Many government programs created from the New Deal are still intact today. One such program is Social Security (doc. E), the “jewel” of the New Deal. It addressed elderly citizens’ lack of care, and provided money for those over 65. Social security continues to be one of the biggest money-eaters of the federal budget. Other programs still intact today include the TVA (jobs in the Tennessee Valley), SEC (committee that regulates the stock market), and the FDIC (bank insurance).
The Roosevelt Administration also attempted to address the needs of citizens, both socially and economically. With great efforts from FDR’s wife, Eleanor, women and Blacks gained some recognition and had improved rights. Some of the New Deal programs included Blacks (doc. I), and Roosevelt even appointed African Americans to his Brain Trust—a group of close advisors (doc. H). The Great Depression also brought into light the questionable social expectations of women. During the depression, women were rarely seen waiting in bread lines and sleeping in the streets even thought they faced the same hardship (doc. A). the pride many of these women held influenced the need of these women to hide their suffering in order to fit a decent social image. Economically, Roosevelt attempted to provide relief to the citizens. One program enacted was the CCC. Unemployment increased sharply during the Great Depression (doc. J). The CCC provided jobs by planting trees, building roads and bridges, and many nationwide improvements. These welfare programs caused much controversy because some believed in less intervention of the government. The many jobs and aid these programs made possible caused some to compare the New Deal to steps toward socialism and communism (Doc. B).
Finally, the previous laissez-faire tradition was broken and a more intervening federal government has been established. The growth in the bureaucracy and the growth in deficit spending were questionable (Doc. D). FDR established an imperial presidency, and abused the immense power he had (one example was his proposed court-packing reform).
In conclusion, Roosevelt’s administration increased the role of the government in the economy. His New Deal programs were more successful in empowering the government than lightening the effect of the Depression.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The Great Depression of the 1930’s was the worst economic period in the history of the United States. Taking over the presidency in 1932, three years after the Depression began, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became responsible for leading America’s quest to escape the Depression. Roosevelt passed the New Deal in an attempt to help the nation recover through a series of initiatives focused on economic recovery. While most people would agree that the New Deal had a definite impact on the United States throughout the early-1930’s, there are some critics that think that the New Deal prolonged the Great Depression. These critics believe that different initiatives could have returned the United States to prosperity much sooner, and that the Depression would’ve continued much longer if not for the start of World War II.…
- 1990 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
In 1932 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected into office, a group of university scholars, liberal theorists, and himself fought for an answer to help the people of the United States through the Great Depression. Within the first 100 days of Mr. Roosevelt’s presidency, bills to relieve poverty, minimize unemployment, and promote economic recovery were already being passed. Though the acts did not help, the Great Depression lasted nearly another seven years afterwards. While some were worried about the wellbeing of the economy, others were worried about the wellbeing and mental health of the people. Both the physical and mental effects the Great Depression had on the public forced them to make many difficult and jurassic changes in their…
- 810 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Could whites and Indians have lived peaceably in the trans-Mississippi West? I do not think that the whites and Indians could have lived peacefully in the trans-Mississippi West. I believe this is because of the ways the Indians were living and hunting. Also with how the whites were not concerned with their customs and only had a one track mind on what they wanted of their land. The government “attempted” to keep peace by pressuring the Indians into treaties that were only broken and then new ones would be made. The government was not looking out for the tribes best interest either because they forced more restrictive agreements on the Indians which led to a war in the west between the whites and Indians. Looking back on the history, I think it was going to be the inevitable outcome of the situation. Even when some of the tribes would hold the American flag up to show friendship and white ones for truce, they were massacred and scalped of all types such as mothers, children and even babies by the whites. However the liquor and disease killed more Indians than combat did. Indian hunters themselves nearly wiped the plains clean by 1883 which weakened Indian resistance from working for commercial companies. Mines, crops and grazing herds and fences disturbed hunting and farming lands of many traditional tribes. Another treaty of 1868 was made but broken by Custer who was later killed by the Indians and nearly 250 soldiers in the summer of 1876. Congress adopted the Dawes Severalty Act in 1887 to end reservation goals but to have Indians join whites as farmers and small property owners of their land into the marketplace. That didn’t help though because Indians didn’t want to give up their tribal ways and also had no experience farming, managing money and other white ways. By 1890, the Indians had to adapt to life within the boundaries set by white culture despite their efforts at resistance. So the way I see it is there would not have been a peaceful way to live…
- 983 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The America in the 1930s was drastically different from the luxurious 1920s. The stock market had crashed to an all time low, unemployment was the highest the country had ever seen, and all American citizens were affected by it in some way or another. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal was effective in addressing the issues of The Great Depression in the sense that it provided immediate relief to US citizens by lowering unemployment, increasing trust in the banks, getting Americans out of debt, and preventing future economic crisis from taking place through reform. Despite these efforts The New Deal failed to end the depression. In order for America to get out of this economic disaster, the Federal Government rightly overstepped it’s constitutional bound to adopt the role of a “care taker” and establish a basic minimum of living for the American people.…
- 839 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The 1929 stock-market crash and the ensuing Great Depression exposed major weaknesses in the U.S. and world economies. These ranged from chronically low farm prices and uneven income distribution to trade barriers, a surplus of consumer goods, and a constricted money supply. As the crisis deepened, President Hoover struggled to respond. In 1932, with Hoover's reputation in tatters, FDR and his promised “New Deal" brought a surge of hope. Although FDR's New Deal did not end the Great Depression it eased the people’s suffering and reformed many of the problems that contributed to the depression by providing relief, recovery, and reform while fundamentally changing the role of the federal government towards the people.…
- 939 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
When FDR was elected into office he was left with quite a mess left by Herbert Hoover, but Hoover had left a very nice foundation to start FDR’s famous “New Deal.” Programs during this time focused on trying very hard to help bring the US out of the Great Depression by…
- 1584 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
In 1929, the United States Stock Market crashed, heralding the tumble into world-wide depression. President Hoover tried to pacify the people by telling them it was temporary and would pass over. But a new figure rose out of the people, promising he would do anything and everything he could to restore their lives. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency, and his new policies would soon sweep over the country. Roosevelt's responses to the problems of the Great Depression were successful in strengthening the power of the federal government and instilling hope in the public, yet were unsuccessful in that they did not help him achieve his intended goal: the restoration of the economy. His responses were, however, radical in the way they made use of the power of the federal government.…
- 1337 Words
- 6 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.…
- 1371 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Some individuals viewed women who applied for aid or paid work as taking money and jobs away from more deserving men. Despite the opposition from men, women experienced a gain of two million jobs between 1930 and 1940. Women helped their families survive through their own fortitude and strength, despite all of the resistance they felt from men and societal expectations. As Eleanor Roosevelt said during the Great Depression in her book entitled It’s Up to the Women, “...it is [women’s] courage and determination which, time and again, have pulled us through worse crises than the present one.” (Ware par. 1) Without women, there is no doubt our nation would have suffered more at the hands of the Great Depression than it already did. Although the Great Depression brought pain and tragedy, it was certainly positive in its effect to help women begin to break the glass ceiling for the first time, as well as exemplify the inner strength in women that was previously suppressed as a result of confining gender…
- 1601 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
The New Deal was a series of programs established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the government in order to help struggling Americans. These programs fundamentally changed the government’s role and added a new expectation for being responsible for more than just laws and enforcement; it was the first time that it got involved in providing a safety net for poor citizens. In particular, Social Security was set up because there was a specific concern for the elderly and retired Americans. The Social Security program was intended to be, and essentially still is today, a social insurance program run by the government to provide economic security to its…
- 1917 Words
- 8 Pages
Good Essays -
The stock market crash of 1929 marked a new era for the United States. The roaring twenties came to a screeching halt and many Americans faced absolute poverty in a country which was a beacon for hope, liberty, and wealth. Little was being done about this issue, especially by Herbert Hoover, the current president, whose "hands -off" approach to government did little to fix the dire situation Americans found themselves in. Though many Americans were deep into poverty, they still turned out to the polls and Franklin Roosevelt was elected president in 1932. The New Deal was a strategy of Roosevelt's to handle the problems of the depression, as he said in his own words, "Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself...".# His strategy included relief for unemployed and poor Americans, economic recovery, and reform of the financial system.…
- 1189 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The Great Depression had a great economic effect upon the nation, to which the existing laws and government were unprepared for. The government tried to help, but due to “rapidly declining government funds, state and local governments relied largely on relief administered by religious and charity organizations” (Downs). In an economic crisis, governments at the state and local levels were rendered incapable of offering much aid, without laws for the situation at hand. The Depression’s effect upon the government signifies the extent to which it impacted the nation considerably, to have greatly affected the people and the government. At the beginning of the Depression, under President Hoover, many measures were taken, in which the central government…
- 280 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Throughout the short history of the United States, in times of great need, Legislators pass landmark legislation in order to reestablish the upward direction of the country as a whole. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and his supporters fought to abolish slavery with an amendment to the Constitution. Likewise, during the greatest economic downfall to ever sweep the country if not the world, Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed for entitlement programs to defend the liberties of the working class as well as develop governmental oversight to insure against any future collapse of financial institutions. While it is true that World War II was the catalyst that resuscitated the economy, Roosevelt’s New Deal was unequivocally the most extensive and…
- 1710 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
At the start of the new decade, the 1930’s, the U.S. and many other nations’ economies faltered and slowly commenced a long and painful depression. Many groups like churches and benevolent individuals tried to help out the jobless, homeless, and starving, but they had limited power, only government agencies had the power to create mass relief programs. Millions of Americans were left jobless, homeless, and starving with no way to help their family. This trapped and helpless feeling that Americans had led to a lack of pride and self esteem in the free enterprise system and a scare that the U.S. might turn to communism to solve the depression, So, in order to save the U.S. from complete economic ruin and protect those rights that we fought so hard for throughout our history, President Franklin D. Roosevelt took control and produced numerous relief programs. Such programs include the Emergency Banking Act, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, Social Security and multiple others. With these programs, poor and jobless Americans were given a chance to survive and prosper through the hard economic times and once again bring back the old, prosperous U.S. economy.…
- 493 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
eighty seven years ago our country underwent what we call the Great Depression. After a decade of a successful future our country was thrown into despair the day of the stock market crash, which led us into the Great Depression. Banks began to close and people became unemployed which led the US to a dark time. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered the White house in 1932 he promised a New Deal for the American people. He explained that the New Deal would deliver relief, recovery and reform. However through Burton Folsom Jr. Book “New Deal or Raw Deal?” We have come to find that Roosevelt’s New Deal did not recover the economy like he set out to do. Treasury Secretary Henry J. Morgenthau Jr. who was known as Roosevelt’s best friend testified before the House Ways and Means committee stating “I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started… And an enormous debt to boot” unemployment rates exceeded 20 percent. Instead of building the economy’s wealth Roosevelt plummeted them. He also promised Jobs to help with social reform. As we all should know government spending’s do not allow more employment. Henry Hazlitt an American philosopher said during this time "Every dollar of government spending must be raised through a dollar of taxation, for example, every public job created by the bridge project a private job has been destroyed somewhere else… All that has happened, at best, is that there has been a diversion of jobs because of the project.” Meaning Roosevelt was not really creating jobs; he had opened little to no opportunity for some people while shutting doors for others. FDR also managed to divide the government during this time, which created many problems for the country. The government was now committed to providing at least minimal assistance to the poor and unemployed, protect the rights of labor union, stabilize the banking system, build low-income housing, regulate financial markets, subsidize…
- 472 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays