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Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Redistribute The Welfare In The 1930's

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In the 1930's, when citizens in the U.S. were in most urgent need for a change, they elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt because of his promises in his first inaugural address of "action". Roosevelt observed the ever-increasing class divide as one of the sources of the Great Depression and set out to redistribute the welfare. The redistribution would only happen with increased government control and the wealthy letting go of their 'liberty' as they claimed. Roosevelt strove to please all, but his focus was to avail those in need, as can be discerned from his primary programs, though his central aid was focused on white laborers. This lack of provision for minorities can be tied back to his need to please all, but his slow action fostered inequality …show more content…

Roosevelt's motives towards a distributed welfare were reflected in his National Recovery Administration (NRA) plans to develop better conditions for those in need, but to please all, he gave codes to business leaders which forwarded opportunity and liberty. Business owners complained of a lack of individualism, and labor workers complained that the codes were fostering “monopolistic practices.” While Roosevelt’s goal was to redistribute wealth and promote fair competition between businesses and classes, business owners manipulated codes to "first serve the interests of corporate profits." creating a larger gap between economic inequality and segregation. In the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program, segregation was visible and practiced while also providing for those in need. A black worker, Luther C. Wandall, explained his urgent need for money and how he desperately went into the CCC. He paints the scene of him being segregated from white workers and being placed in tents that were "old, patched, without floors or electric lights." These small details in the programs show the reinforcement of segregation, but while the segregation hindered equal opportunity Wandall expressed his gratefulness for the program, concluding, “for a man who has no work, I can heartily recommend it” An organizer of the National Urban League, Lester B. Granger, described a case where a “$20,000,000 colored hospital being erected in the middle of their own neighborhood, built with municipal and federal funds” were not providing jobs for the people of color in need but to white workers. Roosevelt’s lack of aid to racially excluding company owners were evident in Jose Flores’s description of ‘Okies’, migrant agricultural workers from Oklahoma that were forced to leave due to the

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During the Great Depression there was great skepticism of the role that the government should play in the economy. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover were two political leaders, among many, who went head to head in trying to justify their opinions related to government involvement economically. Hoover critiqued Roosevelt’s push towards a more positive government because he believed that freedom could only be accomplished with less government intervention—less rules—but what he failed to see was that the government was not limiting peoples freedom, it was protecting it. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Second Bill of Rights aimed for a new foundation of security and equality that could be achieved despite someone’s race or class.

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From 1929-1939 there was a devastating dust bowl and depression sweeping through the United States in the wake of World War I, forcing the nation to search everywhere for a beneficial solution to the crippling unemployment, horrible distribution of wealth, and consequent pain. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the president from 1933 to 1945, was one such person who searched for a solution, and started the New Deal, a radical theory for the time period. Although early on, FDR tried to distance himself from radicalism, as seen when he called out the strikers at the Republic Steel Mill for turning against the government, the source of help in the despair, his proposed legislation did not reflect this anti-radicalism. He began his presidency even, with

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Some critics argued that this wage was too low, and that enrollees were not provided with adequate food, clothing, or medical care. Despite its successes, the CCC also had limitations in addressing systemic economic and social issues. The program was primarily focused on providing employment and training opportunities for young men and did not address the root causes of the Great Depression, such as income inequality, financial speculation, and agricultural overproduction. Additionally, the program excluded women and people of color from participation and reinforced traditional gender and racial

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His efforts in this aspect made the government a more responsive tool of democracy - the government was truly listening to and aiding the people with their financial struggles (Doc F), such as social security being put in place to guarantee retirees would have enough money to live by, even if they didn’t save any money themselves. However, that isn’t to say Roosevelt’s actions here weren’t without flaws - for one example, when he attempted to pass the Agricultural Adjustment Act (which would push farmers to sell their crops at lower costs, and have the government pay them what would’ve been lost in doing so), the majority of the judges asked to pass it replied that “The authority of the federal government may not be pushed to such an extreme” (Doc D). Despite some of the acts/programs’ potential issues, it can confidently be said that Roosevelt did help the general public out of their personal

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Second New Deal brought about the American Welfare State. This was a program that helped create help for people struggling in the United States. Under the Social Security Act of 1935, unemployment insurance, and old age pensions became possible. Help was also offered to elderly, families with dependent children, and those with disabilities.

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In his New Deal, Roosevelt attempted to revise a number of characteristics of society which he perceived to be the least beneficial and could be easily improved upon. One such feature was the highly uneven distribution of wealth in pre-Depression society. In a radio address, Louisiana governor and U.S. Senator Huey Long outlined a plan to mend the, “bad distribution of this nation’s wealth,” which detailed that, “no family shall own more than three hundred times the average family wealth” while, “every family shall have an income equal to at least one third of the average family income in America.” (Doc E) An extremely liberal opponent of the New Deal, Huey Long insisted that the New Deal propose many radical changes to form a new society in the wake of one that led to an economic depression.

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Many corporations and administration acts were created as a part of the New Deal, all improving the state of disaster in the U.S. However, his greatest accomplishment of his lifetime not only was saving America from physical and mental damage from the Great Depression and the World War, but was contributing to stop the Dust Bowl. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), new farming methods and techniques (influenced by the New Deal), and the construction of the “shelter belt” introduced in 1935, where local farmers planted more than 200 million trees on almost all farms located in the dust bowl area. By doing this, overtime the Dust bowl disappeared, which “forever changed the face of America.” The stock markets and businesses were saved as restoration continued as lives of many people became more intricate but understandable.

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These programs were put in place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and were intended to provide economic relief and recovery for all Americans. However, African Americans did not benefit from these programs to the same extent as white Americans. (Document 6) Furthermore, discriminatory practices by government officials and private employers meant that African Americans were often the last to be hired and the first to be laid off, even in New Deal-funded projects. Increasing job opportunities, in addition to establishing a fair work environment, would lower unemployment rates for African Americans and poverty rates in black communities during the Great Depression.

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Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which put about 3 million young men on projects such as planting trees and building levees to prevent floods. He also established the Public Works Administration (PWA), it provided jobs by building huge public work, such as roads, hospitals, and school. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration raised farm prices and controlled farm production. Roosevelt asked Congress to pass the Social Security Act created a tax paid by all employers and workers that was used to pay pensions to retired people. Another tax funded unemployment insurance which provided payments to people who lost their jobs.

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1933," n.d.). FDR made unemployment issue the first priority to overcome and express his intention to redistribute the population according to the job market and concentrate on “overbalance of population in our industrial centers” ("Franklin D. Roosevelt: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1933," n.d.). He also calls for a change in banking, relief, agriculture, national planning, international trade, government budget and a friendly neighbor policy and said, “We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good” ("Franklin D. Roosevelt: First Inaugural Address.

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Therefore, racial discrimination within the CCC caused it to be less successful than it could have been, as more workers could have been hired without the racist practices that occurred in the program. The intention of the government with the CCC, though, was to improve the environmental landscape, which is something that everyone could benefit from: something Herbert Hoover only addressed with the Taylor Grazing Act, which was not meant to mainly benefit humans. As such, the government’s role became much more socialist during the New Deal than it had been in the past, as it

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1. Why was welfare established in the 1930s? Welfare was established in the 1930’s as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. During the Great Depression, local and state governments as well as private charities were overwhelmed by needy families seeking shelter, food, and clothing.

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In FDR’s initial term he failed to demonstrate to the African Americans he could be considered a friend. Specifically, his initial term was focused on bringing the country out of The Great Depression. In order for his efforts to be successful he could not afford to have Americans divided. Unfortunately, by implementing programs to aid African Americans, without initial progress to the overall conditions of white americans, FDR would have lost the south’s support. For example President Roosevelt opposed the federal anti-lynching legislation.

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