How Did The Second New Deal Affect The United States During The Great Depression

The Great Depression was a time of near-unprecedented strife in the history of the United States—the economy was in ruins after the Stock Market Crash of October 1929, dust storms were rampaging throughout the Midwest and destroying any slim chance that farmers had to grow any crops with the ongoing drought, and millions of Americans were unemployed, with over 20% of the US population in 1932 out of a job. Even worse yet, the sitting president during the first stages of the Depression, Herbert Hoover, seemed to have been either incapable of fixing the country’s major problems or simply did not want to. The nation yearned for a leader that would take vigorous action against the many difficulties that plagued it—and they certainly got one. Franklin

During what is termed the “Second New Deal,” many important proposals were enacted and the ones that were already enacted were improved upon. Perhaps the most influential piece of legislation passed during this time period was the Social Security Act of 1935, which featured as its centerpiece a government pension financed by the earnings of workers, to be received when one turned 65 years old. This act took large steps towards what is known as the welfare state, and was so influential as to make federal pensions for the elderly and retired an almost expected part of a government, for better or worse. Another important act of the Second New Deal was the National Labor Relations Act, more commonly known as the Wagner Act, which gave workers the right to bargain through unions of their own choice and prohibited employers from interfering with union activities. This act allowed for a major revival in union activity throughout the country, encouraging such strikes as those at the General Motors plants in Flint, Michigan. In addition to these new acts, many of the already-established organization flourished during the Second New Deal. By 1936, the Tennessee Valley Authority, for example, had completed or under way six dams and plans to build nine high dams on the Tennessee River, and opened rivers to navigation, fostered soil

Although his temperament may seem rather arbitrary in comparison to the other previously mentioned aspects of his presidency, it certainly was not negligible. In his many “fireside chats,” (radio broadcasts to the American people) Roosevelt brought the White House from its previously-aloof position to the homes of millions of listeners around the country. His hope for the future inspired many, proving to be extremely helpful in winning his election and multiple re-elections. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said, Franklin Roosevelt had “a second-class intellect—but a first-class