The Agricultural Adjustment Act (or AAA) (Pub.L. 73-10, enacted May 12, 1933) restricted production during the New Deal by paying farmers to reduce crop area. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus so as to effectively raise the value of crops, thereby giving farmers relative stability again. The farmers were paid subsidies by the federal government for leaving some of their fields unused. The Act created a new agency, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, to oversee the distribution of the subsidies. It is considered the first modern U.S. farm bill.^{[citation needed]} This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Deal was the title President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to the series of programs he initiated between 1933 and 1938 with the goal of providing relief, recovery, and reform (3 Rs) to the people and economy of the United States during the Great Depression. ... A subsidy is generally a monetary grant given by government in support of an activity regarded as being in the public interest. ... The federal government of the United States periodically adopts major acts, known as farm bills, intended to set overall agricultural policy for the following several years. ...

Agricultural Adjustment Administration

By the time the Agricultural Adjustment Administration began its operations, the agricultural season for many crops was already under way. The agency oversaw a large-scale destruction of existing cotton crops and livestock in an attempt to reduce surpluses. No other crops or animals were affected in 1933, but six million piglets and 220,000 pregnant cows were slaughtered in the AAA's effort to raise prices. Many cotton farmers plowed under a quarter of their crop in accordance with the AAA's plans.^[1] Adlai Stevenson and Telford Taylor worked in the AAA. Farmers benefited from the AAA policy of reducing surpluses, "Gross farm income increased by 50% during the first three years of the New Deal".^[2] The increase in gross income for farmers was largely paid for through government subsidies. Despite the reduced production, food price increases between 1933 and 1937 were negligible.^[3] Consumers bore the brunt of higher food prices and were "horrified with its policy of enforced scarcity."^[4] A Gallup Poll printed in The Washington Post revealed that a majority of the American public opposed the AAA.^[5] This is mostly because of the mass killing of pigs which was criticised by many people at the time. Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician, noted for intellectual demeanor and advocacy of liberal causes in the Democratic party. ... Telford Taylor Telford Taylor (February 24, 1908 - May 23, 1998) was a U.S. lawyer best known for his role in the Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, his opposition against Senator McCarthy in the 1950s, and his outspoken criticism of the U.S...

The AAA was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the case United States v. Butler (297 U.S. 1, January 6, 1936) because, among other stated reasons, it taxed one farmer to pay another. Congress then achieved part of the original Act's goals with the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1935 until the enactment of a second AAA (Pub.L. 75-430) on February 16, 1938. This second AAA was funded from general taxation, and therefore acceptable to the Supreme Court. Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... Holding The Agricultural Adjustment Act is an unconstitutional exercise of power. ... is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 was the result of the unconstitutionality of previous New Deal farm legislation and the success of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act passed in 1936. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Thomas Amendment

The Thomas Amendment to the AAA contained several provisions concerning coinage and currency. Coinage is: A Drinking game also known as Quarters a series of coins struck as part of currency a magazine about numismatics, capitalized: COINage The right or process of making coins The creation of a neologism, or new word; see word coinage The duty or tax on refined tin, abolished...

Under the Thomas Amendment to the Agricultural Adjustment Act, approved May 12, 1933, the President was authorized for a period of five months to accept silver on war-debt account, at a maximum price of fifty cents an ounce, the total amount accepted not to exceed a value of $200 million. Silver certificates were to be issued against the silver received to the total value at which the silver was accepted. The law further provided that the silver so accepted should be coined into standard silver dollars and subsidiary silver coin sufficient, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, to meet any demands for redemption of the silver certificates. is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A picture of a Silver Certificate (top image is the obverse of the certificate, bottom image is the reverse of the certificate). ... In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ...

A further requirement to mint silver dollars was contained in a Presidential Proclamation related to the purchase of newly-mined domestic silver, issued on December 21, 1933, calling upon the Mints to coin this denomination, in payment for the silver received under the Proclamation. An executive order is an edict issued by a member of the executive branch of a government, usually the head of that branch. ... is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The quantity of silver dollars minted under the Thomas Amendment and the Proclamation of December 21, 1933, was 7,021,528 pieces. is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The impact of this amendment was to reduce the amount of silver that was being held by private citizens (presumably as a hedge against inflation or collapse of the financial system) and increase the amount of circulating currency.

References

• Brinkley, Alan (1999). American History: A Survey, 10th Ed., McGraw-Hill College. ISBN 0-07-303390-1. 
• Volanto, Keith J. (2006). Texas, Cotton, and the New Deal, Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-402-2.

Endnotes

External links

• Roosevelt and Tugwell in the New Deal