The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was a 1933 New Deal agency, created under the National Industrial Recovery Act, that wrote industry-wide codes setting fair wages, hours, and prices to stimulate recovery; the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935).
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was the centerpiece "recovery" agency of FDR's First New Deal, created in 1933 under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA). The idea was that cutthroat competition during the Depression kept driving wages and prices down, so the government would get businesses in each industry to agree on codes of fair competition. These codes set minimum wages, maximum hours, and price floors. Section 7(a) of the NIRA also guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain collectively, which made the NRA a landmark for labor even though enforcement was weak. Businesses that signed on displayed the Blue Eagle symbol with the slogan "We Do Our Part."
Think of the NRA as the federal government trying to referee the entire economy at once. That ambition was also its downfall. In Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled the NIRA unconstitutional, holding that Congress had delegated too much lawmaking power to the executive branch and overreached on regulating intrastate commerce. The NRA died, but its labor protections were reborn in the Wagner Act (1935), and its rise and fall is the classic APUSH example of conservative pushback against the New Deal (KC-7.1.III.B).
The NRA lives in Topic 7.10 (The New Deal) in Unit 7 and supports learning objective APUSH 7.10.A, explaining how the Great Depression and New Deal reshaped American political, social, and economic life. It hits all three strands of the essential knowledge. It shows the New Deal using government power to stimulate recovery (KC-7.1.III.A). Its destruction by the Supreme Court is the textbook case of conservatives limiting the New Deal's scope (KC-7.1.III.B). And even though the agency failed, its labor provisions fed directly into the lasting legacy of reforms and the political realignment behind the New Deal coalition (KC-7.1.III.C). For the Politics and Power (PCE) theme, the NRA is a perfect data point for arguments about the expanding role of the federal government in the economy.
Keep studying APUSH Unit 7
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) (Unit 7)
The NIRA is the law Congress passed in 1933; the NRA is the agency that carried it out. When the Supreme Court struck down the NIRA in Schechter Poultry (1935), the NRA went down with it. Keep the act-versus-agency distinction straight for MCQs.
Section 7(a) (Unit 7)
This clause of the NIRA, enforced through the NRA, guaranteed workers the right to unionize and bargain collectively. It triggered a wave of union organizing, and when the NRA died, Congress saved the labor rights by passing the Wagner Act in 1935.
Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) (Unit 7)
The AAA was the NRA's twin for agriculture, paying farmers to cut production while the NRA managed industry. Both were First New Deal recovery programs, and both got struck down by the Supreme Court, which is why they're often paired on the exam.
Progressive Era regulation (Unit 7)
The NRA pushed the Progressive idea of federal regulation (think the FTC and Clayton Antitrust Act) much further. Instead of just policing trusts, the government actually suspended antitrust law and helped industries set prices, a huge continuity-and-change angle for essays spanning 1900-1940.
On multiple-choice questions, the NRA usually shows up in excerpts or stimulus questions about the First New Deal, where you need to identify its purpose (industrial recovery through codes) or its fate (struck down in Schechter Poultry, 1935). Fiveable practice questions have used it in comparisons of how different New Deal programs affected economic and social patterns during the 1930s, so know what the NRA did relative to the AAA, CCC, and WPA. No released FRQ has required the term verbatim, but it's high-value evidence for LEQs and DBQs on the growth of federal power, the New Deal's successes and limits, or labor history. The strongest move is to pair it with the Court's pushback. Naming the NRA and then explaining Schechter Poultry shows you understand both the New Deal's ambition and the conservative resistance the CED emphasizes (KC-7.1.III.B).
The NIRA is the 1933 law; the NRA is the agency the law created to write and enforce the industry codes. The Supreme Court technically ruled the NIRA unconstitutional in Schechter Poultry (1935), which automatically killed the NRA. On the exam, 'act' means Congress's statute and 'administration' means the executive agency running it.
The NRA was a 1933 First New Deal agency, created under the National Industrial Recovery Act, that organized industry codes setting minimum wages, maximum hours, and fair prices.
Section 7(a) of the NIRA, enforced through the NRA, guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain collectively, sparking a major wave of unionization.
The Supreme Court unanimously struck down the NIRA in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935), ending the NRA and showing the Court's role in limiting the New Deal (KC-7.1.III.B).
The NRA's labor protections didn't disappear; Congress revived them in the Wagner Act of 1935, part of the New Deal's lasting regulatory legacy (KC-7.1.III.C).
Businesses that complied displayed the Blue Eagle symbol, making the NRA the most visible emblem of federal involvement in the everyday economy.
Use the NRA as evidence for the expansion of federal power over the economy under APUSH 7.10.A and the Politics and Power theme.
The NRA was a 1933 New Deal agency created under the National Industrial Recovery Act that set industry-wide codes for fair wages, maximum hours, and prices to promote recovery from the Great Depression. It also enforced Section 7(a), which protected workers' right to unionize.
No. The NRA's codes were hard to enforce, often favored big business, and the agency was struck down in 1935 after just two years. This fits the broader CED point that the New Deal did not end the Depression but left a legacy of reforms (KC-7.1.III.C).
In Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the NIRA delegated too much legislative power to the president and regulated intrastate commerce beyond Congress's authority. The decision is the classic example of the Court limiting the New Deal.
The NIRA is the 1933 law Congress passed; the NRA is the executive agency created to carry it out by writing and enforcing industry codes. The Court struck down the act, which dissolved the agency.
The NRA managed industry, organizing codes for wages, hours, and prices, while the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) managed agriculture, paying farmers to reduce production and raise crop prices. Both were First New Deal recovery programs struck down by the Supreme Court in the mid-1930s.
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