Patrick J. Maney's The Roosevelt Presence: The Life and Legacy of FDR

Reform and reconstruction were represented by new regulations and monetary policies, it stressed the importance of change to make understanding principles of, “justice and fairness by those in whom leadership was placed,” and to correct conditions in the economy. (Bolden, 48). Other goals that the New Deal was set to accomplish were: helping the banking industry recover from its failure after the stock market crashed, lowering the unemployment rate from a record high of twenty five percent in 1932, and to restore the hope and confidence of the public. (Appleby, Roosevelt’s New Deal went about all of these in a similar means, but it was condemned and criticized by many for some of the programs that were installed.

Once President Franklin Roosevelt was elected during the Great Depression, his first 100 days enacted what he called the New Deal. This “deal” was a series of reforms that were meant to increase available jobs, better the working conditions, and put money back into the economy. Jobs offered during this time, as well as the relief, recovery, and reform efforts gave a kick start to the American economy, helping to pull us out of the Great Depression. Some examples of these efforts can be seen in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the National Recovery Administration (NRA), and the Social Security Act (SSA).

The first main accomplishment of The New Deal is the creation of the securities and exchange commission fixed the biggest issue

In his inaugural address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the tone for the upcoming half century when he confidently said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. In response to the economic collapse of the Great Depression, a bold and highly experimental fleet of government bureaus and agencies known as Roosevelt’s Alphabet Soup were created to service the programs of the New Deal and to provide recovery to the American people. The New Deal was one of the most ambitious programs in American history, with implications and government programs that can still be seen to this day. Through its enactment of social reform and conservation programs, the New Deal mounted radical policies that gave the federal government unprecedented power in the nation’s economy and society, however, the New Deal did not bring America out of the Great Depression and could be considered conservative in the context of the era, ultimately saving capitalism from collapsing in America.

The New Deal was a specific set of government works programs put into effect by President Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression. The New Deal took action to bring fast economic relief as well as improvements in industry, finance, agriculture, housing, the labor force, etc. The traditional American policy of laissez-faire was opposed in the new democratic promise of the “New Deal”. The majority of the New Deal was enacted in the first couple months of FDR’s presidency, which later became known as the Hundred Days. The first objective was to lessen the hardship of the large amount of unemployed workers in the nation. The Works Progress Administration(WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps(CCC) were created to establish short term government aid to temporary jobs. The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was created to develop rules to govern trade practices, hours, child labor, wages, and collective bargaining. Also, the New Deal worked to avoid another stock market crash and bank failures.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) gave insurance for bank deposits and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created to protect the people from stock-market companies committing fraud. An agricultural program , the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) attempted to raise prices by providing subsidies to farmers to reduce crop production. The New Deal was filled with government works programs to help pull the country out of the Great Depression but,

There was need of new policies and things that would bring the country to stable economy. After there was a huge decrease in the stock market, there had been a time where millions of people were without jobs and fully depended on the government and also there was many bank failures and homelessness. In such a tough time Roosevelt stood his ground and helped the nation by taking the emergency measures at an instant. Despite working so hard the New Deal was often criticized as unprincipled and inconsistent. The New Deal was considered elitist as it had missed to consult the poor people about the legislation they wanted. As Roosevelt tried to save the large-scale corporate capitalism the other historian summed it up that the New Deal was an absolute failure and couldn’t solve the problem of depression, it couldn’t redistribute the income or extend equality or decrease the racial discrimination and segregation. Roosevelt took help from the university professors and experts as advisers who gave him ideas and helped him with the speeches. Roosevelt transferred the authority of the stock exchange from Wall Street to the Washington and the regulatory powers were increased of the Securities and Exchange

Document C illustrates that the New Deal represents change, but not revolutionary change. This caused the role of the government to expand. While Document D states that some New Deal acts were at odds with others. One example of a program in the second new deal is the Social Security Act, which created a retirement fund for citizen, but this act failed to help farmers, and domestic workers. The Tennessee Valley Act was part of the new deal, which helped with creating jobs, by building dams. Document I stated “The most important [The] most important contribution of the Roosevelt administration to the age-old color line problem in America has been its doctrine that Negroes are a part of the country and must ·be considered in any program for the country as a whole.” The New Deal acts were somewhat effective, as they did help some. In the end it wasn 't the New Deals that got America out of the depression it was their involvement in World War 2. World War 2 caused the unemployment rate to drop, since the whole country’s economy transformed to benefit war effort.

The structure of American society was slowly crumbling as a result of the Great Depression and Roosevelt enacted a series of reforms to help and fight off the decaying state of the United States. Roosevelt informed that nation that " the country was dying by inches” (Document B). New Deal was not just economic

Document D states “The New Deal, being both a philosophy and mode of action, began to find expression in diverse forms which were often contradictory. Some assisted and some retarded the recovery of industrial activity.” This quote shows how the New Deal, in fact, did aid the people in relief and reform but failed to recover. Programs such as Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA), Civil Works Administration (CWA), and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped to relief by providing jobs to the unemployed in order to halt the economic deterioration of America. Programs such as Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) were permanent programs made to avoid another depression.

He started off with saying “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” The New Deal was meant to try to restore and recover farms and their prosperity. This New Deal was enacted by President Roosevelt within the first three months of his candidacy. The New Deal was the set of federal programs launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after taking office in 1933, in response to the calamity of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, and lasting until the Second World War in 1942. The New Deal was important to society because it provided short term relief and long term structural relief. However, it did not end the Great Depression due to Roosevelt’s political enemies fighting him about it.The next act that was really important was the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934. This act provided regulation of grazing on public land to expand the range of farming and regulate their use. This act permitted 80,000,000 acres of unreserved land that could be used for farming. These permits can also be used for other things such as building fences, reservoirs and other

FDR wasted no time trying to deliver the country from the financial hole it had been dug into. In the first three months of his presidency, the majority of the New Deal was enacted and this period of productivity is now called the Hundred Days (“New Deal”). Roosevelt’s target industries and areas to improve include “industry, agriculture, finance, waterpower, labour, and housing” (“New Deal”). Agencies that fell under FDR’s New Deal include ones that worked to bring jobs to people like the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps and organizations like the National Recovery Administration acted as overseers of companies that needed assistance (“New Deal”). This is just the beginning of FDR’s plan to juggle this

This quote shows some of the ideas that Roosevelt used during his run for president. They improved America substantially because these reforms were able to change America’s social and political conditions. Roosevelt was very passionate in trying to become president. While Wolraich may describe Roosevelt as unreasonable, he recognizes his passion and his progress that he made in reforming

Fourth,implementation of the "food for work" . Fifth,vigorously to build public works to ease the social crisis and class contradictions, increasing employment to stimulate consumption and production. Sixth,the Government has also established a social security system, adopted the "Social Security Act " so that workers can get retirement pensions and insurance, the unemployed can get insurance money, mothers of young children, people with disabilities can receive assistance. Last,potato establishing emergency relief for the people distributing relief payments. Throw these new deal we can see that the essence of the New Deal is that under the premise of maintaining the capitalist system, capitalist relations of production of local adjustment, strengthen state intervention in the economy.

The New Deal At the time of FDR’s election into the Oval Office, America was in shambles due to the Great Depression. Higgs (1987), as cited by Shughart (2004), stated that the country was amid “an emergency more serious than war.” Due to this alarming fact, FDR created the New Deal to improve the economy and the way of life for the American people while ending the Great Depression. These agencies, called alphabet agencies, were created to solve problems that affected the whole country. Roosevelt’s New Deal would attempt to bring relief, recovery, and reform to the American people through “alphabet agencies,” but not everyone would benefit from his reforms, including women and African Americans.

Look deep within United States history to find its most significant molding element and one will find that its source stemmed from a great national crisis. At its highest extent, nearly one-fourth of its labor force was unemployed and American confidence in itself was deeply shaken. It is in studying the Great Depression and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, that America’s most significant influential event can be found. The New Deal and its legacy had the largest impact on American society since the founding of the United States. The New Deal altered the political and social nature of the nation as well as preserved the fundamental capitalist nature of the American economy.