National Industrial Recovery Act
by Shiloh Richters
Why It Was Made
- The NIRA law was passed in 1933 to allow the President to regulate industry in an attempt to raise prices after severe deflation.
- It established a number of administrations such as the Public Works Administration (PWA) and led to the creation of the Community Works Administration.
- The PWA was founded in order to create jobs by constructing schools and other community buildings, while the CWA constructed roads and paid the salaries of teachers.
Who Ran It and How It Worked
- It was run mainly by Franklin Roosevelt in order to lower unemployment and help industries recover (like oil Industries).
- The Act had two main titles:
- Title I was devoted to the industrial part; it guaranteed the rights of trade unions, permitted working standard regulations, and regulated the price of petroleum transportation and consumer cost.
- Title II founded the PWA which carried out school/community building construction projects. It also provided funding for the act.
Hugh Johnson
Was the head of the NRA which, founded four days after the NIRA, established hundreds of Industry regulations.
Image of The NRA Blue Eagle
PWA construction site in Washington D.C.
The PWA and the NIRA Failure
- The PWA (and NIRA) was involved in the funding/construction of many projects: the USS Enterprise, USS Yorktown, Fort Peck Dam, Bonneville Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, and the Triborough Bridge. Many of these costed thousands if not millions of dollars.
- PWA survived even after the NIRA was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 and continued on until 1943. The NIRA, however, was never replaced even though only the first Tile was deemed unconstitutional where as the second Title was fine.
Why the New Deal Was Important
- I believe that the new deal was very important during this time. It created jobs, community buildings, roads, dams, the FDIC, and other acts that we still use today. Most importantly, though, I think it created hope for the majority of people who had none. The problem, I think, with the New Deal was that it was a bunch of acts and administrations that were pretty rushed into existence leaving some loop holes. If they were more organized maybe they would've done better and WWII wouldn't have been the only reason why we got out of the depression.