The New Deal Dbq Analysis

The prosperity of the “Roaring Twenties” had left Americans extremely vulnerable to the economic depression that they would face in the 1930s. On October 29th, 1929 the stock market crashed and in an instant the Great Depression had unleashed it terror on the American workforce. As a result, unemployment rates rose dramatically and by 1932 just under 40% of the nation’s workers(non-farm workers) were without work.(Doc. 8) Along with the unprecedented unemployment levels, bank and business failures mounted, and those in poverty increased significantly. Similar to past presidents, Herbert Hoover maintained the government’s laissez faire attitude when dealing with the economy and strongly believed in “rugged individualism” the idea that the American people could pull the nation out of the depression with ‘hard work’ and ‘self- reliance’. Despite Hoover’s best efforts, the American people had begun to reject this policy and the country’s morale continued to decline. But the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 buoyed the nation’s hopes with his fresh ideas and
In order to counterattack the Great Depression, FDR instituted a series of policies called the New Deal, ultimately creating a more centralized government that assumed power and control over aspects of society and business, deviating from the traditional stance of laissez