Great Depression Essay, Research Paper

7 May 2000

FDR’s New Deal

When President took office in March of 1932 he had an idea of a plan, which would have to develop over time, which was the “New Deal for the American People”. He believed that if this plan went through, it would solve the problem of the Great Depression and restore the American economy. President Roosevelt’s New Deal that took time to develop included programs that would help the unemployed get jobs, social security issues such as welfare, and housing and agricultural recovery. Roosevelt also included programs to help the banking system. President Roosevelt’s New Deal failed to restore the economy as Roosevelt had hoped it would, but in turn it helped the people that suffered the most from the Great Depression by giving the hope and confidence they needed.

President Roosevelt was by far the most active president we have had, even though little progress was made. His first accomplishment when he took office was restoring the confidence people had lost in the banking system. He did not solve the problems of the banking system, but he did come up with the Emergency Banking Relief Act of 1933. This act gave power to the government to control some of the banking systems and also allowed them to re-open financially secure banks. The Glass-Stbagall Banking Reform Act, which forbade banks to invest customers’ money into the stock market. President Roosevelt also tried to better the economy by causing inflation. Inflation would cause an increase in prices and businesses would make more profit and the economy would boom.

The new production caused an increase in the need of workers, thus causing the unemployment rate to decrease. One way the New Deal was able to give jobs to the jobless was via the Civilian Conservation Corps. This program gave jobs to civilians between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five; they were planting trees, building dams, and stopping the erosion of the soil. By August of 1933, 300,000 men were at work. Roosevelt also aided the farmers through the Agricultural Adjustment Act. This act helped farmers meet their mortgages, which went hand in hand with the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation. Through these acts the government used millions of dollars to try to relieve farmers’ economic crises. But by doing this, Roosevelt caused an increase in the national debt.

President Roosevelt also helped strengthen the policies for the building of houses. Roosevelt set up the Federal Housing Administration in hopes that he would stimulate the housing industry, which went in conjunction with the United States Housing Authority, which gave government loans for low-cost construction. But the New Deal failed to accomplish what it had in mind, FDR hoped that the people would support it and be happy, but the people were more worried about their social security. The social security of the people had more importance than housing. The Social Security Act of 1935 provided security for the elderly. The elderly were to receive money that was taken from employees. This meant that when employees retired, the money that had been taken away from them would be given to them in turn. Although it seemed that the New Deal was helping people; it did not. The money was basically going in a cycle and not going directly to aid them in their crisis time, the young workers would have to wait to get their money and so they were not being helped in their time of need.

Overall it seemed that the “New Deal” was helping the economy, but it was a never-ending cycle where that no one could take advantage until an ample amount of time had passed. It did not aid them when they needed it. The national debt stood at an enormous figure of $19,487,000,000 and rose to $40,440,000,000 by 1939. America had become a handout state that instead of leading to prosperity only stood for unlimited spending. The New Deal gave confidence to the people but did little to get rid of the problems the economy faced.