New Deal Turning Point

How far was the New Deal a turning point in US history?

The New Deal was made in response to a set of policies by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) to combat issues caused by the global financial meltdown of 1929, initiated by the Wall Street Crash. This decade long historic financial downturn has been identified as the Great Depression (1929-1939). The New Deal focused on what people refer to as the ‘three R’s’: Relief for the unemployed, Recovery of the economy and Reform so there was not another Great Depression. FDR aimed to help the economy recover and to do this, created the New Deal. His far-reaching vision was to put American’s back to work and fix the economic collapse. It created jobs, establishing public work programs and encouraged

The New Deal was a turning point because it led to the creation of the Welfare-State (creation of jobs for the millions of unemployed), which represented a major change in the responsibilities of the federal government. Another concern of the Welfare State was making sure people didn't lose their homes (HOLC). Loans were provided to people in danger of loosing their homes. Before this there was no social security and no unemployment benefits. However, with the New Deal in place there was unemployment benefits and creation of jobs through the CCC and WPA and The Social Security Act. The Social Security Act remains the largest and most prominent social aid program originally established by the New Deal legislation. Other developments such as the ban on child labour, maximum working hours, and minimum wages were also discussed or introduced to a limited extent. The New Deal also created alphabet agencies (an integral component of the first phase of the New Deal) such as the AAA (helping farmers sell their produce. Increase demand), the HOLC(helping the poor who were forced out of their homes), musicians and artists were even helped and they produced items for the government and many others. Due to the regulation of financial sectors, after the New Deal, EBRA, Glass Steagal Act and more were created for the monitoring of the

According to the research of Hawley, one quarter of the working people had become unemployed as the companies had been made into insolvents (unable to pay the debts) due to their economic meltdown and arrival of the Great Depression. The New Deal did successfully decrease unemployment from thirteen million to eight million but it did not stop it. Some historians have argued that it was World War Two rather than the New Deal which allowed the American economy to recover. The war provided jobs employing Americans in arms factories and the war itself. The New Deal helped millions but was only successful to a certain extent. However, while this is true (African Americans were not helped, unemployment had risen after the federal government stopped subsidising jobs), FDR’s New Deal changed the role of the federal government in American society from a quite passive role to an active one. Through the Great Depression, Hoover had a laissez-faire approach. This meant that the government lets America figure out the dilemma themselves. One of the most important key turning point of the New Deal was the change in the relationship between the government and the nation. The structure of the American bureaucracy was changed. The New Deal was expecting the federal government to