Student Essay on FDR and the New Deal

FDR and the New Deal

Summary:   The New Deal was the policy enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to recover and reform the economy from the Great Depression. Operating in three phases -- relief, recovery, and reform -- the New Deal changed and shaped the American economy in many ways. The organizations that resulted from the New Deal have become an important part of American life and built a closer relationship between the government and its citizens.

After the tragic event of the First World War, another catastrophic event hit the United States. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the United States under an economic recession known as the "Great Depression" that lasted for ten years. There are many theories that led to the Great Depression. Peter Temin's theory state that "The Great Depression was caused by catastrophically poor monetary policy pursued by the United States Federal Reserve during the years leading up to the Great Depression. The policy of contracting the money supply was an attempt to restrain inflation, which exacerbated the actual problem in the economy, which was deflation." President Franklin D. Roosevelt along with his adviser group called "Brain Trust" propsed a policy called "The New Deal" to recover and reform the economy. The New Deal operated in three phrases: relief, recovery and reform.

The first phase of the New Deal was to provide economic relief. During this period, many orgnization was established. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) led by Larry L. Hopkins provided government grants to create jobs and developed facilities for people across the country. The Civilian Conservation Corporation (CCC) provided unempoyed young men jobs to work on conservation project in rural areas. The most important relief program were The Works Progress Administration (WPA) also led by Hopkins. It created jobs to improve the cities by building roads, bridges, airports, hospitals, school, and other works of art. Another organization would be the Public Works Adminstartion (PWA) headed by the secretary of the interior, Harold L. Ickes.. It provided employment, stabilizing purchasing power, improving public welfare, and contributing to a revival of American industry. Simply put, it was designed to spend "big bucks on big projects." Farmers that suffer lost from the depression were funded trough the Soil Conservatoin Service to conserve the soil from erosion. Unused lands were planted with trees to prevent erosion and creates fertile and stable conditions for the land. This resulted many people from rural areas migrated to urban area for better oppurtunities.

During the reform period, The National Recovery Administration (NRA) directed by a retired gereral name Hugh S. Johnson. It established codes of fair competition within each industry. The codes were guidlines between government and business coorperation that guaranteed the rights of collective bargaining, minimum wages, and maximum hours. The NRA was ended in 1935 when the Supreme Court declared the NRA unconstitutional. The Public Works Administration also played a role during the recovery phase. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Housing Administration (VHA) were government organization that provided low affordable housing loans for low-income citizens to purchase a home. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) aided banks with the trust system to prevent people from withdrawing all their money.

Reform of the depression occurred after Roosevelt was reelected as president. The reform was focused mainly on issues of the depression and problems that were created from the previous phrases. When Roosevelt attempt to reorganize the court system by expanding number of justices on the Supreme Court, congress resented Roosevelt's proposal and resulted the difficulties for Roosevelt to pass further acts. However, this didn't stop Roosevelt from improving the depression. The depression continued until the beginning of World War II. Due to the need of mass production of weapons and war accessories, it created jobs and boosted the economy. The huge amounts of government spending on the war effort finally got the economy going and ended the depression.

The Great Depression and the New Deal represent a very significant era of our time. Organizations resulted from the New Deal have become an important part of American life and brought relationships between the government and its citizens much closer. It changed and shaped the economy in many ways. The government provided employment and many other programs that made things possible in the United States. President Roosevelt achievement for this nation has to be the greatest in American history. He revived an economic system that was at its lowest downturn back to its feet. America's economy wouldn't be the same without his leadership.