Many were left unemployed during the depression and in need of money and the New Deal created jobs that boosted family incomes. Programs like the National Youth Administration (NYA) gave young people a chance to work for pay to help their families (Doc. 1) . These jobs often helped students afford to continue going to school. Without programs like the NYA, many parents would not have been able to support their families, and their children would not be able to get the education they need. The New Deal also brought about programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that helped provide poor children with lunch (Doc. 6). The WPA gave hot lunches to thousands of starving children, and in the process, created jobs for the unemployed. The WPA successfully provided relief to less fortunate families and created jobs for those in need of work. The New Deal also dramatically decreased unemployment rates in the United States. New Deal programs lowered the unemployment rate of 20.6 in 1933 to 9.5 in 1940 (Doc. 5). Millions of unemployed Americans were given job opportunities because of FDR’s programs, helping the United States’ economy get back on its …show more content…
While providing relief for suffering Americans, some thought that the United States government was moving towards communism (Doc. 2). However, the only goal of New Deal relief programs was to provide millions of Americans with employment, and help them provide for their families, not change the form of government. Others may say that the New Deal was a failure because of the cost. While it is true that the total government debt rose because of the programs (Doc. 3), the money went straight to people in need of food, shelter, and employment. The benefits provided to the people because of the relief programs outweigh the overall cost to the government. Some may also say that the New Deal was a failure because minorities, such as African Americans, did not get the same benefits as the majority. Many were discriminated against because of the color of their skin, and did not benefit as much from the programs (Doc. 7). While this is true, FDR had to appease the Southern Democrats in Congress, who would have blocked the bills if he had tired to fight them on the question of race. If FDR had tried to fight Congress members on the issue of race, none of the bills would have been passed, preventing millions of Americans from getting the relief they needed.
The New Deal was a success because it