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Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal And The Great Depression

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It’s a Done Deal When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as President of the United States, American spirits were at an all-time low. The Great Depression was in full swing; millions of Americans were unemployed and the economy was in a state of utter disrepair. Roosevelt set to work as soon as he was elected President. He proposed a now-famous plan called “The New Deal,” which aimed to put an end to the Great Depression through “the three r’s;” relief, recovery, and reform. The New Deal provided relief and employment to thousands of Americans and imparted a well-needed boost to American morale, but ultimately failed to end the Great Depression. The New Deal is perhaps best characterized by the plethora of programs established under it. …show more content…

Under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Federal Art Project (FDA) was established. This project employed artists to design murals and posters, which would be displayed to the public. The initiative “…nourished much precious talent” and “…preserved self-respect” among countless American painters (Kennedy 751). Not only did the initiative empower artists, but much of the art itself depicted scenes of hope and generally served as inspiration to American across the country. Another strategy Roosevelt used to create a feeling of hope and security was his practice of giving fireside chats. Roosevelt knew that the radio was a very powerful tool when it came to communication. He decided to deliver a series of “chats” over the radio in which he would discuss the latest actions of the government as well as his future plans for new programs under the New Deal. The chats were informal, and he spoke to his audience members as if they were close friends. Roosevelt had captured the nation’s attention; around 35 million people tuned in to listen to Roosevelt’s words of wisdom (Kennedy 747). Most importantly, Roosevelt used to chats to assuage Americans’ fears and doubts about the current state of the country. He “…gave an air of confidence to the American people to overcome the fears of the Depression” (Teaching 5). He spoke positively about his newly created programs and even …show more content…

By the time the New Deal had run its course, unemployment had only dropped a meager 15%. Millions of Americans had been employed through the New Deal’s programs, yet the unemployment crisis would not be fixed until World War II (Kennedy 765). As for the economy, Roosevelt had attempted to fix it by enacting several reform acts and taking the country off the gold standard to produce inflation. However, the president’s actions were not enough; America was a victim of unlimited spending. In the end, Roosevelt only succeeded in doubling the national

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790 Words | 4 Pages

When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president he had to help the country through the Great Depression. America had just finished a World War involving many countries, and during this time of war there were many opportunities for jobs. However, at the end of the war there was no longer a need for jobs to create weapons and many women were left without jobs. Many countries were going through depressions as would the U.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s response to the Great Depression was very effective, he helped build the suffering economy, created housing, and create jobs all which greatly increased the government’s involvement in many areas. During the Great Depression, Roosevelt focused on building the economy, however with a high rate of unemployment it would be a challenge.

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Roosevelt entered in 1932, immediately trying to take action with repair of the economy's with his most impactful attempt, the Alphabet Soup Programs, a collection of acts in order to address a diverse horizon of issues that could make a dent in economic success. In 1934, a political cartoon was drawn demonstrating his “New Deal Remedies” to cure the U.S. of the depression. At the time, Roosevelt was not sure which plan would work so he applied multiple with the mentality that one would eventually fix the problems (DOC F). He used three Rs to guide these acts, Reform, Recovery, and Relief which focused on helping people, restarting the flow of the economy, and avoiding another depression in the future. “...in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of evil of the old order;...”

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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.

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564 Words | 3 Pages

Although Roosevelt’s administration was not very effective in immediately ending the Great Depression, it left a lasting effect on the role of the federal government by creating

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364 Words | 2 Pages

When all seemed lost, Roosevelt implemented his plan to end the Great Depression. His New Deal consisted of “alphabet laws” which helped nearly all sections of our economy. These series of laws helped the farmers increase profit and increased employment and so much more. Overall, The New Deal stabilized the economy and has lasting effects on social welfare programs in America.

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468 Words | 2 Pages

New Deal was similarly ineffective in causing recovery, but FDR did lay the frame work for stability and created a modern welfare state whilst also preserving capitalism and uplifting the American spirit.

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910 Words | 4 Pages

While the WPA put more than 3 million to work in the first year. It created public works projects which gave many unemployed people a job. Also another program that the NIRA spurred was the FLSA which set a minimum wage for workers, and regulated working conditions. One of the lasts programs that Roosevelt created was the SSA. This was the most successful one and is used currently in modern day.

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785 Words | 4 Pages

Through the formation of numerous potent solutions, or agencies, the New Deal proved to be effective in solving the economic hardships caused by the Great Depression. This is evident in Document 1, where it states, "More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil [hard work] with little return. " This quote highlights how the Great Depression led to extreme unemployment rates and inadequate pay for workers. As a result, Roosevelt proposed the New Deal in which the creation of numerous programs and government involvement could support millions of Americans. Therefore, the New Deal could combat these issues and alleviate the suffering of the people to restore the economy back to what it was like in the Roaring 20s, prosperous and flourishing.

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1159 Words | 5 Pages

This caused a stalemate with the governments economic relationship with the people in that the government didn't do much to improve the economy until Roosevelt came into office . Yet when Roosevelt first came to office the brain trust and him enacted the banking holiday where he shut down all the banks to be put under inspection so when reopened he could reaffirm there after both throughout fireside chats and throughout FDIC which although passed later was immensely important that banks were safe .This one of the first tools FDR used that brought the government back into social and economic affairs so he could undo the cloud of problems covering the depression. In addition to the creation of the NRA to aid the economy , FDR created welfare programs such as the CWA and the CCC. Both programs put people to work on temporary project funded by the government.

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Aside from having to fix the banking system, Roosevelt also had to help the unemployed since so many Americans had been left without jobs. “To provide immediate economic relief to the unemployed, Roosevelt created programs such as the Public Works Administration (1933) and the Works Progress Administration (1935), which put jobless Americans to work constructing public works such as roads, schools, post offices, and hospitals”. “Roosevelt supplemented such relief programs with initiatives to help the economy recover, including the national Recovery Administration (1933), which set prices on a variety of consumer goods as well as workers wages make and the Federal Housing Administration (1934), which regulated interest rates and mortgage terms

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1339 Words | 6 Pages

Unemployment rates were high and poverty was starting to become widespread. FDR spoke about putting people to work, by hiring them directly by the government itself, treating the task of work as our culture would treat War, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects that stimulated the economy and encouraged the use of natural resources. (Doc 2) FDR passed 2 New Deal Legislations: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC); which employed youth in reforestation, road construction, and flood control projects; The Works Progress Administration(WPA) employed 8 million people on public works projects. (Doc 3) The WPA was very effective because it not only dealt with the issues of unemployment, but improved the deteriorating parts of the country. The CCC also functioned in the same way, providing millions of jobs for unemployed workers, while maintaining and exploring the

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1101 Words | 5 Pages

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the president of the United State after President Herbert Hoover. The Great Depression was also at its height because President Hoover believed that the crash was just the temporary recession that people must pass through, and he refused to drag the federal government in stabilizing prices, controlling business and fixing the currency. Many experts, including Hoover, thought that there was no need for federal government intervention. ("Herbert Hoover on) As a result, when the time came for Roosevelt’s Presidency, the public had already been suffering for a long time.

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689 Words | 3 Pages

To overcome the great depression, Roosevelt signed number of new bills such as Social Security to help retirees, the FDIC to maintain secure bank deposits, Civilian Conservation Corps, new power plants, aid for farmers and so on which brings the great change in economy of country. All these programs were from his “The New Deal “which was created to raise the economy of the nation and improve the standard of the people. At that time thousands of Americans were suffered from starving due to economic crisis. And the program like PWA (Public Works Administration) provided employment to thousands of Americans across the country in various building projects to survive on this huge crisis. Also, the Roosevelt’s other programs decreased the unemployment and made secure for bank on having money, but the depression did not stopped.

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1131 Words | 5 Pages

According to the Heritage Foundation, “The onset of World War II, not government spending, prompted America’s economic recovery”. When WWII ended, the unemployment rate was way below the normal (5.5%). FDR’s efforts did not stimulate the American economy enough to get it going again. The acts that he passed were petty and didn’t do much to help it at all. Even though it was a failure politically, it was very successful in the social aspect.

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735 Words | 3 Pages

He delivered many speeches with confidence about the changes he wanted to make. That's what they liked about him he had confidence and he took action. The New Deal was one of FDR’s greatest accomplishments which helped ease the damage the Great Depression had

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