Pros and Cons of FDR's Brainchild: The New Deal

The New Deal & FDR The implementation of the New Deal was a necessary, yet highly criticized, and controversial time in our nation's history. Its creation, by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, helped to resurrect a crumbling economy and put Americans back to work. However, like most things in life, there are always two sides to every story. This paper will explore both the pros and cons of FDR's, brainchild, the New Deal. In addition, it will argue that regardless of a positive or negative public opinion, there is no negating the fact that the New Deal was a pivotal movement and progressive step forward in our nation's history. The presidential election of 1932 favored Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt over current president, Herbert Hoover, by a staggering 7 million popular votes. It seemed that the citizens of the great United States of America had spoken; they were ready for change. FDR believed that the solution to the economic crisis could be achievable, but only by having a more involved government. He held firm that giving the federal government more control in the nation's economy could begin to undo the damage caused by the Great Depression. Roosevelt promised a New Deal to the American public; a conglomerate of government programs aimed at revitalizing the economy by restoring our banking system and creating new jobs. Almost immediately following his inauguration, FDR closed down all the banks in the country for four days and called an emergency hearing with Congress. The Emergency Banking Act was created, which "gave the government the opportunity to inspect the health of all banks" (Franklin D. Roosevelt - American Heritage Center, Inc.). The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, was also created to insure consumer and business deposits up to $5,000 (a far cry from today's $250,000). FDR, urged Americans to trust in banks again. Ultimately, he wanted to see people embrace the concept of consumer capitalism. In

Cited: Norton, M., Katzman, D., Blight, D., Chudacoff, H., Logevall, F., Bailey, B., Paterson, T., Tuttle Jr., W.  A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 2007. Print. Franklin D. Roosevelt – American Heritage Center, Inc. http://www.fdrheritage.org/new_deal.html 26, October 2012. Web.