The twentieth century (1929) Stock Market crash set in motion a chain of events that would plunge the United States into a deep depression. The Depression of the 1930 's called for the end of an era of economic prosperity during the 1920 's. President Herbert Hoover was the unfortunate to preside over this economic downfall. Hoover believed the cause of this depression was international, and he therefore believed that restoring the gold standard would ultimately drag the US out of depression by restoring international trade. Hoover initiated many domestic works programs aimed at creating new jobs, but it seemed to have had no effect as the unemployment rate continued to rise. The Democrats chose Franklin D. Roosevelt as their candidate for president (1932) against Hoover. Roosevelt was easily elected in part due to his platform, "The New Deal". This new campaign platform was never fully explained by Roosevelt before the election, but it was shown to the American people as something unique and different from anything Hoover was ever doing to improve the problem.
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Roosevelt administration 's response to the Great Depression served as a fix to some of the temporary employment problems, while still changing the role of the government, but it failed to return the United States economy to the luxuries of the 1920 's. His administration helped and tried to resolve problems of this Great Depression. While in presidency, Roosevelt caused the federal government to play a very important role in society and from their aid, people in turn responded with their opinions. After Roosevelt’s inauguration on March 4, 1933, the nation was faced with a desperate situation, but the first hundred days of his presidency showed how his administration would face the depression. Illustrated on a graph, were numbers that indicated unemployment of nonfarm workers, and showed that nearly 40% of the workers were out of a job in 1929. During FRD’s presidency, he created lots of jobs and unemployment rates decreased, and he also turned the government into the nation’s largest employer (Doc. J). This period was an empty time for American families as men and women suffered equally. Meridel Lesueur stated in New Masses, that "there must be as many women out of jobs in cities and suffering extreme poverty as there are men. What happens to them?" Roosevelt 's administration sought to fix the problems of the depression by focusing on these domestic issues. Even though the Depression caused many women to become jobless, they still had better living than others, showing that women did not suffer as much during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency (Doc. A). In his first hundred days in office, the president along with a strong Democratic majority in Congress pushed for fifteen bills, all aimed at opposing the depression. One of his acts was to grant a national bank holiday aimed at getting banks back into wealth. Also issued was the Glass-Stegall Act that in turn provided federal guarantees on loans of …show more content…
After Roosevelt was reelected in 1936, he cut government spending because he believed that the economy was recovering. This cut in spending sent the economy into a recession. As shown on the graph illustrating unemployment, there was a sharp increase in the unemployment rate during this recession. Roosevelt 's popularity had already taken a strong hit with his "court-packing scheme" aimed at creating a favorable Supreme Court to his New Deal legislature (Doc. J). The New Deal had decreased unemployment, but to many it did not do enough. In an editorial in "The Roosevelt Record" the author chastises the administration for not offering more jobs for African Americans. He states that, "To declare that the Roosevelt administration has tried to include the Negro in nearly every phase of its program for the people of the nation is not to ignore the instances where government policies have harmed the race " Roosevelt also came under attack from liberal Democrats such as Huey Long who advocated a socialist program under the title of "Share Our Wealth". These liberal Democrats forced Roosevelt to push his rhetoric further towards the left. Roosevelt 's New Deal legislature succeeded in some aspects, but leaves one to wonder whether it was worth the enormous cost or the strong doctrinal shift in the role of government.
Roosevelt administration 's response to the Great Depression served as a fix to some of the temporary employment problems, while still changing the role of the government, but it failed to return the United States economy to the luxuries of the 1920 's. His administration helped and tried to resolve problems of this Great Depression. While in presidency, Roosevelt caused the federal government to play a very important role in society and from their aid, people in turn responded with their opinions. After Roosevelt’s inauguration on March 4, 1933, the nation was faced with a desperate situation, but the first hundred days of his presidency showed how his administration would face the depression. Illustrated on a graph, were numbers that indicated unemployment of nonfarm workers, and showed that nearly 40% of the workers were out of a job in 1929. During FRD’s presidency, he created lots of jobs and unemployment rates decreased, and he also turned the government into the nation’s largest employer (Doc. J). This period was an empty time for American families as men and women suffered equally. Meridel Lesueur stated in New Masses, that "there must be as many women out of jobs in cities and suffering extreme poverty as there are men. What happens to them?" Roosevelt 's administration sought to fix the problems of the depression by focusing on these domestic issues. Even though the Depression caused many women to become jobless, they still had better living than others, showing that women did not suffer as much during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency (Doc. A). In his first hundred days in office, the president along with a strong Democratic majority in Congress pushed for fifteen bills, all aimed at opposing the depression. One of his acts was to grant a national bank holiday aimed at getting banks back into wealth. Also issued was the Glass-Stegall Act that in turn provided federal guarantees on loans of …show more content…
After Roosevelt was reelected in 1936, he cut government spending because he believed that the economy was recovering. This cut in spending sent the economy into a recession. As shown on the graph illustrating unemployment, there was a sharp increase in the unemployment rate during this recession. Roosevelt 's popularity had already taken a strong hit with his "court-packing scheme" aimed at creating a favorable Supreme Court to his New Deal legislature (Doc. J). The New Deal had decreased unemployment, but to many it did not do enough. In an editorial in "The Roosevelt Record" the author chastises the administration for not offering more jobs for African Americans. He states that, "To declare that the Roosevelt administration has tried to include the Negro in nearly every phase of its program for the people of the nation is not to ignore the instances where government policies have harmed the race " Roosevelt also came under attack from liberal Democrats such as Huey Long who advocated a socialist program under the title of "Share Our Wealth". These liberal Democrats forced Roosevelt to push his rhetoric further towards the left. Roosevelt 's New Deal legislature succeeded in some aspects, but leaves one to wonder whether it was worth the enormous cost or the strong doctrinal shift in the role of government.