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New Deal Dbq

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The Great Depression in America is often believed to have ended when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour and the US entered WWII in December 1941. This date is thoroughly debated however; and some believe it ended at the start of and others at the end of WWII. Though the exact end date is not fully agreed upon, it is obvious the Great Depression ended sometime during the period of the war or not long after. This would leave many to believe WWII must have ended the Great Depression and triggered the economic recovery of the United States. Many historians believe that the government and military spending restimulated the economy and the employment needed as a result of the war meant the economic recovery of the United States was a result of …show more content…

Roosevelt, the President of the United States for the majority of the Great Depression introduced his ‘New Deal’ immediately after he was elected on March 4, 1933. It was clear that Roosevelt‘s New Deal marked an important change in US government. The New Deal was significantly different to Herbert Hoover’s approach to the Depression, Laissez Faire. Hoover believed it was best to leave the economy to sort out its own problems. Roosevelt’s New Deal represented a major shift in politics and domestic policy. It marked the beginning of a much larger role of the federal government in the economy and complex social programs and labour unions. The main aim of the New Deal was to regulate and reform the banking system and to stabilise the economy which involved massive government spending. In his first 100 days, Roosevelt passed 15 separate bills to congress, including calling a bank holiday, the day after his inauguration to prevent the collapse of the banking system. He introduced a Public Works Administration, which funded the construction of public works and created the Civilian Conservation Corps, which put young men to work in rural environments. After the 1934 Congressional elections, which gave Roosevelt large majorities in both houses, he began to draft fresh New Deal legislation. The Works Progress Administration was established, providing more jobs, mostly for unskilled men. The New Deal strongly improved the American economy and at the height of WPA employment in 1938, unemployment had dropped significantly from 20.6% in 1933 to 12.5% . However, many historians such as William Leuchtenburg argue that this was not nearly enough by itself to bring America out of the Depression. Unemployment was still high in comparison to before the Great Depression began and by 1939 many were still living in poverty. Unemployment only dropped below pre-depression levels after the US joined WWII in 1941, suggesting the New Deal alone was not enough to put an end to

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