Beginning in the early to mid-1930s, the government stepped in to help the nation's housing crisis. Hoover's administration created a federally sponsored bank to give home loans, but it wasn't until the New Deal when major steps were taken to combat the housing issue.
In the New Deal, Roosevelt fought against the foreclosure of homes and started the construction of homes again, as he believed it was a fundamental right for all Americans to have the security of a home. The National Housing Act was signed by Roosevelt in 1934 to improve housing conditions and provide a system for mortgage insurance. The federal government began building houses with low rents and the Federal Housing Administration provided home mortgages from private banks.
New Deal housing reforms brought greater economic security to thousands of Americans throughout the United States. Following the New Deal, the national homeownership rate increased from 50% to 70% of households.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-and-education-magazines/housing-1929-1941
https://www.nber.org/chapters/c12798
https://www.fdrlibrary.org/housing
https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/soc_sec/hgreat.htm
https://livingnewdeal.org/glossary/national-housing-act-1934/
textbook
https://www.nber.org/chapters/c12798
https://www.fdrlibrary.org/housing
https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/soc_sec/hgreat.htm
https://livingnewdeal.org/glossary/national-housing-act-1934/
textbook
I thought that this post was very interesting and it gave many interesting details on FDR's New Deal and Housing. Another act of legislation in the New Deal is the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act of 1937. This act addressed the needs of the poor by giving $500 million in loans to fund low-income housing projects. Like the National Housing Act mentioned in your post, the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act affirmed Roosevelt's belief that housing is more than a need; it is a right.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting post because it emphasizes how FDR's predecessors failed to properly address the needs of the common American, and it wasn't until the New Deal where people began to accept the benefits of stronger government intervention. In 1933, FDR also introduced the Home Owner's Loan Corporation (HOLC), which created the basis for the National Housing Act and provided mortgage relief to people at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. However, much of FDR's housing legislation served mostly to provide aid to people who still lived in homes during the Depression, rather than much of the poor forced to live in slums.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.fdrlibrary.org/housing