How Successful Was The New Deal Dbq

The Great Depression of the 1930s severely crippled the United States economy, leading to widespread unemployment, business failures, and poverty. Thousands of banks around America went bankrupt, and millions of people lost their livelihoods and fell into poverty. The Roosevelt administration, in particular, was tasked with managing the economic crisis. He attempted to manage it through the New Deal. The New Deal programs aim to revive the economy and reduce unemployment. However, their success varied, as significant portions of the population, including African Americans and certain professions, faced continued hardships. WWII arose at the turn of the decade. WWII required immense amounts of people working not only on the war front but in

For example, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) excluded African Americans by forbidding them from living in the government-built town of Norris, highlighting systemic racial discrimination (Doc A). This problem of governmental exclusionary tactics in the New Deal programs that were intended to do the opposite was not only the fault of the TVA. The Social Security Act of 1935 overall positively impacted the greater US population. At the same time, it excluded farmers, domestic workers, and government workers from receiving the monthly checks implemented to incentivize retirement (Doc B). While it opened up job opportunities for younger people, it still excluded many people from receiving its benefits. African Americans again were excluded as many were either working in agriculture at the time or were doing domestic work. Similarly, programs such as the AAA hurt African American farmers as they were the first groups to have their cotton farms taken from them and given to landowners in an attempt to increase the value of cotton (Doc

While the New Deal programs were designed to address the economic crisis, they often disproportionately benefited white farmers and certain businesses, leaving out groups like African Americans and workers in excluded professions. Unlike the problems of the New Deal and the Great Depression, WWII introduced vast amounts of people to jobs who had never had real opportunities to join the workforce. While racism was still prevalent during the time, African Americans were starting to be able to help the war effort through manufacturing jobs. While African Americans were included in the workforce more during WWII than during the Great Depression, the people who benefited most during WWII were women and veterans. The GI Bill of 1944 gave veterans returning from war efforts financial aid such as monetary support for education and guaranteed loans when buying homes and other properties (Doc E). This financial support resulted in more financial mobility for veterans, which helped them find jobs and be included in the