Essay On The New Deal Dbq

During the American Revolution, the young nation was divided between Loyalists and Patriots. The Patriots decided to take action against the extreme taxation and injustice that Great Britain was placing upon them, and the Loyalists felt that it would be wrong defy Britain. Eventually, the members of the 13 colonies revolted against the British and fought for their independence. Much like the Patriots and the Loyalists, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposed solutions for the Great Depression differed from those attempted by others. Roosevelt believed that the biggest challenges that the country faced were to remain calm, to boost the employment rate, to build the economy from the bottom to the top, to fix the tariff system, to return the

Roosevelt believed that during the Great Depression, the nation must not forget the value of family and hard work. In his first inaugural address, Roosevelt states that, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”(SourceB). This quote explains how he believed that the nation’s greatest challenge was a loss of faith in itself. With this “fear”, the nation will descend into a state of disorganization from where there is no return. Roosevelt presents the small value of material possessions when he says, “Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort”(Source B). He states that the lack of wealth that the country has should not affect the amount of joy that the people have. Roosevelt says, “These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men”(Source B). This quote shows that though the country is struggling greatly, there is a lesson to be learned that hard work can overcome the crisis. Roosevelt encourages the citizens to take action when he says, “It is high time to admit with courage that we are in the midst of an emergency at least equal to that of a war. Let us mobilize to meet it”(Source A). He knows that the people of this country can no longer wait around for the Depression to

Roosevelt discusses his belief that new jobs should be created to resolve the economic problem. When the Depression hit, over 13 million people lost their jobs, and income was reduced by 40%. To help resolve this problem, Roosevelt created the New Deal. The New Deal was an economic plan to help improve infrastructure and create jobs at the same time (Source C). The WPA, the Works Progress Administration, was the largest New Deal agency that employed millions of people to carry out public works projects such as building highways, sewers, and reservoirs. Reservoirs provided an adequate water supply, which allowed towns to grow (Source C). Regions relied on tourism for industry, and people were often given the job of building attractions (Source C). Roosevelt believed that the country should rebuild the tariff system. This would allow other countries to buy the excess of goods that America produces. Roosevelt proposed that instead of tariffs, foreign countries exchange American goods for foreign