Did The New Deal Strengthen Or Weaken The Usa Capitalism

967 Words4 Pages

frontier to Turner was the promotion of democracy. He believed that the people were strong in individualism as farming communities were settled, railroads were created, and the nation’s dependence on England for trade lessened.
George Appo, who was born into a poor family and lost both of his parents to death or jail, began working as a pickpocket in the 1860s and used his money to buy opium. He would attend opium dens, where many different classes and genders gathered to smoke. Appo participating in organized crime because he had to make his own money in order to survive, and had a much higher sense of freedom than most boys his age. Unfortunately, this led to his addiction to opium and his participation in the green goods scam, where people …show more content…

The 1932 election of Franklin Roosevelt led to the implementation of his programs titled The New Deal, and caused a shift in Americans views. Carl Degler stated that the New Deal was revolutionary. The government’s role increased and became present in the lives of citizens. Americans began to expect the government to help with economic problems and intervene when necessary, instead of expecting market forces to solve economic problems. Degler believed that the nation accepting the government’s new permanent role in the economy represented a significant change in the citizens’ views. For example, the government got involved in labor through the Wagner Act, which prevented the firing of someone for joining a union. The government also got involved in protecting consumers, combating unemployment through the Workers Progress Administration, which employed millions to carry out public work projects, and by creating social security and unemployment insurance. These all changed Americans meaning of community because before the New Deal, they had never relied upon the government to influence the economy. It also changed their view of freedom to believing that they can still be free, even with the government’s interventions and new roles in their lives. This is portrayed through the ways social security shifted burdens from the family to the …show more content…

It failed to end the Great Depression or change who held power, and only helped the middle and upper-class while ignoring the poor. Bernstein believed that the government was just doing what it needed to in order to maintain capitalism. For example, the government paid farmers not to grow crops; otherwise the government would buy them and destroy them. Despite this being non-ideal, if the government had hired the farmers and distributed food, it would be considered communism. Leuchtenburg held a similar, though less extreme, view to Bernstein’s regarding capitalism. Leuchtenburg stated that FDR did not end capitalism, as the means of production, such as farms and factories, are still privately owned. Herbert Hoover had wanted increased business-government cooperation and market based solutions, however, many Americans believed that capitalism had failed them during the Great Depression. Due to FDR intervening in capitalism to prevent it from falling apart, it still exists and allows Americans to maintain their freedom regarding the market, as shown through Bernstein and Leuchtenburg’s statements on The New Deal’s role in

More about Did The New Deal Strengthen Or Weaken The Usa Capitalism