Housing Act of 1937

(noun)

The Housing Act of 1937, sometimes called the Wagner-Steagall Act, provided for subsidies to be paid from the U.S. government to local public housing agencies to improve living conditions for low-income families. The act was one of the few major pieces of legislation passed during Roosevelt's second term.

Related Terms

Examples of Housing Act of 1937 in the following topics:

  • Housing Policy

    • In 1937, the Wagner-Stegall Housing Act established the United States Housing Authority Housing Act (USHA) of 1937.
    • 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.
    • They are intended to increase the availability of affordable housing and improve the quality of low-income housing, while avoiding problems associated with concentrated subsidized housing.
    • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.
    • At first, the President gave only covert support to repeal of the arms embargo provisions of the Neutrality Act.

  • Reaction and Recession

    • The Recession of 1937–1938 was an economic downturn that occurred during the Great Depression.
    • Between the late spring of 1937 and early summer of 1938, the U.S. economy entered another period of economic downturn.
    • 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.
    • Manufacturing employment in the United States from 1920 to 1940, with a drop between 1937 and 1938 during the Recession of 1937-38.

  • The New Deal

    • 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.
    • It also marked the beginning of complex social programs and the growing power of labor unions.
    • The effects of the New Deal remain a source of controversy and debate among economists and historians.

  • 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.

  • 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 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 Supreme Court declared the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the first version of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) unconstitutional, although the AAA was rewritten and then upheld.
    • The New Deal regulation of banking (Glass–Steagall Act) was suspended in the 1990s.

  • 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.
    • The American economy took a sharp downturn in mid-1937, lasting for 13 months through most of 1938.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Historians estimate up to 300,000 Chinese were mass murdered in the Nanking Massacre (also known as the "Rape of Nanking") after the fall of Nanking on December 13, 1937, while some Japanese deny the existence of a massacre .

  • Legislative Achievements of the Second New Deal

    • The two major legislative achievements of the Second New Deal were the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Social Security Act.
    • The National Labor Relations Act, NLRA, or Wagner Act, is a 1935 United States federal law that was one of the main achievements of the Second New Deal.
    • As a response to the the Supreme Court striking down many pieces of Roosevelt's New Deal legislation, Roosevelt attempted to pack the court via the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937.
    • Beginning with a set of decisions in March, April, and May, 1937, however, the Court would sustain a series of New Deal legislation.
    • Total personal income of Americans rose from $38 billion in 1933 to $70 billion in 1937.