Title I of the act declared a “national emergency productive of widespread unemployment and disorganization of industry, which burdens interstate and foreign commerce, affects the public welfare, and undermines the standards of living of the American people.” To correct this situation, NIRA proposed to “remove obstructions to the free flow of interstate and foreign commerce … to eliminate unfair competitive practices … to increase the consumption of industrial and agricultural products by increasing purchasing power, to reduce and relieve unemployment and to improve standards of labor.” NIRA was to accomplish these goals through the codes of fair competition, which were essentially sets of rules created on an industry-by-industry basis governing wages, prices, and business practices. Title III contained minor amendments to the Emergency Relief and Construction Act of 1932 (47 Stat. Title II provided $3.3 billion for public works projects. Title I promoted centralized economic planning by instituting codes of fair competition for industry. NIRA was divided into three sections, or titles. The Senate eventually approved the bill by a margin of seven votes. That guarantee was contained in section 7(a) of title I and proved to be the most enduring legacy of NIRA. Wagner, who had helped draft the bill, insisted that it provide a guarantee of collective bargaining for labor. Finally, some senators were troubled by the fact that the act suspended the enforcement of antitrust laws at the same time that it called on businesses to play a major role in drafting “codes of fair competition.” Given the benefits that business was expected to derive from NIRA, New York Senator Robert F. Many conservatives opposed any increase in federal powers that would result from NIRA or from other relief measures. Some Senate progressives preferred other alternatives to NIRA. Supreme Court in 1937), which promoted a thirty-hour work week. Black (who Roosevelt would appoint to the U.S. Some favored alternative legislation authored by Alabama Senator Hugo L. When it reached the Senate, however, several powerful senators opposed the bill. The House of Representatives passed NIRA by a vote of 325 to 76. Army Corps of Engineers constructing Bonneville Power and Navigation Dam in Oregon. Public Works Administration Project and U.S. Nevertheless, the urgency of the economic situation (with unemployment exceeding 30 percent in many parts of the country) pressured Congress to act. The division of opinions about the Depression was reflected in those who drafted NIRA, and the act drew both praise and criticism from across the political spectrum. In the months following Roosevelt’s inauguration, his advisers, along with members of Congress and representatives from business and labor, drafted the legislation that was introduced in Congress on May 15, 1933, as the National Industrial Recovery Act. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.Įconomists, scholars, politicians, and the public at large were deeply divided as to the underlying causes of the Great Depression and the best means to bring it to an end. It succeeded only partially in accomplishing its goals, and on May 27, 1935, less than three weeks before the act would have expired, the U.S. It attempted to make structural changes in the industrial sector of the economy and to alleviate unemployment with a public works program. NIRA was signed into law on June 16, 1933, and was to remain in effect for two years. It was enacted during the famous First Hundred Days of his first term in office and was the centerpiece of his initial efforts to reverse the economic collapse of the Great Depression. The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was one of the most important and daring measures of President Franklin D. This infamous catastrophe resulted in a level of production in 1933 significantly less than what it had been just four years earlier. Overproduction in the 1920’s led to inflation, and in 1929 the Wall Street Crash flattened the United States’ economy. This was in the midst of the Great Depression, and even those fortunate enough to have jobs worked under unfavorable conditions. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated in March 1933, one quarter of the nation’s work force, (representing approximately 13 million workers in the United States), was out of work. ![]() Photo: Public Domain The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 Signed into law on June 16, 1933 In: Eras in Social Welfare History, Events, New Deal NRA Blue Eagle poster, the image most commonly associated with the NIRA.
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