What Caused The New Deal Dbq

The Great Depression was a financial and industrial recession that began in 1929. Two long-term causes of the Depression were the overproduction of crops by farmers, which exhausted the land and spurred a huge decrease in crops’ value, and a large number of people buying on margin in the stock market, forcing banks to lose more money than they could afford. President Herbert Hoover, elected in 1928, believed in rugged individualism, which meant there would be no government handouts, voluntary cooperation, where people help themselves and the government only mediates, and that the economy has cycles and therefore the Depression should not be considered dangerous. These beliefs prolonged the Depression because Hoover did not give aid to citizens nor did he attempt to change the economy. When President Franklin

In Document 1, teenager Helen Farmer discusses how the National Youth Administration allowed her to work. The New Deal program gave young people a chance to get jobs and earn money for their families. The less money parents have to spend on their children, the more they are able to financially recover, along with the rest of the country. In Document 5, the percentages of unemployed Americans during Roosevelt’s term is displayed. The graphs show that throughout his term and during the New Deal, unemployment decreased every year. Because of the New Deal, more and more people every year were able to work. In Document 6, Ellen S. Woodward, the Assistant Administrator of the Works Progress Administration, describes the positive effects of the program. Not only were children fed, but the meals were also prepared by women who needed jobs. The program allowed women to work, which would otherwise be very difficult for them as they were not priority in the workforce. The New Deal and its various programs allowed unemployment to decline every year, helping the