New Deal Dbq

The New Deal was a variety of programs that were implemented during the leadership and presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s and 1940s. The New Deal intended to end the Great Depression by reforming the United States’ economic system while still remaining a democracy. In Roosevelt’s Second Inaugural Address, he states that it’s the governments duty to help the U.S. public, and that the New Deal aimed to bring security and peace for “all the people.” Although the New Deal used questionable morals to reach its goals and let segregation persist, it was ultimately successful as it laid the premise for the idea that the government should be responsible for the public’s economic well-being, and it restored the American public’s confidence

Unlike during the Hoover administration--in which there was no federal work insurance--when Roosevelt came in to power, one of his goals was to represent and support the working class Americans--rather than the super rich and powerful people--because he believed that the strength of the United States was in it’s diverse working class. He also rejected Hoover’s laissez faire view which believed that government intervention during economic downward spirals was detrimental and that downturns in the economy were natural and would force the U.S. Would emerge stronger; he also opposed direct federal relief for the unemployed. Roosevelt also believed that an activist government was necessary to regulate and to balance out the large corporation while protecting individuals from economic and physical peril which were also necessary to the economy. Many of the programs within the New Deal were meant to help the poor and the unemployed. Two examples of this were the Social Security Act in 1935 which stablished old age pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to the poor & disabled; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in which FDR convinced Congress to pass banking reforms to provide federal insurance for individuals' deposits and the Wagner Act 1935 which gave federal protection to labor unions & required employers to negotiate with elected union

public’s confidence in their government. One successful way in which Roosevelt managed to connect to the American people were his fireside talks. Fireside talks were down-to-earth and straight forward radio addresses. They were informal and Roosevelt presented the New Deal and its policies--in order to gain more popular support--in a way that showed he was a man of the people; he made the government and the New Deal appear more personal. Another way that Roosevelt managed to regain the American public’s support was through Bank Holiday, a week in March of 1933 where the U.S. Government, under orders from FDR, shut down all of the banks on a Monday, sent bank examiners to check each banks solvency, and then allowed the solvent ones to reopen the next Monday. This event was it a success as it provided the first step in the New Deal and Roosevelt’s goal of reassuring the American public that the banking system would