence to help - when the National Youth Administration was created in 1935, it ocntained a Bureau for ***** Affairs - Mary McLeod (African American) led it
  • In June 1941, FDR banned racial discrimination in defense industries, helping tens of thousands of African Americans become employed
  • Benefited from new deal programs - In January 1935 3 Million African Americans - 20% of the black labor force were employed with these
  • 1938, the US Supreme Court in a case called Missouri exrel Gaines v Canada, allowed a black student - Lloyd Gaines - to attend the all-white University of Missouri
  • Around 20,000 African Americans gained benefits from the CCC and other New Deal Agencies
  • Many benefited from New Deal slum clearance and housing projects

Disadvantages

  • In the Old South, segregation continued
  • Still faced discrimination in jobs, housing and education
  • Between 1933 and 1935, 63 African Americans were killed in lynchings in the South
  • FDR couldn't ban lynching because he needed the support of the southern White Democrat Senators and Congression
  • Many New Deal agencies discriminated against them. They either got no work or received worse treatment or lower wages

Evaluation

Generally, African Americans benefited greatly from the New Deal agencies, despite the fact that some discriminated against them. However, people's attitudes towards them barely changed and they still faced major discrimination. 

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