POST DBQ HERE
bsa...@gmail.com
J. Pizzle
Joseph Poirier
APUSH Per. 3
4/20/2006
Sanoff
The New Deal Halting the Depression and Creating a Government Obligated
to Provide Security
F.D.R.'s response to the Great Depression was his revolutionary New
Deal, which was a series of programs that halted the depression and
redefined the government as one that was obligated to provide security
for Americans in times of trouble. F.D.R. did this through three major
aspects of the New Deal. One, the WPA (Works Progress Administration),
two, the social security program, and lastly the New Deal's AAA
(Agricultural Adjustment Act). These three major aspects of the New
Deal helped make the government what it is today, and helped bring the
depression to a stop.
Perhaps the single most important aspect of the New Deal was the WPA,
an organization which provided jobs for the unemployed working on
federally funded projects such as dams, bridges, and public buildings.
As William Lloyd Garrison, Jr. noted, the government was spending
"immense sums for public-works projects". The government was
attempting to pump money back into the economy in the form of wages for
the unemployed. This stopped, but did not reverse the terrible effects
of the Great Depression on America. As is evident in Document J, not
until World War II did unemployment drop below 20%. Although the WPA,
or the New Deal, for that matter, did not end the depression, it did
create an entirely new role for the government. Because the WPA hired
not only manual laborers but musicians, artists, and skilled craftsmen,
it set the precedent that the government would be responsible for
helping all people in times of trouble. The WPA also employed
African-Americans, and because of that, "the government has taken on
meaning and substance for the Negro masses.(Document I)" The WPA may
not have ended unemployment, but it slowed the depression and created a
government that was now expected by all people, both black and white,
to provide relief during times of economic trouble.
The government also created its new, controversial social security
program. Social security was the idea that anyone receiving a paycheck
would receive "a monthly check" every month "for the rest of your
life...beginning when you are 65 (Document E)." This is yet another
example of the government providing insurance for those suffering
economic troubles. This check guarantees an income for elderly people
unable to work in many cases, and is exactly what it is named,
security. The social security program further defined the
government's new role as an insurer of the public welfare. However,
it was considered so revolutionary and redefining that it sparked
extreme debate. Some claimed that "the authority of the federal
government may not be pushed to such an extreme (Document F)."
Others claimed that the "government...has also been strengthened and
renovated (Document H)." Some went as far as to say that "the
Administration at Washington is accelerating it's [sic] pace towards
socialism and communism (Document B)." The controversy surrounding
many of the New Deal policies helped reshape the government in such a
radical manner, as today it provides us with social security and is
looked to for relief when economic disaster strikes.
The AAA was a major part of the New Deal for many Americans. It was a
system that promoted reduction of crop sizes among mostly Midwestern
farmers. The government, through taxes levied on food processors, paid
farmers to leave land idle, thus reducing overall production,
eliminating overproduction and creating a system of virtual parity.
This system lessened the effects of the Great Depression on farmers, as
it slowed and stopped, in many cases, the overproduction that was
crippling many farmers. This system fortified the precedent set by
such administrations as the WPA, and established the idea of a
government that was responsible for the welfare of its people.
Although the AAA was just another branch of the many-branched New Deal
tree (Document C) and may have befuddled and confused some, it was very
clear to farmers that they now depended on the government for security
when the nation hit times of "extreme poverty" (Document A). The
AAA, among other things, was a crucial part of this effort to relieve
the pains caused by the great depression, and was also a crucial part
of the "bureaucracy in Washington [which] grew by leaps and bounds
(Document D."
As is apparent through the AAA, the WPA, and the social security
program of the New Deal, the government under F.D.R.'s administration
was able to slow the effects of the Great Depression (although not
reverse them, World War II would do this), and create a nearly entirely
new system of government. The bureaucracy in Washington greatly
expanded with all of the New Deal administrations and departments, and
the federal government was turned into an essential insurance company,
obligated by its previous actions to provide relief to America when the
country encountered troubled economic times. Because the U.S.
government created a system of near-parity, because it created social
security, and because it gave jobs to those who didn't have any, it
was expected to do this again in the future. Thus the government was
transformed into an administration that was expected to provide for the
entire country during times of trouble.
Eva
- there was a photograph i think on the front page of bush GRABBING the
arm of the chinese president and jintao looks soooo heated at him. bush
looks like he has no clue how to act in public and/or just lacks basic
manners. its pretty hilarious you guys should try and find it....... my
mom put it up on my fridge hehe
Ricky Wat
http://www.elperiodico.com/EDICION/ED060421/CAS/FOTOS/EPP_ND/CARP01/f018mh04.jpg
[Bush: Ladies first...]
http://img.timeinc.net/time/asia/magazine/2004/1122/hu_bush.jpg
http://www.asianfortune.com/sep05/photos/bush-hu-canberra%20november%202003.jpg
*Bush doesn't seem to know how to act in front of the media.*
Newspaper clipping:
http://www.tercera.cl/showjpg/0,,1_201809164_290,00.jpg
Jarvis
efficiently to the problems of the Great Depression than the Hoover
administration had, Roosevelt's administration was still far from
perfect. The Roosevelt administration was effective in that it created
many branches that were able to deal efficiently with the many
different problems of the Depression, but, as Document J shows, were
hardly effective when it came to lessening the high unemployment rates;
if anything, unemployment among the city and other "nonfarm"
workers skyrocketed during the beginning of the 1932 to 1941 period
that marked the beginning of Roosevelt's presidency. The Roosevelt
administration's responses changed the role of the federal government
from a supporter of big business and corporations to a friend of the
farm worker. The Roosevelt administration had both its positive and
negative aspects when it came to its responses towards the Great
Depression, but the positive effects were more long lasting than the
negative ones.
For instance, by creating many agencies and branches like the AAA and
NRA, the Roosevelt Administration was able to establish better
conditions for workers and farmers alike, as well as dealing with many
of the problems brought on by the Great Depression. The political
cartoon shown as Document C shows an exaggerated version of the amount
of these government branches sprung from Roosevelt's New Deal, as
well as a picture of Roosevelt claiming his changes and additions to
the government were a type of evolution (i.e.: moving the country
forward) as opposed to revolution (moving it backward). The author of
the letter addressed to Senator Robert Wagner in Document B, would
disagree with the ideas brought up in this cartoon. Document B
complains that the policies and agencies promoting "higher wages"
and "shorter hours" create less profit for business and would
eventually lead the country to "disaster." While it is true that
many of the higher wage/shorter hours policies brought on by the
Roosevelt administration were most likely some of the causes leading to
the high unemployment percents seen in Document J, it is undeniable
that these policies fixed many of the work environment problems brought
about during the Great Depression.
During Herbert Hoover's presidency, the Depression was fueled by the
administration's hesitance to increase government spending. However,
by financing many individual groups and agencies, the Roosevelt
administration was able to get more money out for public use. The
administration used strategies like giving out the social security
checks mentioned in Document E to help redistribute much of the wealth
in America to the working class. This was an important step in changing
the government from a passive bystander to an active assistant that was
working to help eliminate the problems of the Great Depression. This
change, brought about by Roosevelt's New Deal, was vital in asserting
Roosevelt's abilities to disable the Depression and is a good example
of the effectiveness of Roosevelt's policies.
These policies may not have been as effective or efficient as they
could have been, but they provided enough help to eventually fight off
the Depression, something that Herbert Hoover's policies were never
quite able to do. Not only that, but Roosevelt's New Deal permanently
changed the role of the federal government to be more dependable and
responsible of its citizens by initiating such policies as the social
security check and the start of agencies like AAA, WPA, NRA, and CCC.
Roosevelt's responses were not immediately effective, but they had a
long-term effect that was undeniably positive.
saml...@yahoo.com
Roosevelts Revolutionary Tactics
During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt used several
revolutionary tactics to heal the suffering American economy. These
tactics -- the providing of public service jobs, the movement for
social security and the implementation of a "blanket code" for workers
rights -- had great success and greatly revolutionized the role of the
federal government.
The providing of public service jobs (the New Deal) was the
tactic that served to heal the most daunting problem in American
society -- unemployment (document J). In 1935 the Roosevelt
administration created the WPA to help employ Americans for publicly
funded projects such as "city beautification." As seen in Document J
this jobs did help to greatly lower the percentage of unemployed
between 1935 and 1938. Although the work of the WPA did not completely
solve the enormous problem it was certainly a move in the right
direction, bringing the USA closer to the complete extermination of the
unemployment problem, which was finally achieved after the second world
war. This New Deal, fueled by organizations such as the WPA, completely
revolutionized the role of the federal government. Coxey had advocated
for actions similar to the new deal decades before but his ideas were
shutdown because the government had such close ties with big. However
now, in such drastic times, the federal government realized that it
needed to help the common people directly through providing more Jobs.
Roosevelt and the federal government also established social
security. Social security, established in 1935 when Roosevelt endorsed
the Social Security Act, was insurance for the unemployed and elderly,
supplying them with a monthly payment. This was put into place by the
government and advertised similarly to Document E to help stabilize the
welfare of the American people. At the enactment of social security was
considered a very extreme move by the federal government. It was yet
another way that the government was attempting to aid the poor. Some
people even said that it was " the federal government accelerating its
pace towards communism" (document B.) Today social security is still an
active policy and still stirs up quite a bit of debate.
In attempt to boost the welfare of the common people Roosevelt
also implemented a "blanket code" for worker's rights. These "blanket
codes" backed by the National Recovery Association set the first
American Minimum Wage and set limits on the number of hours companies
could require their employees to work (document F). This standardizes
"blanket codes" set limitations on the companies so that no company
would lower prices or wages to seek competitive advantage and
successfully established provisions for maintaining employment and
production and giving the suffering common people a more fair deal
(document G.) The implementation of these codes was the most
revolutionary of Roosevelt's actions. In previous times the federal
government, having ties with corporations, ignored the rights and the
welfare of the workers. These blanket codes reversed the role of the
federal government by giving support to the welfare of the workers and
limiting the tyrannical power of the companies.
In conclusion Roosevelt implemented many new tactics to restore
the welfare of the American economy. These tactics -- the providing of
public service jobs, the movement for social security and the
implementation of a "blanket code" for workers rights -- had great
success and greatly revolutionized the role of the federal government.
thom...@hotmail.com
links, it was hilarious. Bush is like dragging Jintao away by the
sleeve in front of the media. My DBQ:
The Roosevelt Administration's radical approach to fighting the Great
Depression was only partially successful, and it took the industrial
demands of World War Two to drive unemployment down again. However, the
New Deal did have some limited successes, and more importantly reshaped
the perceived role of the American government. Instead of being a
passive, conservative organization, the new government would be an
active mediator between interest groups, ensuring that the needs of
each group were addressed and that no one had unchecked power as the
corporations did in the Gilded Age.
The New Deal did not come close to reducing unemployment to
pre-depression levels. However, it did make a significant dent in it.
When the New Deal went into effect unemployment was approaching 40%.
After five years of reforms and programs, unemployment was almost down
to 20%. Then Roosevelt though that the worst was over and scaled back
spending and public works programs. When unemployment began to rise
again, the reinstitution of the New Deal programs again led to a
considerable decrease in unemployment. (All percentages from Doc. J).
The fact that both applications of the New Deal reduced unemployment
and its withdrawal increased unemployment clearly shows that the New
Deal did have a marked positive effect on the Great Depression. The
problem was that the depression was just too big to be entirely
vanquished by artificial stimulation of the economy. Only the huge rise
in demand for labor that World War Two brought finally drove
unemployment to below 5%.
The growing view that labor unions were not dangerous and unruly
socialist organizations but legitimate opponents of corporate excess
contributed to public support for the government's new role as
mediator between interest groups. An NBC Radio broadcast (Doc. G) from
1936 says that "huge corporations... have no right to transgress the
law which gives to the workers the right of self-organization and
collective bargaining." In other words, the corporations will no
longer be allowed to crush strikes and unions by any means necessary
and will have to bargain more or less fairly. The enforcer of this new
paradigm would be the federal government. Another indication of the
change in the role of government was the oft-ridiculed proliferation of
government agencies that took place under the New Deal. A Washington
Post cartoon from 1934 (Doc. C) shows a New Deal tree groaning under
the weight of government agencies. However, these agencies were helpful
in reducing unemployment and were a sign of the new active governmental
role. After all, agencies don't exist if they aren't there to do
something.
Some recent historians have criticized the New Deal policies for not
going far enough and failing to have more than a limited effect on the
Great Depression. As the figures in my second paragraph show, the
government did drive down unemployment. However, the importance of the
New Deal lies not in its impact on the depression but rather on the
role of government. The passive approach, or lack of approach, to
governing displayed by the administrations of the 1920s was fine when
everything was going ok, but a new and more active approach was
required to fight depression and later to fight world war two. The
interventionist role of government in internal disputes between
American interest groups was a legacy of the New Deal and would play in
important role in the Civil Rights movement that began a few decades
later.
willhu...@yahoo.com
AP U.S. History
Period 3
DBQ: 2003 Exam Question
4.23.2006
When Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn into office in 1932, he pledged a
"new deal for the American people." He hoped to reconstruct the
prosperity Americans had enjoyed in earlier decades. Although
Roosevelt's New Deal policies failed to reconstruct the American
economy, they greatly aided the labor movement and changed the role of
the Federal government. While the New Deal programs instigated by the
Roosevelt administration allowed the United States to partially
recover, they proved to be only temporary solutions to the economic
problems created by the Great Depression. However, the Wagner Act of
1935 protected unions and thus gave them more power. Finally, the
policies of the New Deal permanently expanded the role of the federal
government by stressing government involvement in both business and the
welfare of its people.
Roosevelt's programs proved only a temporary fix to the main problems
confronted by the American people in the 1930s. Although his programs
created employment and alleviated economic panic, they did little more
than mask the underlying problems of the Great Depression. Fixing the
problems of the Great Depression could not simply be a matter of adding
"new agencies, but [a matter] of more efficient organization"
(Document H). Through the New Deal programs, the United States
attempted to "buy Utopia for cash" (Document D) rather than fixing
the underlying problems of the Great Depression. The government
attempted to spend its way out of the depression, adding six billion
dollars to the national debt (Document D). The continued existence of
these underlying problems into the late 1930s can be seen in the
"Roosevelt Recession" of 1937, occurring after Roosevelt cut
federal financing to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in an
attempt to balance the federal budget. Document J shows how
unemployment sharply rose during this period. This increase in
unemployment clearly displayed the dependence of the United States
economy on programs such as the WPA and the continued existence of
economic problems. The creation of New Deal programs did not fix the
problems of the Great Depression, they simply hid them.
Despite the failures of the New Deal to reform the United States
economy, it gave many labor unions the protection they had desired for
the past fifty years. In 1933, Roosevelt passed the National Industrial
Recovery Act, which important concessions, such as a minimum wage and a
maximum workweek, to laborers. After this act was declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court case Schechter v. United States
(Document F), Congress passed the Wagner Act. The Wagner Act, enforced
by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), guaranteed the right of
unions to organize and bargain collectively. The protection of labor
unions under the Wagner Act and NLRB gave unions more power, as now
corporations would "have no right to transgress the law" (Document
G) and condemn union actions. This new power allowed individuals to
devise new forms of labor organization, such as industrial unionism (in
which all workers in a particular union would belong to one union) and
"sit-down" strikes (in which workers would sit at work and do
nothing). The Wagner Act and the creation of the NLRB aided the labor
movement more than any piece of legislation had done before.
The New Deal forever changed the role of the federal government by both
creating a "broker state", a government which exists to supervise
businesses, and by creating a welfare system, which made the federal
government responsible for helping its citizens. New Deal programs such
as Glass-Steagall Act, giving the federal government the power to curb
irresponsible speculation by banks, and the establishment of the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to police the stock market
show the establishment of the United States as a "broker state".
Document C illustrates the new government evolve to fit the needs of
its citizens. The welfare system further changed the role of the
federal government by making it responsible for its citizens. The
enactment of the Social Security Act of 1935 was the first attempt in
American history to provide direct aid to its citizens. Document E
gives an example of a poster that used to advertise this new
opportunity. The document stressed how federal money would simply be
handed out, increasing the populace's expectations of the federal
government. The New Deal changed the role of the federal government by
creating a "broker state" and a system of welfare, changes that
would outlast the Great Depression.
Although Roosevelt's New Deal did not reconstruct the shattered
American economy, it did create a more powerful labor movement and a
vastly expanded the role for the federal government. The "Roosevelt
Recession" of 1937 proves that the programs enacted by Roosevelt's
New Deal did not repair the underlying problems of the Great
Depression. However, the Wagner Act and the NLRB protected, and gave
more power to, unions. Finally, the New Deal programs constructed a
"broker state" and system of welfare in the United States, changing
the role of the federal government by giving it greater
responsibilities.
Ricky Wat
newspapers. They put three of those arm grabbin pictures on the front
page. The media always find ways to portray Bush as a dumbass,
seriously, why would you ever post that image on the front page of the
newspaper, other than to make Bush look really bad to foreign
dignataries/heads of state. Hu Jintao was actually suppose to stand
next to the President and take pictures with him. They had rehearsed
this before, but Hu forgot his place, and was standing on the other
side of the podium thing. Funny isn't it?
Ricky Wat
AP US History - Period 3
4-23-06
Franklin D. Roosevelt's programs towards alleviating the problems of
the Great Depression were highly effective as they resulted in positve
changes to American social infrastructure, federal welfare system, and
industrial sector. Roosevelt took a variety of measures to combat
society's most glaring problems which include agrilcultural surpluses,
unstable consumer prices, and unemployment. Most importantly, he
constructed a series of programs that permanently altered the federal
government's role and its relationship to society. The federal
government's role is now to intimately work with the community
strickened at large and help bring the nation out of economic
recession which had deeply impacted everyone, both emotionally and
financially. FDR's programs include the Social Security Acts,
Agrilcultural Adjustment Administration, and Civil Works Administraton.
Although FDR's response was far-ranging and extensive, it fell short of
ending the Great Depression. By the end of 1936, Many basic problems of
the Depression remained unsolved such as public unemployment and
stagnant economic growth forced many Americans to wonder if the federal
government's broad and ambitious programs did or did not reformed the
economy and relieve the distress of unemployment and poverty.
Franklin D. Roosevelt profoundly expanded the government's role in
refashioning the nation's economy by creating the Agrilcultural
Adjustment Administration (AAA). One of the most notably legacies of
the Great Depression was the soaring surplus of agrilcultural products
made in the United States. Crop production was skyrocketing prior to
the Stock Market crash of 1929, and farmers of wheat, cotton, corn,
hogs, rice, tobacco, and dairy products saw the market price drop
dramatically after 1929. The most important feature of the AAA was its
provision for reducing crop production to end agrilcultural surpluses
and halt the downward spiral of farm prices. As clearly evident in
(Document C), the prolific evolution or 'growth' of the little tree
symbolizes the soaring surplus of agrilcultural products in the United
States. As the tree grows larger, it expands with hundreds of branches
shooting outward, symbolizing the creation of new branches of
government to help curtail the prolific surplus of agrilcultural
products in America, thus, encouraging mass consumption of affordable
agrilcultural goods by the public, while simultaneously rising farm
prices for farmers so that their industry can continue to survive. The
AAA agency was significant as it provided the neccessary provisions to
help sustain American agrilcultural industry during the Depression and
helped the agrilcultural economy become much more stable and properous
than it had been prior to 1930's. The role of the AAA represents a new
bridge of 'economic cooperation' between the agrilcultural industry and
the federal government.
The Social Securities Act of 1935 was revolutionary as it was profound.
It called for a system of federally sponsored social insurance for the
elderly and the unemployed. It was the first time in history were the
federal government passed legistlation to provide federal monetary
assistance to the old and unemployed masses."A monthly check to you -
for the rest of your life beginning when you are 65" as quoted from
(Document E). The Social Securities act was very important because it
illustrates the degree of governmental participation within the
industries to promote social insurance for "anyone working on a salary
or wage". It illustrates that the government is addressing society's
most crucial problems such as lack of income for retired and unemployed
workers. These groups were widely perceived to be small and genuinely
unable to support themselves. The Social Securites Act was important
because it was the government attempt to help the society's most
disadvantage gain an upper foothold during the Great Depression. In
many ways, the role of the government has adapt to address growing
needs and concerns of the financially supressed people such as the
unemployed and the elderly. Overall, the Social securites Act was
successful in achieve its goals of providing welfare for no-income
American people and provide financial independence to people living on
the brinks of survival.
Survival for many other Americans depended on maintaining a source of
cash flow income, maintaining a working salary to pay for the housing,
food, and other basic necessities. A job during the Great Depression
was hard to come by, and the federal government address this problem by
creating the Civil Works Administration (CWA). The CWA was truly
significant as it resulted in the growth of over 4 million jobs and
signified the first time in US history where a public works employment
program had successfully been implemented. The CWA proved to be an
indispensable asset which assisted in reassured public confidence in
the federal government, provided assistance to people with nowhere else
to turn, and pumped money back into a stagnant economy. As evident in
(Document D), "An enormous outpouring of federal money for human relief
and immense sums for public works projected started to flow to all
points of the compass". This is very important because Americans
benefited enormously as the federal government expanded its role to
help people get back into work, provide labor for factories and
industries, and allow more money to flow back to.the average consumers.
All this contributed to the growth of the economy and revitalized
public confidence in the integrity of their government. Another aspect
that is extremely important is that it is the first time that the
government is aggressively trying to eliminate unemployment through
using its own executive power to stimulate new jobs opportunites and
construction projects to provide work and employment for the American
people. In many ways, the government has branched out and expanded to
play a greater role in the nations' economy.
Overall, all these series of programs Franklin D. Roosevelt created
produced very efficient results. The changes that the programs brought
about profoundly affected the ravaged infrastructure of American
society and most importantly, provided firm ground for stability and
prosperousity to emerge. The government played a vital role in
creating the Agrilcultural Adjustment Administration, which prevented
the agrilcultural economy from collasping by reducing crop production,
which in turn raised farm prices for farmers. The government lended a
helping hand to income deficient members of society which includes
elders and unemployed Americans by creating the first ever federal
welfare system under the Social Securities Act. Providing social
insurance so that no-income individuals would not suffer in the depths
of poverty during the Great Depression was one of the government's top
motives when it created the Social Security act. Furthermore, the
government also played an effective role in relieving prevalent
unemployment anxieties during the Depression by establishing CWA, a
massive public works program that put Americans back into work, and
help rejuventate the American economy. By all means, the government
took an agressive approach in trying to alleviate the problems of the
Great Depression. The government, for the first time, played a role of
a mother, attempting to foster and raise the infant economy to
maturity. It was a pivotal moment in the nation's history, where the
government pooled its resources and created a series of ambitious
progarms that improve the lives of Americans, improve the economy, and
improve the society in a time of the Depression.
Max to the Borg
Max Borg
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (F.D.R.) response to the
great depression was eventually successful through his implementation
of the "new deal." F.D.R. was able to partially stabilize the
economy for the present, bringing the great depression to an end.
F.D.R. was most successful in creating the building blocks for a
successful American economy in the future. During the historical 100
day congress session, F.D.R. enacted many new programs which would
drastically change the current American economy while providing
assurance toward the future for all Americans. The new legislations
F.D.R. passed through congress greatly increased the federal
government's role and involvement in the regulation of the American
Economy. F.D.R. believed that the federal government's economic
regulation was the only possible way of preventing another great
depression.
F.D.R. was far more successful in securing the American economic well
being for the future than the present. F.D.R. did find limited success
in his rebuilding efforts of the current economy as he created various
agencies to overlook the sections of the economy that had failed in the
past. F.D.R. spent millions on securing the American banking system.
He persuaded congress to pass the Emergency Banking Relief Act which
authorized the federal government to re-open the banks that were closed
by F.D.R's administration. F.D.R. was also able to temporarily help
with the issue of unemployment. He created the Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC) which gave the federal government the authority and budget
to employ young men on projects on federal lands. F.D.R. also created
the Works Progress Administration (WPA) which federally employed 3.4
million men and women. As seen in Document J, the unemployment rate
dropped from 35% in 1932 to roughly 22% in 1937. This was due to the
aid of the WPA and CCC. All of the federal aid for the current
economic standard of the country was not necessarily for the best. As
William Lloyd Garrison states in Document D, "the new deal...assisted
and retarded the recovery...six billion dollars were added to the
national debt." F.D.R. also created the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) which regulated and monitored the stock market.
F.D.R's most successful part of his new deal was his great plans for
the future.
Although F.D.R. created many organizations to fit the needs of the
current American economy, his new deal was most prominent in
establishing economic precedents for the future. In 1935, F.D.R.
convinced congress to pass the Social Security Act. Based on the
automatic collection of taxes taken by the government, workers would
now receive a federally guaranteed pension plan. As illustrated in
Document E, nearly everyone working for a salary receives a monthly
check for the rest of their life starting at age 65. This was very
attractive to the American public as it gave them a new sense of
economic safety and security.
With F.D.R's implementation of his "new deal," the federal
government's role in the regulation of the economy drastically
changed. The federal government gained control of many of the agencies
designed to monitor and regulate the American economy. As illustrated
in Document C, the federal government was evolving, by creating many of
the new agencies such as the WPA, AAA, CCC, NRA, and SEC. This new
federal freedom of economic control was a "do or die" policy,
because if the federal government's plans failed, there would be an
endless amount of debt facing the United States' economy.
The emergence of F.D.R's new deal meant more fiscal control for the
federal government as well as successful plans for the future and
partially successful solutions for the present economic problems at
hand. The federal government established the power to create important
economic agencies such as the WPA, AAA, CCC, NRA, and SEC. The
agencies would help to monitor various economic areas such as
employment, the stock-market, and the banking system. Franklin Delano
Roosevelt's most successful part of his new deal was his planning for
the future, but creating the Social Security program. As Document H
says, "...The future has also been strengthened and renovated. This
is not merely a matter of the addition of many new agencies, but of the
more efficient organization of the whole executive department."
alan.i...@gmail.com
APUSH - Sanoff
2003 DBQ
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his inaugural address, he stated
that, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." With these
words he took the country on back and seemingly led them out of the
Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt responded to the problems
of the Great Depression by administering the New Deal, a plan that had
an immense effect in helping to lead the country out of the depression
and granting a new role to the federal government. Roosevelt's New
Deal consisted of the creation of many new organizations such as the
Works Progress Administration (WPA), Agricultural Adjustment
Administration (AAA), and many others (Document A) as well as the
establishment of welfare programs such as the Social Security Act. No
aspects of the New Deal were larger or more effective than the Works
Progress Administration and Social Security Act.
Although Franklin Roosevelt created many organizations to help bring
the country out of the depression, no organization was as powerful or
had a strong effect as the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA
created a system of work relief for the unemployed and was able to
become so effective because it was bigger, in size and budget, than
previous organizations. The WPA had an average of 2.1 million workers
employed at one time. These workers renovated public buildings and
constructed airports, roads, and bridges. Although Document D attacks
the New Deal, it states that there was an outpouring of federal money
for public works projects. The WPA also provided relief to those whose
skills were in the arts, music, and literature areas. Federal Projects
gave writers, painters, and sculptors work, and produced concerts and
plays for musicians and actors. The WPA also provided assistance for
women through the Aid to Dependent Children program which assisted
single mothers. The overall effect of the WPA was tremendous. As
Document J shows, the number of unemployed increased rapidly from the
creation of the WPA in 1935 to the recession in 1936. The WPA was just
one of the many programs that helped decrease the overall number of
people unemployed during the New Deal. Another reason why the WPA was
so effective was because of earlier establishment of Social Security.
The other major part of the New Deal that helped bring the country out
of the depression was the Social Security Act. Passed in 1935, the act
provided benefits to working Americans, the unemployed, and the
elderly. Document E, an advertisement for the Social Security program,
tells people about receiving monthly checks. The program provided
assistance to the elderly who would receive monthly checks. Social
Security also created the pension system, in which employers would
provide workers with income upon retirement. Social Security was also
key in providing aid to those who were laid off, poor, or had
disabilities. As more and more elderly people went under the Social
Security program, jobs opened for younger men and women. Social
Security was effective in helping to bring the country out of the
depression by providing assistance to those in need and by opening up
jobs for younger citizens.
All in all, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal had a tremendous effect in
response to the depression. The Works Progress Administration gave jobs
to millions of Americans and the Social Security program provided
assistance to those in need. The creation of these programs established
a new role of the federal government. The federal government became
"strengthened and renovated" (Document H). Roosevelt increased the
power of the government as a whole. The government was now responsible
for the welfare of all the citizens, an idea that still hold strong
today.
mbbu...@yahoo.com
AP US History
Period 3
24 April
The administration of FDR helped alleviate some of the problems of the
Great Depression. The ideas and programs of the New Deal and other
relief efforts were good in theory, but didn't help the American
people as much as the administration had hoped. In fact, they only
benefitted a small portion of people and not the whole population. The
administration helped set a precedent for other relief efforts and
expanded the size of the government by setting up different
organizations. FDR's administration was able to achieve moderate
success in resolving problems with the Great Depression by creating
relief efforts and his New Deal.
As soon as FDR was inaugurated, he immediately ordered Congress to
start implementing his programs and passing regulations. At this time
Congress had passed more major legislation than any other Congress.
Document C illustrates how many pieces of legislation Congress had
passed and how this new legislation was moving the country forward.
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was started to give federal
money to states that operated soup kitchens and other help for homeless
and unemployed. The AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration) was
also founded so that the government could tell individual farmers how
much they should produce and pay them subsidies for leaving some of
their land free. The AAA helped double the income of farmers and the
industry was able to stay stable and successful for a few years, but
the AAA mostly favored large farms and not so much smaller farmers.
The Public Works Administration was another big reform. As Document D
says, a large amount of federal money was put into this. These
programs helped create new government jobs and helped give money to
some people who needed it.
The New Deal was a major point in FDR's relief efforts. The Social
Security Act was one of the most important acts. Document E
illustrates how the Social Security Program worked. If you worked for
salary and were 65 or older who could receive a monthly check. This
helped retired people and other people who were now unemployed or had
disabilities. Another big achievement of FDR's New Deal was creating
jobs for people. He did this by starting the Civil Works
Administration which was added to the Public Works Administration.
Document J shows that even though FDR was trying to start new jobs, the
unemployment rate didn't go down until around 1938.
FDR's administration helped alleviate some of the pressures the
nation faced during the Great Depression. It helped give aid to people
that needed it, but, as stated earlier, it didn't help everyone.
Document I discuss how African Americans were often left out of the new
reforms. The new administrations didn't help as much as the
government initially had hoped, but the reforms made then are still
used today. FDR's response to the Great Depression was quick and
he was successful in getting legislation passed to help end it. At the
time his legislation didn't make a great impact, but in the end the
impact of these administrations are still felt today.
Eva
as political issues that the Roosevelt administration was forced to
deal with. Roosevelt's responses to the Depression, although not
immediately effective, were focused in the right direction towards
economic stability and were successful in improving the previously
problematic matter of the role of government in society.
Roosevelt tackled the lack of responsible involvement of the
government in the economy by passing legislation that he hoped would
reverse trends that ultimately led to the Depression. He began by
shifting the economy off the gold standard and establishing a dollar
value that was supervised by the government and could be inflated or
deflated according to economic circumstances. Then the Glass-Steagall
Act gave the government the power to regulate bank speculation, and the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation guaranteed all small depositors
at least $2,500 if their bank failed. The stock market crash was not
forgotten; a Securities and Exchange Commission was created to control
certain aspects of the market. These new laws stabilized the financial
sector of society and encourage the public to begin investing again
with the knowledge that the government now had firm control of
situation. The government also created agencies to facilitate in
agricultural and industrial recovery. The Agricultural Adjustment
Administration helped to raise horribly low farm prices by reorganizing
the amount of crops produced. The Industrial Recovery Administration
similarly aimed to fix industrial problems by setting a minimum wage, a
maximum workweek, and the right to form labor unions. Many people were
supportive of these new programs because they were "not merely a
matter of the addition of many new agencies, but of the more efficient
Roosevelt administration also responded to demands for stronger union
power by passing the Wagner Act. With this new law, "huge
corporations would have no right to transgress the law which gives
workers the right of self-organization and collective bargaining"
Roosevelt were so effective in involving the government in economic
affairs that they aroused much controversy from critics who feared the
attack on exploitive businesses would lead to communism (Document B).
However, even though the government had increased its
participation in economic regulation, the new policies were not very
effective in improving conditions of the Depression. It set protective
measures that helped prevent another crisis from occurring again and
gave thousands of jobs to the unemployed through the Public Works
Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and other
government-sponsored programs. It also provided people all throughout
the nation with an affordable source of electricity by removing
privately owned utilities and replacing them with other sources such as
the Tennessee Valley Authority. And one of the most important outcomes
of the Roosevelt presidency was the establishment of Social Security
for senior citizens, disabled people, dependent children, and others.
It was made available to many who needed it and helped bring them out
of the depths of the Depression, but at the same time was denied to
certain workers such as domestic and agricultural laborers (Document
E). In addition, most of the agencies that were designed for financial
relief only provided funds for state governments or large companies
that Roosevelt assumed would eventually "trickle down" to everyone
in need. And although these agencies and employment programs did help
relieve some of the pain of the crisis, unemployment did not decrease
more than 15% (Document J). In reality, the economy did not pick up as
a result of the New Deal but actually as a result of World War II.
The Great Depression and the Roosevelt administration's
response to the issues it created resulted in a mixture of
improvements. Just like Garrison pointed out in Document D, the New
Deal resulted in several controversies - it created jobs while
creating a bigger debt, industry was restricted while the economy was
at its lowest, etc. But in reality, it did change the problems that
led up to the Depression such as overproduction, reckless speculation,
and monetary problems. And even today the government is highly
involved in other affairs besides politics which creates stability in
all areas of society.
whit...@gmail.com
April 23, 2006
APUSH
FDR DBQ
Although Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal experienced a lot of
resistance at the time because it was made up of revolutionary changes,
it caused huge reforms for our country and held America together during
the Great Depression. Rather than merely cover the problems that the
Great Depression had caused, FDR came up with his plan to challenge the
bigger problems. Many of his acts caused conflict because they were
such controversial topics.
FDR's first act when he entered office was to put the banks on a
nation bank holiday so they could sort out their finances. He then
reassured the public by only letting banks open once they were stable.
This was an example of how his reforms made necessary changes in the
society; after the banking holiday, millions of dollars flowed back
into banks, allowing the economy to become functional again. "The
Hand of Improvidence" illustrates how FDR poured money into relief
and public work projects. This document says that it is contradictory
because the government went 6 billion dollars into debt, but it was a
very necessary action. The economy was completely depressed, and the
only place the money could come from was the federal government. FDR
put the government in debt in order to pump money back into the economy
and put money back in the hands of the people. The Evening Star
Cartoon shows how the New Deal evolved to fit the countries needs. All
the different organizations grew out as FDR tried to help the country
out of its economic stress. The Social Security poster illustrates
another of FDR's revolutionary reforms. He wanted to fight poverty
in the country, and it was a reform to relieve those that had retired.
FDR focused a lot on reforms for poorer laborers who suffered most
during the Depression.
The Letter to Senator Wagner showed how FDR was trying to help laborers
and fight big businesses, even though the letter is attacking it. The
letter says that "higher wages, shorter hours, and less profit for
businesses... will lead to disaster to all classes." However, higher
wages for workers would not cause economic problems; it would only
cause a much needed distribution of wealth from the upper class to the
lower class, which was FDR's aim. Schechter v. United States shows
how FDR was trying to help the workers by letting them Unionize. He
knew that workers were the ones that were hit the hardest by the
depression. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that FDR's acts were
unconstitutional. The NBC radio broadcast also shows why unions should
be recognized, and why big businesses were profiting too much. FDR
tried to change this with legislation like the revenue act or wealth
tax. He wanted to help the lower class, which was mainly the group
that made up the unskilled workers, and realized their need for unions
to protect their jobs.
FDR was committed to getting the country out of the Great Depression
and back on track. Because he made so many drastic changes, a lot of
his ideas were faced with opposition. The country liked him enough to
elect him for four terms, however. FDR changed much of the country,
and "The New Deal in Review" shows how he changed the government as
well. The New Deal saved our country from collapse in many ways.
elvent...@yahoo.com
4/24/06
APUSH p. 3
When the Great Depression hit, the Roosevelt administration passed
many laws and initiated many programs dealing with the problems facing
the American people. These responses in the mid 1930s were effective
to a small extent in solving these problems and the government became
bureaucratic with the separations into small programs.
When the depression hit, president Roosevelt proposed a series of
programs that became known as the New Deal. As the cartoon in Document
C shows, Roosevelt says "it is evolution, not revolution,
gentlemen." He is referring to the growth of his proposal for the
New Deal like a tree growing and branching out into small divisions.
He believed that his New Deal policy would evolve. One of the reasons
people opposed this policy and didn't was because they feared that
the country would become a bureaucracy. Some aspects of the New Deal
"assisted and some retarded the recovery of industrial activity'
(Document D). This new bureaucratic idea was becoming more and more
controversial with the idea of creating a Utopian society similar to
those suggested by socialists and communists.
During the depression people suffered from extreme poverty because
they had no work. It was the government's duty to find work for the
jobless. Document B suggests that in Washington, every public
statement was "against stimulation of business which would in the end
create employment." Everyone wants jobs to be created. A New Deal
program that would create jobs, raise wages and lower hours would
require the government to expand more than it already has. More
expansion means a more bureaucratic government. A bureaucracy would
create an instability because there will be too many factions to look
after. Later in the decade however, improvement began to show when
unemployment went down and made its lowest valley when weaponry factory
jobs were created at the time of America's entrance into WWII
(Document J).
President Roosevelt's New Deal program was to some extent
ineffective until the US entered the war. It was a very bureaucratic
program that was favored in its intentions but controversial in its
procedures. To create employment you have to become more bureaucratic,
something that people were not in favor of. The first New Deal had not
been as effective on its own as expected and when the most relief and
new job opportunities came, WWII had broken out.
becca
in relieving the problems of the Great Depression then Hoover, was
still restricted by corporate power and conservative officials and
groups. Although Roosevelt developed public works projects and
increased federal spending, he also had to comply with the public and
federal concerns of communist influence. In order for Roosevelt to
maintain widespread support within his party, he needed to deemphasize
the revolutionary qualities of his New Deal. The cartoon in document C
illustrates Roosevelt's justification of the New Deal to his more
affluent supports; his administration's belief in "evolution, not
revolution," while it reduced the effectiveness of New Deal reforms,
allowed Roosevelt to retain the support of more conservative Americans.
The attempts of the Roosevelt administration to improve social
conditions also illustrated a new sensibility of federal power.
Roosevelt's use of federal power in social improvement increased the
importance of the government in society and the importance of a
president who could connect public interests to federal action.
Roosevelt's reforms were often effective in improving the American
society and economy after the Great Depression. Agricultural prices
and conditions were monitored through the Agricultural Adjustment Act,
which increased the prosperity of larger farms. The TVA, CWA, and CCC
all illustrated a new form of federal involvement in social conditions,
and the "Second New Deal" was more aggressive towards corporate
power and monopoly. Unions and social security earned federal support,
as evident in the social security advertisement in document E.
Document B, although it is critical of social and communist
stipulations of the reforms of the Roosevelt administration, recognizes
that their social programs that have created "more jobs and better
wages for labor." Document H shows a public approval for the extent
of the New Deal reforms and the government's new role in social
progress: "The government as an instrument of democratic action in
the future has also been strengthened and renovated." Still,
political critics like Townsend and Huey Long increased suspicion of
Roosevelt's programs and the role of his administration in social
improvement.
The nature of New Deal legislation and programs and the extent of
federal involvement in business generated some animosity among
conservatives and skeptics. Document F states, "The authority of the
federal government may not be pushed to such an extreme" when
discussing the federal codes which set minimum wages and maximum hours
for workers. The Supreme Court opposed the more progressive provisions
of the AAA, initially declaring them unconstitutional. They didn't
prevent agricultural progress, but were concerned about the
revolutionary aspects of New Deal reforms. The American Liberty
League, Townsend Plan, and the popularity of Huey Long express some
anti-New Deal sentiment that was relatively widespread, both
geographically and politically. Still, the New Deal was considered
effective in combating the problems of the Great Depression with its
extensive social programs and legislation.
The New Deal effectively helped the American economy and society
recover from the Great Depression, but Roosevelt's efforts were also
limited by a critical conservative sentiment. Furthermore, the New
Deal did not address discrimination in the TVA, detailed in document I,
or in CCC projects, which were restricted to the white unemployed
workers. Native Americans and women did not experience significant
economic or social advancement during the Roosevelt administration, and
African Americans continued to struggle with segregation and racism
(especially in the South, where Jim Crow laws avoided a federal
challenge). Problems of the Great Depression persisted until WWII,
when the economy experienced a huge wartime boom. While the New Deal
address problems within the banking systems, agricultural and
industrial business conditions, and social welfare, Roosevelt's
reforms did not reach many underlying causes for economic and social
problems in America.
Lily
Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration reacted to the issues of the
Great Depression by creating numerous programs that changed the federal
government and its involvement in society. This administration, known
as the New Deal, was significantly active and responsive in an effort
to help better the conditions of the time. It helped serve the interest
of many groups that previously were ignored, although at the same time
it excluded other groups from truly advancing. The New Deal may have
influenced the involvement of the federal government within society,
but its relief programs and legislations did nothing to actually better
the conditions of the Great Depression.
The administration of Roosevelt had many responses to the issues of the
Great Depression. One of the first legislations put into place during
this time was the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). It was to help
decrease crop production in order to stop agricultural surpluses and
end the downward spiral of farm prices. To improve problems of
industry, the National Recovery Administration (NRA) under Hugh S.
Johnson was established. He wanted every business organization to allow
for a temporary "blanket code." Similar to Section 7(a) of the
national Industrial Recovery Act, an NBC radio broadcaster says,
"Huge corporations...have no right to transgress the law which gives
to workers the right of self-organization and collective bargaining"
(Document G). In 1935 the Social Security Act was passed that provided
assistance for the elderly and the unemployed. Americans who were now
working were put into a pension system in which they would contribute
to by paying a payroll tax that would help give them an income on
retirement (Document E). The Roosevelt Administration also helped the
unemployed by establishing the Works progress Administration (WPA) in
1935. It gave artists, writers, actors, musicians, and many others an
opportunity to work. Despite all the relief agencies, the New Deal
only created partial recovery from the Depression. Unemployment
stayed very high throughout the 1930s, and increased again during
1937-1938 (Document J). The programs of the administration may have
been helpful to bettering some conditions, but overall did not solve
the problems of the Great Depression.
The legislations made by the New Deal helped to improve conditions, but
did not actually solve many of the problems and favored certain groups
over others. The administration was not hostile toward
African-Americans, but they did relatively little to actually help them
during this time of need. New Deal relief programs actually reinforced
existing patterns of discrimination (Document I). The new deal also
did not help to advance the roles of women. Meridel Lesueur observed
how, "There are not many women in the bread line...there are no flop
houses for women as there are for men"(Document A). The reason for
that is because many New Deal agencies were often discriminatory
against women and did not allow them the same opportunities as men.
The AAA helped to raise the prices of farm produce and increase the
farm income by more than half. Although the New Deal helped
agriculture in some ways, it did not help the conditions of the many
individuals working in that field. This was in part because the AAA
favored larger farmers over smaller ones, which meant that it did not
help farmers from losing land or getting fired by landowners. Another
program made by the New Deal that was not as successful as it may have
seemed was the NRA. The codes that were made for it were quickly and
usually badly written. It was hard for federal officials to control
them and large manufacturers constantly made sure that the regulations
would benefit them and not the smaller producers. The codes sometimes,
"actively and artificially raised [prices] sometimes to levels higher
than the market could sustain." The unsuccessfulness of the NRA can
be seen by the fact that industrial production actually declined in the
months after the organization was established. Overall, the New Deal
made reforms that were helpful to society, but did not have a
significant effect on actually helping to solve the problems of the
Great Depression.
The much more impressive effect of the New Deal was how it changed the
role of the federal government. In the past the federal government
hardly interfered with social and economic issues, but now it was
playing an active part in the problems of society. The New Deal helped
to break the government's previous unwillingness to offer public aid
to its most helpless citizens. Now during the 1930s, state and local
governments were visibly of less importance to the government in
Washington. People began to have increased expectations of the
government. The New Deal significantly impacted the role of the
government through its numerous relief programs and most importantly
the Social Security system. Though, many seemed to disagree with the
strengthening of the federal government and the ways of the New Deal.
An individual wrote to Senator Wagner about how a program that is
constantly supporting, "labor troubles...and less profits for
business, would seem to me to be leading us fast to a condition where
the Government must more and more expand it's relief activities, and
will lead in the end to disaster to all classes (Document B). Others
who also opposed the ideas of the New Deal referred to it as beginning,
"to find expression in diverse forms which were often
contradictory," and that because of it, "six billion dollars was
added to the national debt" (Document D). In Schechter v. United
States Charles Evans Hughes stated that the "authority of the federal
government may not be pushed to such an extreme" (Document F).
Basically, the New Deal successfully changed the role of federal
government, but had limited success in actually helping to solve the
problems of the time.
The New Deal did not actually solve the problems of the Great
Depression, but it did help to spark some beneficial changes during a
time of need. The most significant was the changing role of the
federal government. Through Roosevelt's administration, the
government became much more actively involved in society. Although
many federal programs helped numerous amounts of people, unemployment
and poverty still remained high. The gross national product was no
bigger than it had been ten years before. Even though the New Deal
created new sets of legislation that were beneficial to society, it did
not help to put an end to the Great Depression, and as a result many
problems remained unsolved. Not until the war in Europe would America
experience an economic boom.
slugge...@yahoo.com
DBQ
I. Analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration to
the problems of the Great Depression. How effective were the responses?
How did they change the role of the federal government?
During the Great Depression, Roosevelt immediately called congress into
a hundred-day long session where they passed many laws and set up the
New Deal, which involved the federal government into society in many
aspects. Even though Franklin D. Roosevelt had successful programs, it
could not reach a large amount of people. It was a gradual process, as
in Document C wehre the New Deal is portrayed as evolution not
revolution. This is because revolution is something that occurs
radically, while evolution is a gradual process, just as the tree
slowly growing and branching out. Many of his programs were financial
recovery programs, programs for relief for the unemployed, and the
social security act.
The Emergency Banking Relief Act enacted the government to examine the
finances of banks after being clothed during a bank holdiday. Then and
only then could the banks become re-opened if they were sound and safe.
This financial aspect of the new deal also guaranteed individual bank
deposits up to $5,000 from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Financially, the new president persuaded congress to enact many
programs such as the Home Owners Loan Corporation wich provided that
small homes would be refinanced to prevent foreclosures. As in
Document D, "An enormous outpouring of federal money for human relief
and immense sums for public works projects started to flow to all
points of the compass" was stated by William Lloyd Garrison Jr. in
1934. The New Deal was a financial boost for low-interest farm loans
and mortgages to prevent forclosures on the property of indebted
farmers. While the New Deal was a philosophy it was also a plan of
action involving the federal government in businesses.
THe programs for relief and unemployed greatly catered to
the needs of the millions in need for work. The Federal Emergency
offered ourtright grants of federal money to states that operated soup
kitches and helped the jobless. As in Document B, "...cause of
creating more jobs and better wages for labor" . Roosevelt created
projects that would offer more jobs. The Public works Administration
allotted money to state and local governments for building roads,
bridges, dams, and other public works. This allowed for many jobs.
It also allowed young men to work on federal lands that then paid their
families small monthly sums. As well as, the unemployed, the social
security act greatly affected generations after generations. In
Document E is an add for " A monthly check to you". It created a
fedearal insureance program based upon teh automatic collection of
taxes from emloyess and employers throughout people's working careers.
There were critics of the new deal. Socialists and extreme
liberal in the democratic party criticized it for doing too much for
the business and not enough for the people. Conservative critics
explained that it gave the federal government to much power and eve
charged it for being close to socialism or even communism. In Document
B it states, "Administration is accelerating it's pace towards
socialism and communism." For example programs such as the WPA and
laws for labor for example the Wagner act bordered socialism. These
were numerous critics of the conservatives.
In conclusion, FDR implemented successful programs to rid the troubles
that people experienced during the depression. He did so by various
programs. Some focused on financial problems, others on getting and
creating jobs for the jobless, some focused on farming, housing, and
the future. All in all, he was successful to some extent and helped
America to the greater good.
akada...@gmail.com
APUSH
Period 3
April 22, 2006
The Effectiveness of the New Deal and Its Impact on America
At the beginning of the 1930s the era known as the "Roaring
Twenties" died and from it emerged one of the hardest times known to
Americans. The 1930s were centered on the Great Depression and how to
alleviate the millions of Americans who were affected by it. During
this era the American government, lead by Franklin D. Roosevelt,
attempted to reform the American economy and the lives of the American
people. Roosevelt implemented his New Deal plan to assuage Americans
from the plight of the Depression. Although the Deal didn't help very
much during the depression because of the divisions in society and
politics, it did establish a precedent for the American government and
its relations with the public that is still seen during the 21st
century.
The New Deal introduced radical changes to the American labor and
lifestyle through government regulations and reforms of labor and
business and welfare and social security. The main reason why the
Depression was perpetuated was because of vase unemployment. To change
this the Roosevelt administration put a lot of money towards
public-works projects (Document D). They created different programs to
target different groups of the unemployed. Roosevelt first started with
agricultural reforms by establishing the Agricultural Adjustment
Administration, which created a relationship between farmers and the
government by providing a limit to production. Next came the industrial
reforms, which started with the National Recovery Administration that
gave employers strict rules for their treatment of their workers. The
NRA also tried to create jobs and an economy by starting public works
projects. By the second New Deal there were so many administrations, as
depicted by Document C. The New Deal also introduced the concept of
Social Security and Welfare in 1935. Both would act as a safety valve
for Americans, as they could be confident that the government would
take care of them if they needed it. Social security and welfare were
highly advertised by the Social Security board as a way to comfort
distressed Americans, who were devastated by their predicament
(Document E). Although the New Deal sounded like it would relieve
America from the Depression, it barely changed the lives of Americans
at the time for many reasons.
The New Deal wasn't very effective during the 1930s because it
didn't help all Americans, many conservatives did not accept it,
which was an impediment for its changes and the devastation of the
Depression was too large to be fixed immediately. The New Deal excluded
many women and minorities like African Americans, Hispanics and Native
Americans. The exclusion of women derived from the original feelings of
male supremacy: because so many men were losing their jobs and unable
to feed their families, it was unfair to provide jobs to women before
the men because it was more imperative for men to work. Many women in
society contested this sentiment, as seen in Document A, but their
cries were unheard as Roosevelt and his administration put men first.
Although minorities were supposed to be included in the reforms, they
weren't treated the same as Whites by the reform administrations and
weren't given the same amount of aid, if any at all (Document I). The
conservatives in America, including the wealthy and those unaffected by
the Depression, contested the New Deal as well and deemed it radical or
too close to Communism or Socialism. Many said it wouldn't work
(Document B) and unfortunately they were correct. The New Deal, however
beneficial it seemed, couldn't greatly change the predicament of
Americans because of the noncompliance of many, but mainly because so
many were unemployed (Document J). Although it tried to make radical
changed during the depression, the New Deal's most important
contribution to America was the precedent it set for the government and
the laws it secured for Americans.
The New Deal modernized the American government and introduced the
concept of the government caring for its citizens, which is viewed as
commonplace today. The New Deal strengthened the government by creating
public reform boards such as the NRA, which were all looked over by the
president. This idea gave the public some confidence that their
government was trying to help them. This confidence was boosted through
the concept of Social Security. Social Security assured Americans that
the government would protect them and their families. The New Deal
created a new American government, which is similar to the one of the
21st century. This government was stronger and more organized and had a
bond to the public that is necessary to any good government (Document
H). The role of the federal government was changed for the better by
the new deal, because Americans began to see that he government was
trying to help them.
The Roosevelt administration responded to the Great depression by the
New Deal and although it wasn't too beneficial during the Depression,
it established a precedent for the government and its role in America.
The New Deal brought reforms to the American economy and the American
people. Through public works administrations and Social Security the
New Deal tried to end the devastation of the Depression. But the
Depression was too large to be ended by the New Deal, which was too
radical for some Americans, so it was not supported. In the end, the
wartime boom from World War II was the reason why the Depression
finally ended, but the New Deal changed the face of the American
government by creating a relationship of trust between it and the
public. This relationship still exists to some extent when it comes to
the government providing for its people, and it wouldn't, had it not
been for the New Deal.