New Deal Dbq

The Great Depression in the United States essentially began on “Black Tuesday”, October 29, 1929, with the crash of the American stock market. The event sent a wave of panic through Wall Street, depleted consumer confidence, and plunged the United States into a severe economic downturn. Banks failed, companies went bankrupt and millions of Americans lost their jobs. Hoping that the economic crisis would be short-lived, President Herbert Hoover urged Americans to be patient and give the economy time to rebound. Although President Hoover fought to fix the economy, he did not believe that excessive federal government intervention was the solution. Unfortunately, by 1932, economic conditions had deteriorated to the point that almost one-quarter

Armed with a Congress willing to pass almost any legislation President Roosevelt placed before them, he had made more acts and reforms during the first 100 days of his presidency than most presidents do in their entire term. The first action FDR took was to declare a four-day bank holiday. By closing the banks for four days, people were prevented from withdrawing their money from the unstable banks, and some of the panic was slowed. A few days later, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act which reorganized the banks, closed the hopeless ones, and gave the President the power to regulate banking. Roosevelt quickly reassured the American people that it was safe to put their savings back into banks, and by the end of the month, seventy-five percent of the banks had reopened. Next, Roosevelt took steps towards ending prohibition. Not only was the twenty-first amendment was ratified, making it legal again to buy alcohol, but Roosevelt also passed the Beer-Wine Revenue Act allowing the federal government to be able to legally tax alcohol. Next, Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, which allowed the federal government to build dams in the Tennessee Valley to generate hydroelectric power. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) enabled both relief and recovery by

For example, the federal government did not take in enough revenue to pay for the programs initiated by President Roosevelt. Therefore, deficit spending was needed, taxes were raised, and the national debt climbed. These are all practices we see today. During FDR’s term, there was also an increase in the President’s power. For example, President Roosevelt was aggressive in proposing bills instead of waiting for Congress to act upon it. Furthermore, President Roosevelt also expanded the role of the federal government. For instance, it provided relief payments, employment, pensions, and banking security. People began to view the federal government as a provider and protector. These views continue today. For example, Social Security continues to pay pensions to elderly. The National Labor Relations Board still oversees labor unions, while the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures money in the banks, just to name a few. Furthermore, it is still being debated how large a role government should play in American