With widespread unemployment, severe economic misery, and social unrest, the 1930s Great Depression was one of the worst times in American history. President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded to this crisis by announcing the New Deal, a set of policies and initiatives meant to stabilize the economy and help the people of America. Particularly when it comes to the federal government's responsibility for maintaining economic stability and prosperity, the New Deal marks a dramatic divergence from earlier forms of government. The prevalent view prior to the New Deal was that the government ought to be involved in economic matters only to the extent necessary to preserve a laissez-faire attitude toward the market. But the severity of the Great Depression …show more content…
The New Deal's focus on changes to regulation was another important aspect. A number of laws were passed during the New Deal with the intention of preventing another economic collapse. The Glass-Steagall Act, for instance, divided commercial and investment banking to avoid conflicts of interest, and the Securities and Exchange Commission was created to oversee the stock market and prevent fraud.Three main initiatives stand out as being very significant in terms of specific law. The federal government's involvement in social welfare was greatly increased when the Social Security Act of 1935 established a system of social insurance for retired workers, the jobless, and the disabled. The National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act of 1935, strengthened labor unions and gave employees greater power at work by guaranteeing their ability to organize and bargain collectively. In order to guarantee bank deposits and stop bank runs, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was established by the Banking Act of 1933, generally referred to as the Glass-Steagall Act, which brought about extensive changes to the banking