New Deal

At the darkest hour of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered the White House in 1932, promising "a new deal for the American people." The package of legislative reforms that came to be known as the New Deal permanently and dramatically transformed the politics and economy of the United States. In the field of relief, the New Deal proved to be highly successful. However, in terms of reform, the New Deal legacy may have been unmatched in American history. Although the new deal temporarily ramped up industry to meet the demand for war goods, thus displaying its temporary effectiveness, droves of workers were kept out of jobs and the government expanded its role in our economy and changed the federal government for the rest of American time. Through the numerous relief programs, the temporary effectiveness of the New Deal can clearly be seen. The opinions of many politicians from The Evening Star are seen in Document C. It was written in the middle of the New Deal Era in 1934 and seems to be in complete support of the actions of the New Deal. In it the viewer is able to see the government and its policies evolving. Rather than a revolution, a forcible overthrow of a government for a new system, it is evolution, the gradual development of something. The picture depicts a scholarly man transforming into a growing, functional tree. Essentially the political cartoon is displaying that an economy can grow without artificial regulation necessarily, as a natural progress, and just like a tree, can potentially live forever. With an adequate amount of care a tree can function and grow even more so. This idea corresponds directly with the New Deal for it, through government care, is only a part of the economy evolving, a natural process. With this document the potential effectiveness of the New Deal can be seen. In document E, the Social Security Act is promoted in an advertisement towards the end of the New Deal Era. The Act responded to the pitfalls of old age, poverty, unemployment, dependent widows, and fatherless children by providing benefits to retirees and the unemployed, as well as a lump-sum at death. President Roosevelt became the first president to advocate federal assistance for the elderly. It combated the widespread poverty among senior citizens. The government program provided income to retired wage earners. The Act benefited numerous people, and to this day is still one of the most popular government programs. Through the advertisement the public is given a friendly invitation into the application of social security therefore displaying the openness and the potentially benefit for the community. Thus, the effectiveness of the New Deal is clear. Document G is directly from the NBC radio broadcast in December of 1936, the last year of the new deal. The broadcast holds opinions regarding the unions during the New Deal Era. It states that employers have failed to enforce the use of unions and labor unrest had been created. In contrast, many believed Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration to be beneficial for organized labor. FDR needed the support of labor, and labor needed the support of the national government. He urged the passage of the National Labor Relations Act which increased the rights of unions and created the National Labor Relations Board. The Taft-Hartley Labor Act was amended to enlarge the powers of the NLRB and allowed the government to intervene in strikes affecting the nation's safety or health. The NRA set minimum wages and maximum hours. It eliminated child labor and established the right of workers to organize. This, as opposed to Document G, allowed for collective bargaining. Despite the unconstitutionality of the NRA, in 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed which set minimum wages and a maximum work week of 40 hours. Although the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed after the New Deal Era, the effectiveness and legacy of the New Deal can be seen in the follow up with labor laws and wages. The ideals of the New Deal Era prove its effectiveness that can still be seen today. Furthermore, the relief programs greatly expanded the federal government, which, such as the effectiveness of the New Deal, can still be seen today. The unnecessary and unjust regulation of interstate commerce can be seen in Document F. In it the reader can see the opinion of Charles Evans Hughes, a lawyer and Republican politician. Potential bias can be seen in the document for the New Deal made the Democratic Party the majority party during the Era; partly because the New Deal programs of FDR created a liberal political alliance made up of labor unions, blacks and other ethnic and religious minorities, intellectuals, the poor, and some farmers. These groups became the backbone of the Democratic Party for decades following the Depression. Hughes notes one of the changes in behavior of the federal government. This period, more than any other, defined the federal government as an active and extensive participant in regulating the nation's private economy. Politicians can note the federal government’s new attempt to regulate businesses to a larger extent. The new regulation of interstate commerce reveals the government as much more controlling than in past years and begins to expand the powers of the federal government. The change in the federal government can clearly be seen through Document F. As opposed to Document F, Document H from The New Republic in May of 1940 pinpoints the successes of the New Deal. The document reviews the New Deal and has a potential bias towards the positive aspects of it, essentially implying that there were no flaws. It states the new strength and renovation of government. The New Deal instituted a number of reforms in almost every area of the economy: finance, agriculture, labor, industry, and consumer protection; each of which are government programs. Although, contrasting this document, conservatives argue that the New Deal brought too much government intervention in the economy, as seen in Document F. However the New Deal did carry a great accomplishment, it maintained and even restored the faith of the American people in their government. The new deal expanded government’s role in our economy, by giving it the power to regulate previously unregulated areas of commerce. Those primarily are being banking, agriculture and housing. The author of such editorial clearly approved of the expansion of government for they point out the new strength in the executive branch and the courts, both of which had changed due to the federal government. However in Document D, the economic reality of the government programs can be seen. It was written two years before the termination of the New Deal Era and states the large addition to the national debt due to the government programs. The New Deal changed the way businesses operated to help make sure people were paid more fairly. All the New Deal programs were paid for, and run by, the government; and thus, the government’s debt grew a great deal. The U.S. debt was 22 billion dollars in 1933 and grew by 50 percent in the three years that followed, reaching 33 billion dollars. For example the Federal Emergency Relief Administration gave five million dollars to states, cities, and towns, in efforts to repair the once “broken” places. Furthermore the Works Progress Administration put people into work in their own communities. However this was the New Deal’s most expensive program at 11 billion dollars. Although the New Deal programs did give hope to the American people, because of the over expansion of federal government as well as the large addition to the national debt, the New Deal’s effectiveness economically declines. The New Deal’s apparent natural course, social security, and enforcement of unions clearly display its effectiveness for the American people. However, speaking economically, the New Deal brought the nation even further into national debt and greatly expanded their powers into unnecessary aspects, such as interstate commerce. For the sake of the American people and uplifting their spirits from the downturn during the Great Depression, the New Deal was extremely effective. However, because of large change in federal government and deeper entry into national debt, the New Deal loses some of such effectiveness. Because of reasons presented, it is that the New Deal was effect and greatly changed the federal government.