The New Deal: An Innovative Step Forward

An Innovative Step Forward

The New Deal was a period of reform revolutionary that was exceedingly significant than any other period of U.S. History. Franklin Roosevelt brought a new mindset to the presidency that was necessary to escape the Great Depression. His method of governing, new laws, and use of the banking system lead the New Deal to revolutionize not only the U.S. government, but its people as well. These new policies aimed to solve the economic problems created by the depression of the 1930's. The New Deal incorporated federal action of unprecedented scope to stimulate industrial recovery, assist victims of the Depression, guarantee minimum living standards, and prevent future economic crises. The activist New Deal put forth its effort to lift the country out of hard times and so altered American social and economic policy forever. The New Deal became the most prolific revolutionary break that enhance American society with progressive surges that allowed innovative changes to economic, political and social endeavors. The New Deal’s government revolutionized the mindset behind and the usage of government. Through measures for relief, recovery and reform, FDR created revolutionary methods of governing, laws, and use of the banking system. The United States developed into a revolutionized country, with equality, government power, and insurance policies that were never seen previously. The economy of the United States had plummeted severely in 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, creating the worst period of unemployment in history. The effect of this depression was devastating and the start of the worst decade in economic history. The proceeding election of 1932 voters elected Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, the former governor of the New York who promised a “New Deal” for the country, to the presidency in a landslide. This wide margin victory was a sign of the Americans population wanting a change and reform in society, which Roosevelt brought. At his side was democratic congress, made up of Roosevelt personal group of experts “Brain Trust”. In his inauguration, Roosevelt stated in his style, "Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is, fear itself — needless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." During the first 99 days, later known as the First Hundred days, Roosevelt instituted his proposal which Congress quickly ratified it included relief for employment, reform and recovery for agriculture and business. In one of 30 of Roosevelt fireside chats outlining the New Deal he states “Our next step seeking immediate relief is a grant of half a billion dollars to help the states, counties and municipalities in their duty to care for those who need direct and immediate relief.”1 Throughout the chat, he spoke on various topics such as the bank crisis, agriculture problems, the war effort and money distribution. Among the events that took place during the first Hundred Days, many acts were passed such as the Emergency Banking Act which gave “government control of banking”2 FDR and the government shut down all the banks in the nation and only reopened the feasible ones. This act was greatly required as it reestablished American trust in banks; they were no longer scared of losing all of their savings in a bank crash. Following this act was the Economy Act which cost federal costs, the Beer-Wine Revenue Act, which legalized and taxed wine and beer, both of these acts brought money into the economy and American support. The unemployment problem was partial solved with the Civilian Conservation Corps Acts (CCC) that gave three million men between the ages of 18 and 25 wok in the road building, forestry and flood control and Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) that distributes $500 million to states and localities relief. These acts boosted the economy and helped citizens regain government support, acts such as these benefit the United States greatly as if these were not enacted the depression would continue to linger. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), decreased crop surpluses and subsidized farmers, this act was devoted 60 percent of the New Deal budget. The final two acts of the first Hundred Days were the Tennessee Valley Authority Act (TVA) and the Federal Security Act. The Tennessee Valley Authority Act employed hundreds of thousands of people by creating projects of building dams and power plants in the Tennessee Valley, “broad plan for improvement of the vast area…it will add to the comfort and happiness of hundreds of thousands of people and the incident benefits will reach the entire nation.”3 This act became the one of the most innovative ideas, it integrated resource management, such as power production, navigation, flood control and reforestation, the TVA used this to provide jobs. The Federal Securities Act, enforced regulation of the securities in businesses, these acts marked the beginning of recovery out of depression. The Great Depression brought about many problems that could not be solved without the revolutionary break of President Roosevelt and his trusted cabinet work and efforts. The New Deal was successful in providing jobs for the record high 25 percent unemployed. The key in evaluating Roosevelt’s performance against the Depression is the management of millions of the unemployed that occupied in his workfare programs. During the summer of 1935 the National Employment System Act was created for the U.S. Employment Service., this made an establishment that tendered to employment. The government hired about 60 percent for employment in public works and projects such as the TVA and CCC and Work Progress Administration (WPA) that decreased unemployment and put millions to work along with relief programs that funded public projects. The WPA was an agency that provided work for unemployed Americans as they “constructed or repaired schools, hospitals airfields etc.”4 The “increases in public works and relief grants contributed to significant retail in sales,”5meanwhile the grants aided many of business and agricultural production with higher economic activity. While increasing jobs, the New Deal revolutionized the industry of the American Labor Movement by enacting the National Industrial Recovery Act which later became the National Recovery Administration (NRA). The NRA has attempted to amplify wages, reducing work hours and observing rampant competition. The NRA was a result of the Brain Trust advisors meetings that were willing to work together and what was in the best interest of business. This was beneficial to American society as it limited and provided rules for the increasing working citizens. With the ample amount of jobs created through the New Deal, more acts were developed such as the Wagner Act and National Labor Relations Act to allow employees the right to negotiate and the right to collectively bargain. Labor unions were developed to help millions of citizens by allowing them to fight for what they believed in and giving them self-respect and security. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was a long awaited triumph for the new social restructuring as this act banned child labor and set a minimum wage. In addition to the contemporary workers, the United States government made an effort to alleviate the Midwest crisis that was promised in the outline of the New Deal. The Social Security Act of 1935 along with proceeded amendments established a system that provided “old-age pensions for workers, survivors benefits for victims, unemployment insurance, and aid for dependent mothers and children, the blind and physically disabled.”6 This helped ensure millions of Americans to feel more secure. These instituted acts helped society regain confidence in the government along with developing trust and a step forward from the depression. The New Deal did an epic change in employment and the working class of America, with benefits and regulations that help the economy prosper on its path to recovery. The New Deal developed into a very successful idea that was organized and presented well to help the United States rebound from an economic disaster. Many of the elements that were instituted in the New Deal are still currently used today. The flourishing of an economy and steady rise in all aspects gave Franklin D. Roosevelt the upper edge in the election of 1936 with a wide margin win. He believed the win signified the countries endorsement towards him and capitalized on the opportunity to introduce his personalized legislation. In FDR radio address of 1938 he speaks about the successfulness of the New Deal by stating:
The New Deal, keeping its feet on the ground, is working out hundreds of current problems from day to day as necessities arise and with whatever materials are at hand. We are doing this without attempting to commit the Nation to any ism or any ideology except democracy, humanity and the civil liberties which form their foundation.7
By this time the New Deal had fully developed and equipped America with the tools to become stable and rise, sorting out the pesticides that the current society had to offer. FDR also describes the success of business men and how they began stabling the economy and understanding their mistakes to prevent past resurrection. The New Deal reformed the past as it broke away from its bad habits that help precipitate the Great Depression. The transformation of the United States were drastic as many supported FDR and his cabinet, as many believed “only a nation completely convinced - - at the bottom as well as the top - - that their system of government best serves their best interests,”8 the judgment of government has been wise and therefore successful in American society. The New Deal did more than just revitalize a suffering country; it enhanced day to day life and was the foundation of future government and society, “Even today, there are reminders of these New Deal programs in the form of public buildings, dams, roads, and other facilities that are still in operation,”9 the New Deal was a beneficial revolutionary break from the past as the era differentiated its previous problems and reconstructed a new system that is commonly used today.
The New Deal accomplished an enormous amount, both in designated construction projects, stimulating the economy and in providing employment to the American people. The practical view on the New Deal is that it was too small and accomplished little, and only the WWII ended the Depression and this is believed worldwide. This has been proven to be incorrect as this was based on a misreading of reconstructed unemployment statistics from that time, which treated the employed as they were unemployed. This misreading lacks clarity and falsely accuses the New Deal to unfulfill its purposes, when it exactly solved the problem of the Great Depression. The result of the New Deal was the national debt exceeding the national income by the end of the war as the government spent over $200 billion more than it took in taxes during the war years, which in conclusion was full employment prosperity. The activists of the New Deal brought the country out of Depression with its full efforts and governmental acts. The Great Depression marked an economic downfall that severely affected everyone worldwide, if not for FDR and the New Deal, the United States may not have recover and become one of the most dominate and stable countries in the world. From the beginning, these acts were held fast to its strategy of incorporated solutions, even as the issues altered over the years. The New Deal was revolutionary to America as it was a break from the past with the enhancement of society and accelerating the economy while adding ground-breaking methods to government and political beliefs that are still instituted today.