“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. President Franklin D. Roosevelt uttered those words to reassure the American people when assuming the Presidency at the darkest hour of the Great Depression. Born into a wealthy New York family, FDR attended Harvard University and Columbia Law School. Inspired by his fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR entered politics early in his life becoming senator at the age of 28, then the governor of New York before finally becoming President in 1932. He was the 32nd President of the US. FDR worked determinedly and tirelessly to get the US out of depression and bring back hope into the lives of the American people. He attempted this by a series of programs and acts known as his ‘First New Deal’. FDR’s New Deal was an attempt to deliver relief, recovery, and reform. Relief meaning the initial action taken to halt the financial deterioration, recovery meaning provisional programs that would go towards recovering from the Great Depression, and reform meaning stable programs designed to avoid another depression. This essay will look at two things; some of the programs/acts etc. that Franklin D. Roosevelt created as part of his New Deal and whether they were successful in accomplishing his overall goal of obtaining the three R’s-Relief, Recovery and Reform in the United States.
Before FDR exceeded Herbert Hoover as President of the US, the people of America were in general extremely disappointed with the crumbling economy, mass unemployment, diminishing wages, and Hoover’s policies, especially the Revenue Act of 1932 which raised US tax rates. FDR entered office with a lot of pressure which required immediate positive action. Roosevelt responded swiftly with a series of programs within his first 100 days in office. He met frequently with Congress trying to help America get out of the depression, avoid the same mistakes in the future, and grow stronger
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