What will it take to fix a broken economy? In 1929, America’s stock market crashed, resulting in the worst economic recession in US history. This worldwide phenomenon left banks bankrupt, many unemployed, and imposed poverty upon countless Americans. Later, in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president with the hopes that he would handle and conclude the Great Depression. As a result, he created the New Deal, a series of agencies, projects, and programs that allowed for economic relief, recovery, and reform. While the New Deal aimed to bring back America’s prosperity, some people believe that the efforts and support were not enough to produce a significant change. Nonetheless, the New Deal was effective in helping Americans during …show more content…
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. Furthermore, Document 2 supports the New Deal because it explains the solutions the New Deal provides for those with money-related issues. For instance, the New Deal offered agencies that provided economic relief for unemployed …show more content…
Consequently, approximately three million men were granted jobs by the CCC. Thus, the New Deal effectively provided financial relief to countless Americans by instituting agencies that created occupations to mitigate unemployment. On the other hand, some people opposed the New Deal since they believed that it was not a suitable solution. Document 4 purports that the New Deal was ineffective by using political cartoons to underscore the inadequacies of the New Deal. One of the cartoons, “Oliver Twist,” shows the executive branch of the government requesting more power from Congress to proceed with the reorganization program. In other words, this cartoon portrays the idea that the New Deal will give the executive branch increased government oversight over the economy and the other branches of government. However, this illustration does not validate the argument that the New Deal was ineffective because the executive branch would utilize the power presented to them for a worthy cause. Since America needed help escaping from an economic crisis, gaining higher authority would allow Roosevelt to take proper action and form more New Deal