ipl-logo

'Al': The Cause Of The Great Depression

816 Words4 Pages

“Say, don't you remember? They called me 'Al' It was 'Al' all the time. Why don't you remember? I'm your pal. Say buddy, can you spare a dime?” This haunting melody of the Great Depression illustrated life for the average American. In Crosby’s song, he represents the feelings of betrayal of “Al” or the “average joe” towards the American government. He asks if Hoover remembers him and all the work that the citizens of America put into creating this nation. The Depression forced a change in the government that demanded it to be thoroughly involved in the economy. From suspending foreign trade to Roosevelt's New Deal, the government had to make many efforts in order to rescue the economy, which ended both good and bad. Though it is widely …show more content…

This includes the deflation of agriculture, bankruptcy of banks and businesses, debts, reparations, the credit system, and the failure of government involvement. Despite the cause, people demanded a significant change. In June 1930, the Hawley-Smoot tariff, which raised tariffs to the highest it has ever been, was passed to in order to protect American business. Unfortunately, it only further devastated the economy as many European countries responded with their own high tariffs and the result was the halt of global trade. Herbert Hoover, the president during the majority of the depression also made an effort to rescue the economy. For example, when faced with the foreign debt issue, Hoover suggested a moratorium on intergovernmental debt payments which the Congress agreed on. However, it couldn’t be achieved because both European and American banking systems refused to let go of the gold standard which …show more content…

As companies and banks continued to file for bankruptcy, the line at the soup kitchen grew and grew. Hoovervilles, run-down towns, became the homes of hundreds of people who were forced into the slums because they could no longer afford rent. When Franklin D. Roosevelt, or FDR, was elected into office, he knew that he had to make some major changes to save the economy. His most noted achievement was the New Deal which effectively brought relief to millions of Americans and restored public confidence. The first 100 days were to vigorously tackle immediate problems. The First New Deal would follow and would focus on creating jobs and set America on the road to recovery. Afterwards, the Second New Deal would be concerned with improving welfare services. FDR wanted to convince Americans that their saving were safe in the bank and only allowed stable ones to reopen while shutting dying ones down. The Federal Emergency Relief Act provided $500 million of aid by providing employment. To encourage relaxation, the Prohibition Act was abolished. With this kick start to the economy, FDR hoped to restart the gears of a fruitful nation. To honour his promise, the New Deal was set about quickly. The First New Deal provided many systems to help combat the unemployment in America. For Example, the Civilian Conservation Corps, or the CCC, which provided work for young people in

Show More
Related
193 Words | 1 Pages

American economy had completely shattered during the depression. Beforehand, the US implemented high tariffs on foreign goods, aiming to improve the US's own economy. This was a form of Protectionism. These tariffs slowed down world trade. The economy was falling off the economic edge.

Read More
450 Words | 2 Pages

President Franklin Roosevelt administration to the problems of the Great Depression. The Great Depression which lasted from 1929 - 1939, had more than one cause for happening. The Stock Market Crash, on October 29, 1929, had production declining and unemployment rising. After two months, stockholders had lost more than $40 billion dollars.

Read More
740 Words | 3 Pages

Roosevelt's first plan of action for the new deal was to provide relief to those living in poverty (the vast majority of the population at the time). To spread the message, FDR held 27 “Fireside Chats” from 1933-1944 establishing a plan for the future of America and the economy (Source 1). FDR's first major initiative was to establish the Federal Emergency Administration Act (FERA), FERA distributed over $3.1 billion dollars, and over 20 million jobs were created (Source 3). FDR also created government programs (such as the AAA, CCC, CWA, and PWA) that both regulated the US and provided jobs for those in need. He also passed The National Industrial Recovery Act that gave states money to create more jobs and formed the National Recovery Administration to regulate and establish fair practice codes for industries.

Read More
758 Words | 4 Pages

In 1933, after a third banking panic, Roosevelt had decided to make a bank holiday to help close financial institutions to stop a run on banks and help the economy. Franklin D. Roosevelt had initiated the New Deal program to help restore confidence in the U.S. He had made a social welfare a federal government priority, made new roles for the government, and changed the focus of national partisan politics. It helped public works programs, stimulate banks, insured savings, and improve business practices. During Roosevelt’s first 100 days he had made some other changes to the U.S economy.

Read More
366 Words | 2 Pages

The Great Depression that took place in the 1930’s had a devastating impact on the United States’ economy. There were many influencing factors that led up to the Great Depression such as a stock market crash and a large gap between the rich and poor. The president at the time, Franklin Roosevelt, and his administration, responded in numerous effective ways such as the enactment of the New Deal which expanded the federal government’s role in the nation’s economy. President Roosevelt enacted legislature called the New Deal. The New Deal was considered an aggressive tactic by many of the president’s critics.

Read More
952 Words | 4 Pages

Moreover, The First New Deal dropped unemployment from 12,830,000 to 7,700,000 people. (Doc J) This graph does not include farm workers, however, the drop in unemployment in nonfarm workers is significant in displaying the success of New Deal programs. These programs helped to uplift the American spirit and demonstrate the direct role of the federal government in civilian

Read More
808 Words | 4 Pages

Overall, the first New Deal, despite its seemingly business favored approach, provided necessary and immediate relief as well as some longer-term legislation to alleviate the difficulties Americans faced during the Great Depression. In the second New Deal, Roosevelt introduced longer-term programs, which were less successful in providing the relief necessary to combat the Great

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

Fdr knew that the U.S couldn't fight, he decided to concentrate on defeating Germany. During March and June, on Fdr's first term, he made a program to help the nation called The New Deal. “.The New Deal was intended to help people get back on their feet and make the economy solvent

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Depression of the 1930s severely crippled the United States economy, leading to widespread unemployment, business failures, and poverty. Thousands of banks around America went bankrupt, and millions of people lost their livelihoods and fell into poverty. The Roosevelt administration, in particular, was tasked with managing the economic crisis. He attempted to manage it through the New Deal. The New Deal programs aim to revive the economy and reduce unemployment.

Read More
1310 Words | 6 Pages

For the first hundred days of FDR’s New Deal, Roosevelt's focus was not the three R’s. The first R was Relief, the aid to those who were homeless and broke. The FDR’s New Deal Program FHA Federal Housing Administration helped people who needed home and facilitate home financing. The FDR’s

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

During the 1920s, America experienced vast improvement economically and socially, however, this great peak of improvement would soon come crashing down with the Great Depression occurring in the 1930s. There were multiple factors which contributed to the Great Depression such as mass production, uneven wealth distribution, the stock market crash, and minimal government participation within in the economical industries. These factors combined composed the most substantial depression America had ever experienced leaving millions of Americans unemployed, hungry, and homeless. However, in 1932 President Franklin Roosevelt was elected into office and proposed the New Deal which was intended to relieve the Great Depression.

Read More
298 Words | 2 Pages

The New Deal was successful in terms of providing relief and improving economic conditions . The first New Deal focused on economic recovery. It introduced laws that would prevent corruption and irresponsibility in the banking system which prevented banks from failing for the entire year of 1936. It also created several agencies, such as the NRA, aimed at providing relief to the people. Such agencies provided work for many unemployed American citizens through government jobs or public-works projects, however, it was not enough as there were still thousands of Americans who were unemployed.

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

The New Deal was a sequence of developments and policies put into place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the challenging conditions of the states during the Great Depression. This helped improve the lives of people suffering during this period because it aimed at accomplishing economic recovery and putting America back together through Federal activism. The New Deal set roles for the federal government to take action and play in the economic, political, and social issues of the nation. One of the most significant ways that the New Deal altered the role of the national government was by expanding its involvement in the economy and social welfare programs. Preceding the New Deal, the federal government had little influence in the economic and most social programs because they were governed by different

Read More
981 Words | 4 Pages

On March 4, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was inaugurated and took his place in office. His first days in office marked the start of his hundred day legislation. It was his series of initiatives to counter the depression. FDR worked diligently to get the nation out of the Great Depression. He created a collection of public works projects and programs in an attempt to restart the economy and provide jobs.

Read More
563 Words | 3 Pages

Getting jobs, and patination of The New Deal’s projects, helped build the economy back to its fundamentals for America to run properly. Not to mention its effect on the economy of the entire world. According to the National Archives in Seattle, “Roosevelt's "New Deal" aimed at promoting economic recovery and putting Americans back to work through Federal activism. New Federal agencies attempted to control agricultural production, stabilize wages and prices, and create a vast public works program for the unemployed.” (National)

Read More

More about 'Al': The Cause Of The Great Depression

Related Topics

Open Document