The 1937 Housing Act

(noun)

A 1937 New Deal law that introduced government subsidies for local public housing agencies to improve living conditions for low-income families.

Related Terms

Examples of The 1937 Housing Act in the following topics:

  • Housing Policy

    • In 1937, the Wagner-Stegall Housing Act established the United States Housing Authority Housing Act (USHA) of 1937.
    • Building on the Housing Division's organizational and architectural precedent, the USHA built housing in the build-up to World War II, supported war-production efforts, and battled the housing shortage that occurred after the end of the war.
    • One of the most unique U.S. public housing initiatives was the development of subsidized middle-class housing during the late New Deal (1940–42) under the auspices of the Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division of the Federal Works Agency under the direction of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook.
    • The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 created the Section 8 Housing Program to encourage the private sector to construct affordable homes.
    • Where to construct these housing units and how to gain the support of the community are issues of concern when it comes to public housing.

  • Reaction and Recession

    • The Recession of 1937–1938 was an economic downturn that occurred during the Great Depression.
    • In the months of the 1937-38 recession, the trends reserved rapidly.
    • In the fall of 1937, the Housing Act (known also as the Wagner-Steagall Act) introduced government subsidies for local public housing agencies to improve living conditions for low-income families.
    • The second strategy that helped reverse the 1937-38 economic downturn were monetary reforms.
    • Manufacturing employment in the United States from 1920 to 1940, with a drop between 1937 and 1938 during the Recession of 1937-38.

  • The Last of the New Deal Reforms

    • The Third New Deal usually refers to the period around and following the Recession of 1937-38 with some pointing to the the 1939 Reorganization Act (which allowed the President to reorganize the executive branch) as the end of the final phase of the New Deal.  
    • In 1937, Roosevelt appointed Robert Jackson as the aggressive new director of the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department.
    • In the fall of 1937, the Housing Act (known also as the Wagner-Steagall Act) introduced government subsidies for local public housing agencies to improve living conditions for low-income families.
    • Historians estimate that the Act's provisions covered not more than 20% of labor force.
    • In 1938, Republicans gained seven Senate seats and 81 House seats.

  • Roosevelt's Second Term

    • Some of the few pieces of legislation were the Housing Act of 1937, a second Agricultural Adjustment Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which created the minimum wage.
    • In the November 1938 midterm election, Democrats lost six Senate seats and 71 House seats.
    • The minimum wage law of 1938 was the last substantial New Deal reform act passed by Congress.
    • Nevertheless, in 1937, Congress passed a stringent Neutrality act.
    • In October 1937, he gave the Quarantine Speech aiming to contain aggressor nations.

  • The New Deal

    • The programs were a response to the Great Depression.
    • The Second New Deal was begun in the spring of 1935 .
    • The other major innovations of New Deal legislation were the creation of the U.S.
    • 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.
    • This realignment crystallized into the New Deal Coalition that dominated most presidential elections into the 1960s, while the opposition Conservative Coalition largely controlled Congress from 1937 to 1963.

  • The Great Depression and the New Deal

    • The New Deal produced a political realignment, making the Democratic Party the majority (as well as the party that held the White House for seven out of nine Presidential terms from 1933 to 1969).
    • 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 economic downturn of 1937–38, and the bitter split between the AFL and CIO labor unions, led to major Republican gains in Congress in 1938.
    • The New Deal regulation of banking (Glass–Steagall Act) was suspended in the 1990s.

  • The Second New Deal

    • The National Labor Relations Act revived and strengthened the protections of collective bargaining in the original National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA).
    • In 1935, Roosevelt called for the Wealth Tax Act (Revenue Act of 1935) to redistribute wealth.
    • The Second New Deal also addressed housing.
    • The United States Housing Authority was one of the last New Deal agencies.
    • It was created in 1937 to abolish slums.

  • Continuing Hardships

    • The Recession of 1937–1938 saw a reversal of some of the progress that had been made and the persistence of economic hardship for many.
    • By the spring of 1937, production, profits, and wages had regained their 1929 levels.
    • Manufacturing output fell by 37% from the 1937 peak and was back to 1934 levels.
    • Department of Justice to act, but Arnold did not take any significant action.
    • Identify the New Deal policies enacted to combat the recession of 1937

  • Japanese Incursions into China

    • Although the explosion was so weak that it failed to destroy the lines and a train passed minutes later, the Japanese army accused Chinese dissidents of the act and responded with a full invasion.
    • The last of these incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, which marked the beginning of total war between the two countries.
    • The Second Sino-Japanese War lasted from July 7, 1937 to September 2, 1945.
    • From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany, the Soviet Union (1937–1940), and the United States.
    • It also made up more than 50% of the casualties in the Pacific War if the 1937–1941 period is taken into account.

  • Challenges to the New Deal

    • The League's lawyers also challenged the 1936 National Labor Relations Act but the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality.
    • In the Aftermath of the 1936 election, Roosevelt proposed the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 that would be commonly known as the "court-packing plan."
    • By 1937, an informal yet strong group of congressmen and representatives opposing the New Deal formed in Congress.
    • In the national election, more conservative candidates won seats in Congress with Republicans recording substantial gain in both House and Senate.
    • The Business Plot (known as the White House Coup) was a 1933 political conspiracy against Roosevelt.