Farm Security Administration

Examples of Farm Security Administration in the following topics:

• The New Deal

  • There was no national safety net, no public unemployment insurance, and no Social Security.
  • The First New Deal dealt with diverse groups that needed help for economic survival, from banking and railroads to industry and farming.
  • The Administration proposed or endorsed several important new initiatives in response to setbacks in the Court, a new skepticism in Congress, and growing popular clamor for more dramatic action.
  • It included a national work program, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), that made the federal government the largest single employer in the nation.
  • Housing Authority and Farm Security Administration, both begun in 1937, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers.

• Relief for the Unemployed

  • To Public Works Administration was established to finance major public works throughout the United States.
  • Major programs that addressed their needs included the Resettlement Administration (RA) and the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).
  • The first 100 days of his presidency produced the Farm Security Act to raise farm incomes by raising the prices farmers received, which was achieved by reducing total farm output.
  • The act reflected the demands of leaders of major farm organizations and reflected debates among Roosevelt's farm advisers.
  • The Farm Tenancy Act was created, which in turn created the Farm Security Administration (FSA), replacing the Resettlement Administration.

• Agricultural Initiatives and Recovery

  • The demand and resulting prosperity encouraged bigger farms to invest in the most recent technological advances.
  • One of the main goals of Roosevelt's administration was to control (lower) agricultural production and increase prices.
  • The money for the subsidies were to be generated from tax imposed on companies that processed farm products.
  • Farm Security Administration (FSA, created originally as the Resettlement Administration in 1935): Aimed to combat poverty in the countryside.
  • It is estimated that REA increased the rate of farms with access to electricity from 10% to around 40%.

• The Great Depression and the New Deal

  • Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by approximately 60%.
  • The "First New Deal" (1933–34) dealt with diverse groups, from banking and railroads to industry and farming, all of which demanded help for economic survival.
  • The "Second New Deal" in 1935–38 included the Wagner Act to promote labor unions, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief program, the Social Security Act, and new programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers.
  • The final major items of New Deal legislation were the creation of the United States Housing Authority and Farm Security Administration, both in 1937, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers.
  • The largest programs still in existence today are the Social Security System and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• Neglected Americans and the New Deal

  • Neither farm nor domestic labor, two sectors where African Americans constituted substantial labor force, were covered under NIRA.
  • Similarly, the original version (later amended) of the 1935 Social Security Act did not provide old-age pensions for farm and domestic workers.
  • Black workers participated in all the major programs that created employment, including the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Public Works Administration, and the Works Progress Administration.  
  • The Farm Security Administration, the major New Deal agency established to combat rural poverty, reached out to a much more substantial number of black farmers, tens of thousands of whom received agricultural loans.
  • Even the 1935 Social Security Act (SSA) heavily discriminated against women.

• The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)

  • On March 20, 2009, during the financial crisis of 2007–2010, the NCUA took over the two largest corporate credit unions with combined assets of $57 billion, because of the losses on their investments in mortgage-backed securities.
  • The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is the United States independent federal agency that supervises and charters federal credit unions.
  • At first, the newly created Bureau of Federal Credit Unions was housed at the Farm Credit Administration.
  • Responsibility for regulation would shift over the years as the agency migrated from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to the Federal Security Agency, then to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
  • On March 20, 2009, during the financial crisis of 2007–2010, the NCUA took over the two largest corporate credit unions with combined assets of $57 billion because of the losses on their investments in mortgage-backed securities.

• Relief and Conservation Programs

  • At that time, the federal government provided no safety net: there was no unemployment insurance, no Social Security, and no welfare.
  • The Roosevelt administration oversaw the creation of the Resettlement Administration (RA) and the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).
  • In 1933, the Administration launched the Tennessee Valley Authority, a project involving dam construction on an unprecedented scale in order to curb flooding, generate electricity, and modernize the very poor farms in the Tennessee Valley region of the Southern United States.
  • The New Deal included some of the first national welfare programs, including Social Security, passed in August of 1935 and still in operation today.
  • The Social Security Act was an attempt to create a safety net against economic dangers such as old age, poverty, and unemployment.

• Launching the New Deal

  • The creation of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (1933).
  • Among many initiatives, AAA provided farm subsidies in exchange for curbed agricultural production (farmers would not cultivate all of the land on their farms) and manipulated farm product prices by buying and temporary withholding products from the market.
  • National Recovery Administration (1933) allowed industries to create codes that would regulate and curb unfair competition.
  • The Social Security Act (1935) established the welfare system by providing financial support for dependent minors, the disabled, and the elderly (old-age pensions).
  • A poster publicizing Social Security benefits, author unknown, late 1930s/early 1940s

• Government During the War

  • Prior to secession, the South had resisted policies which would hurt the plantation economy, including tariffs to promote industry and land grants for family farms.
  • Treasury securities.
  • Railroads were also encouraged to sell tracts for family farms at low prices with extended credit.
  • The 1862 Homestead Act opened up public domain lands for family farms at no cost.
  • Congress addressed military concerns such as control of state militias, conscription and exemption, economic and fiscal policy, and supported the Davis administration in foreign affairs and peace negotiations.

• Competing Solutions

  • The creation of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (1933).
  • Among many initiatives, AAA provided farm subsidies in exchange for curbed agricultural production (farmers would not cultivate all of the land on their farms) and manipulated farm product prices by buying and temporary withholding products from the market .
  • The program was replaced by the Works Progress Administration in 1935.
  • The Social Security Act (1935) established financial support for dependent minors, the disabled, and the elderly.
  • Photograph of Works Progress Administration Worker Receiving Paycheck, Records of the Work Projects Administration, National Archives