What programs were proposed by Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal?

Answer 1

Square Deal was a US domestic program created by Theodore Roosevelt that aimed to help the middle class. It attacked plutocracy (rule by the rich and wealthy) trusts, while protecting businesses from extreme demands of organized labor. A part of this Deal was the Elkins Act passed by Congress in 1903 it ruled that railroads could not give rebates to favored companies.

Some of the more well-known of the "alphabet soup" programs of the Square Deal included:

TVA -- Tennessee Valley Authority

SSA -- Social Security Administration

NRA -- National Recovery Act

CCC -- Civilian Conservation Corps

WPA -- Works Progress Administration

FCC -- Federal Communications Commission

PWA -- Public Works Administration

FHA -- Federal Housing Administration

REA -- Rural Electrification Administration

AAA -- Agricultural Adjustment Administration

There were dozens more. Several of these programs were quickly declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court and immediately dismantled. Most notable among these was the NRA. The Court's rulings against the New Deal programs inspired FDR's famous attempt to "pack" the Court with as many as six more justices, all of whom would, of course, have been appointed by Roosevelt himself.

Most of these programs and agencies, some under other names, are still around today. Critics have long questioned why we still need, for example, the TVA, which was formed for the purpose of controlling floods in the Tennessee River valley and bringing electricity to the rural areas of Tennessee, Kentucky, and parts of Georgia and Alabama, tasks that were largely accomplished by the 1950s. Bloated and riddled with controversy, and with a history of environmental scandals, the TVA remains as a government-owned 'corporation,' one of the largest electric utilities in the US.