“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same” (Ronald Reagan). Ronald Reagan’s emphasis on freedom in this quote brings flashbacks of the New Deal, and the legislation and executive orders which emanated from the Franklin D. Roosevelt presidency, bringing a large amount of restrictions on the American people’s freedom. With the introduction of the AAA and the NRA the United States saw a dramatic decrease in economic liberty along with a slight increase in equality among people. Overall, the New Deal primarily damaged American freedom in return for a small reward of economic equality, causing the New Deal to be primarily bad for the American people. The purpose of the NRA, or National Recovery Administration, was to provide a fair wage of all workers and eliminate unfair competition between companies in the wake of the Great Depression. …show more content…
Farmers were paid to only produce a certain amount of crops, and this in turn ended up hurting the middle and lower class of farmers rather than helping them. Small farmers were unable to produce as much, and the large farming businesses took the lead, squeezing out competition from smaller farmers who were unable to compete with the larger farms. Many plantation owners hurt sharecroppers and tenant farmers as well as they often kept the money for themselves. Many of the farmers who were hurt by the AAA moved to cities, and the program designed to stimulate the economy was eventually declared unconstitutional in 1936, as it was within the authority of the state to regulate agricultural production, and not the role of the federal