Preview

Was the New Deal a Success?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
538 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Was the New Deal a Success?
Whether the New Deal was a success or not, depends on the definition of success. Did the New Deal eliminate unemployment and turn America around? No. Did the New Deal eliminate poverty? No. It would be easy to run off questions such as these with an economic bent and come up with the answer no. Successes
1. Relief
Millions of people received relief, help with their mortgage, jobs etc. from the alphabet agencies. 2. Roads and buildings
The PWA and the TVA provided valuable economic and social infrastructures, such as roads, airports, schools, theatres, dams etc 3. Reform
Roosevelt's new laws about social security/ minimum wage/ labour relations and trade unions survived and protected ordinary people’s rights and conditions. Democracy survived in America (unlike Italy and Germany) 4. Roosevelt became the people's hero - he was elected four times. 5. Repercussions
Democracy survived in America (unlike Italy and Germany). The New Deal became a model of how a democratic government ought to behave - arguably influenced the British Welfare State of 1948. And in 1998, when the Labour Government of Britain was trying to introduce new laws to help poor people, it called it: aNew Deal. Weaknesses and Failings 1. Did not end the Depression
- indeed, Roosevelt's insistence on a balanced budget, healthy interest rates and ‘sound money’ may have helped to continue it. Roosevelt had no new ideas how to end the depression – just Hoover’s schemes only bigger. By 1935 he had failed to end unemployment (which was only down to 10.6 million), and – although unemployment fell to 7.7 million in 1937 – when Roosevelt tried to cut back government expenditure in 1938, it rose again to 10.4 million. It is not really fair to criticise Roosevelt for this - no one at that time knew how to end the Depression - but the Depression did not end until the Second World War got production going again. 2. Damaged Blacks and immigrants
– in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    New Deal DBQ

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The 1929 stock-market crash and the ensuing Great Depression exposed major weaknesses in the U.S. and world economies. These ranged from chronically low farm prices and uneven income distribution to trade barriers, a surplus of consumer goods, and a constricted money supply. As the crisis deepened, President Hoover struggled to respond. In 1932, with Hoover's reputation in tatters, FDR and his promised “New Deal" brought a surge of hope. Although FDR's New Deal did not end the Great Depression it eased the people’s suffering and reformed many of the problems that contributed to the depression by providing relief, recovery, and reform while fundamentally changing the role of the federal government towards the people.…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Franklin D. Roosevelt DBQ

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages

    b. Some programs promoted labor troubles, high wages and shorter hours, which is what they were trying to get rid of, resulting in more relief activities (Document…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The stock market crash of 1929 set in motion a chain of events that would plunge the United States into a deep depression. The Great Depression of the 1930's spelled the end of an era of economic prosperity during the 1920's. Herbert Hoover was the unlucky president to preside over this economic downturn, and he bore the brunt of the blame for the depression. Hoover believed the root cause of the depression was international, and he therefore believed that restoring the gold standard would ultimately drag the United States out of depression by reviving international trade. Hoover initiated many new domestic works programs aimed at creating jobs, but it seemed to have no effect as the unemployment rate continued to rise. The Democrats nominated Franklin Roosevelt as their candidate for president in 1932 against the incumbent Hoover. Roosevelt was elected in a landslide victory in part due to his platform called "The New Deal". This campaign platform was never fully explained by Roosevelt prior to his election, but it appealed to the American people as something new and different from anything Hoover was doing to ameliorate the problem. The Roosevelt administration's response to the Great Depression served to remedy some of the temporary employment problems, while drastically changing the role of the government, but failed to return the American economy to the levels of prosperity enjoyed during the 1920's.…

    • 1263 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Depression was when America went through a downfall and the stock market crashed severely. Two long term causes were that many businesses were closed down, causing many to be unemployed. Millions of people also lost their savings due to bank failures, after banks have given loans without receiving money back. President Herbert Hoover was elected in 1928, shortly before the Depression occurred. Hoover believed in rugged individualism and voluntary help from the community, without the government to force anything, the Depression was prolonged as citizens were not able to work together. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected after running against Hoover in 1932, he won by a landslide. Roosevelt then initiated the New Deal, a plan to revive America with many different programs. Many will argue that the New Deal was a failure, however the New Deal was a successful plan and got America out of the Depression.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ultimately, the New Deal effectively responded to the problems of the Great Depression. After the Depression struck, President Franklin D. Roosevelt played a huge role in providing faith, hope, and a strong structure to the American economy. During F.D.R.’s first term, Roosevelt helped provide programs for The New Deal in an attempt to relieve and reform the economy by putting people to work. Hoping to gain support from the Americans, F.D.R. made sure Americans had hope and faith in him to relieve and reform the economy. Nevertheless, F.D.R.’s main goal was “to put people to work”, and informed the society that the Great Depression “is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously.”(F.D.R.…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The New Deal was a success because it brought Americans reform to the economy, relief, and recovery. It was the job of the government to help America out of the…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roosevelt, something that changed the connection between the U.S. people and their government. This is typically considered as being amongst the most significant eras of political reform in the history of the United States. Retrospectively, it became easy to see the New Deal as the natural reaction to the Depression. During that time, the New Deal was the sole possible responses to the American capitalist system that had ostensibly lost its way.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roosevelt’s inaugural term decided to kick out the old American order of “the financial Titan” and the “do-nothing laissez faire” government. F.D.R. brought about the “New Deal,” for the protection of the “forgotten man.” F.D.R. stated that “democracy is actually a quest, a never ending seeking for better things.” This marked the new age of American “national democracy”, with the constitution and Bill of Rights, which differ from “Jeffersonian Individualism and states’ rights.” The article explains the New Deal changed the way of thinking in America. We shouldn’t be isolated and independent anymore, but come together as one democracy. This shunned out the idea of liberty and encouraged a more centralized administration that provides positive rights to “everyone,” in a more democratic value.…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    He suspended the gold standard to control inflation and enacted the Glass-Steagall Act, which imposed regulations in banking that were in place for over 50 years. He created the Civilian Conservation Corps, which put 250,000 individuals (men) to work in the national park system. The Public Works Administration funded the construction of buildings like schools and hospitals across the country, creating more jobs and public services. While the industry provided by the United States entering World War I is what…

    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    FDR DBQ

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Following the Great Depression and the presidency of Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt assumed the presidency. When FDR took office he used democratic policies to attempt to lift America out of poverty. The administration of FDR increased the role of the Federal government and attempted to address reform, relief, and recovery of the US. As he took office he faced problems such as unemployment, bank failures, and mass poverty. FDR created several policies to address the economic downfall, such as the AAA, NIRA, and Social Security. These gave jobs to thousands of Americans, providing reform and relief, but it wasn't until World War 2 that completely lifted America out of the depression. FDR’s administration was successful with reform and relief, but not recovery.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The success of the New Deal is very controversial. While some people says that it was a great plan it can be argued that it was actually a huge flop. The great depression started when the Stock Market crashed in 1929 and company's stocks almost completely lost their value.This lead to company having to fire people. “ Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing companies laid off workers.”( History.com Staff). By 1932 22.5% of the labor force were unemployed, that's more than twelve million people (Jimmy Carter). In 1933 president Roosevelt was elected and he presented America with the New Deal. These were intended to help Americans…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In President Roosevelt’s Inaugural address, President Roosevelt said, “This nation asks for action, and action now.” He announced a special session of congress, which became known as the Hundred Days. During the Hundred Days, Congress approved numerous programs to battle the depression. Together these programs became known as the New deal. There are many reasons why I think the New Deal helped our country.…

    • 707 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The New Deal brought many reforms and programs to America that is still present today. One part of the new deal that still affects Americans today is Social Security, which was passed in 1935. (Nation,…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort” (Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933). President Roosevelt stepped into office in the middle of everything hitting the fan. This is not an easy task to handle, he had millions of Americans looking up to him for guidance in what must have been the most darkest moment in history. A lot of things played a big part in the making of The Great Depression. These things included the stock market crash of 1929, the New Deal, and World War II. The United States is still trying to recover from this…

    • 3406 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    How Significant Was The New Deal For The Americans In The 1930’s Roosevelt’s New Deal was a controversial plan put in place nationwide across America to recover from the Depression partially because of notable events such as The Wall Street Crash in 1929. The deal was put in place in the immediate months following Franklin Roosevelt’s election, in 1932.His New Deal had three main aims: Relief, Recovery and Reform, and based on various sections of his plan and popular opinions each had a variety of significance. Key groups of people were specifically targeted however some groups did not, and not all Americans felt the impact. This created a variety of consequences some of which The Second New Deal was forced to address, whilst other it continually…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays