Topic > Why the New Deal Was Important to America

It's hard to imagine an America without big social programs like Social Security or the SEC, for example, but for Americans before the 1930s this was the hard reality. After the stock market crash of 1929, America fell into the worst economic depression in the nation's history, which affected the entire world. President Hoover, who had won his election in a landslide, suddenly found himself in a situation he was not prepared to face. His efforts were perceived as weak and inadequate. He did not put enough effort into solving the catastrophic problem that caused a massive realignment in American politics. A nation that was once united with the Republican Party immediately became indignant at Hoover and subsequently voted him out of office in the next election. His opponent was the beloved Franklin Delano Roosevelt who won with a massive 472 electoral votes, surpassing Hoover's 444 votes in the previous election. FDR famously instilled hope in the American people in his inaugural address by stating that “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” His plan began as soon as he was elected, organizing an elite group known as the Brain Trust to devise policies that would end the Depression. These policies would later be known as the New Deal. Over the course of his presidency, FDR fundamentally changed the relationship between the American people and their government. Before the new agreement, the vast majority of Americans did not expect the government to assist them in times of need or economic difficulty. However, after Roosevelt's tenure, the narrative had changed. Americans no longer wondered if their government would intervene, but how. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the main reasons President Roosevelt appealed to the vast majority of the American public was because he promised to do something to end the economic crisis the country was facing. Unlike Hoover who believed that the government should refrain from getting too involved. Many historians prefer to divide FDR's policies into three categories known as the three Rs: relief, reform, and recovery. First, he hoped to provide relief to the poor and unemployed. During the Depression, no one was hit harder than farmers and the poor. To put things in perspective, people would go to their local banks and find that their life savings had vanished overnight. “When President Roosevelt entered the Oval Office on March 5, 1933, the economic crisis was at its most terrifying. The number of people officially unemployed now amounted to a quarter of the workforce, and in many cities the percentage was much higher.” Second, he wanted to return the American economy to its pre-Depression status. America was going through the Roaring Twenties, a period of time in which America experienced great economic prosperity after World War I, only to be abruptly ended by the Great Depression. Ultimately, he hoped to reform financial systems to reduce the risk of another economic catastrophe occurring again. To achieve these goals, Roosevelt implemented a series of programs known as the New Deal. The new agreement is generally divided into the first new agreement and the second. In his first hundred days in office, from March to June 1933, Roosevelt did much of his heavy lifting by getting these programs passed by Congress or sometimes even by executive order. “After Franklin D. Roosevelt becamepresident in March 1933, he shepherded a flurry of major new anti-Depression laws and policies through Congress. Many of these policies and programs were implemented during his first hundred days in office and addressed a wide range of issues facing the American people.” The first New Deal, implemented between 1933 and 1934, was primarily about changing the structure of the nation's economy and offering relief to the banking sector. The second new agreement, implemented from 1935 to 1938, aimed to improve the nation's use of resources, provide relief to farmers, and create various work programs. “In the spring of 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched an ambitious new series of federal programs and initiatives to restore the United States to economic health. Because his first round of reforms was widely known as the New Deal, his 1935 proposals came to be called the Second New Deal. Roosevelt's first step was a public holiday. Where he closed all the banks and allowed only the strong and safe banks to reopen. “The Roosevelt administration immediately addressed the crisis by declaring a bank holiday, allowing only safe banks to reopen, and offering relief to others.” This ensured that the weakest banks, which ran the greatest risk of losing their customers' money, had the best chance of survival. After the bank holidays, Roosevelt began implementing relief programs for the poor and needy who desperately needed help. Programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Civil Conservation Core (CCC), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) designed to put the unemployed to work. The CCC, for example, specifically targeted unemployment in cities and created jobs for young people to fill. We would need kids aged 18 to 25 and we would send them to rural areas where they would clean the beaches and clean the environment. Thus, in Roosevelt's eyes, a chain reaction of mutual benefits is created. The money would be sent to parents who would use it to put it back into the economy, and the environment would also become cleaner. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has allocated much-needed electricity to rural areas of the South. The Social Security Act was designed to provide financial relief to seniors when they were retired and could no longer contribute to the workforce. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was another important agency created by the new agreement. The FDIC was designed to give the American people confidence in their banks. It ensures the safety of your money in a bank account in case something were to happen to the bank. The FDIC still operates today to insure bank accounts of $5,000 or more. Just like the FDIC, there are many government agencies created by the new agreement that still exist today. Agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which provides mortgage insurance on loans. The Federal Crop Insurance Company (FCIC) which protects farmers from crop loss due to natural disasters, and the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) which acts as an arbiter of the stock market. However, not everyone was in favor of Roosevelt's new agreement. Many thought that Roosevelt was leading the country on the path to socialism. Others argue that the new agreement actually prolonged the Great Depression. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay No matter your opinion of Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression, the fact of the The issue is that Roosevelt realigned the.”