DBQ Fdr's New Deal

The Great Depression was the worst economic depression the US had ever faced in history. Set in motion after the crash of the stock market in 1929, the Depression led to the dramatic rise in unemployment rates, the vast migration of people, especially farmers, looking for jobs, food shortages, and an increasing hatred towards Hoover’s advocacy for laissez-faire and polices for reform. The years from 1929-1932 reflected a dark era in which Americans were afraid and unsure of what was to come next. With the nomination of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president, a feeling of hope emerged with the thought that this problem could be solved. With FDR’s New Deal, the nation was able to revitalize itself to the way it once was. Although WW II ultimately
In document G, John L Lewis praises the Wagner Act, an act passed in reaction to the “labor unrest”. It addressed the problems about the right of union workers and their right to collectively bargain, and effectively eased all of the problem, decreasing the unrest. It aided FDR in increasing governmental power by allowing him to establish the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, which enforced the articles of the Act. The Act justified the right of the government to aid in political rights and economic rights of the citizens. Another beneficial reform that was a part of the New Deal was Social Security. As shown in document E, FDR provided economic safeties for older citizens as well as other benefits under the Social Security Act, encouraged by Dr. Francis Townsend’s ideas about social security. However, it was largely ineffective, not providing major reforms. It did provide a sense of hope into a new future with a well-shaped life and benefits for the American citizens. The act increased governmental power by showing that the government also played a role in a citizen’s welfare. In fact, all of the programs established by the New Deal aided in increasing the governmental power, making the government responsible for the reforms being implemented for the citizens of the US. As shown in Document C, the New Deal implemented gradual reforms along with the expansion of the federal government. They served as the
Two of the programs, the NIRA and MA were repealed because they were thought to be unconstitutional. NIRA, especially, prevented the recovery of industrial activity as it promoted a cycle of overproduction and underproduction, complicating many processes (Document D). Although many programs did increase the power of the federal government, the NIRA pushed the line too far, resulting in it being voted unconstitutional, as said in Document F. Similar to the NIRA, the AAA also “retarded the recovery of industrial activity” (Document D)/ It was also deemed unconstitutional because of expanding the role of the government too much. With these two programs, the idea of the government’s role becoming too interfering was prominent. The fear of the government control every aspect of society led to assumptions of its move towards socialism, as shown in Document B. However, Congress under FDR did not put up much of role, allowing the socialistic policies of FDR to be