Franklin D. Roosevelt New Deal

Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the American people a “New Deal” when campaigning for office in 1932. When he took office in 1933 President Roosevelt introduced many efforts to address the problems brought on by The Great Depression. The first step he took in attempting to restore the economy of the United States and help the American citizens was the Emergency Banking Relief Bill. Across the nation, banks were closing their doors and Americans were losing their savings. Banks who were not forced to become insolvent were struggling to stay in business. This was because people lost their trust in the U.S. Banking System and opted to store their money under the safety of their mattress instead of in bank vaults. The Emergency Banking Relief Bill was meant to stimulate the failed banking system by reopening bankrupt banks and reorganizing the others. Also, during this time the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was established as a part of the Banking Act of 1933. This was to prevent the U.S. from falling
A second way President Roosevelt tried to alleviate the troubles caused during the Great Depression was to introduce a national program that provided jobs and income. The Works Progress Administration was created to ease suffering families and fortify the economic foundation of the United States. During the life of the program, the Works Progress Administration employed more than 8.5 million Americans across the United States. The program worked with leaders from each state to construct highways, roads, parks, and buildings among several other projects. The Works Progress Administration also developed cultural programs such as stories from the lives of men and women who were slaves and created guidebooks for each state. Work relief was welcomed and preferred over public assistance because it maintained self-respect and didn’t break the people’s spirit (Norton,