How Successful was the New Deal - Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as President of the United States in 1932.

   Many people were very poor and homeless, but these people were helped by the F.E.R.A (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) who spent $500 million on soup kitchens, blankets, nursery schools and employment schemes, and met the needs of the poor and homeless.

   Farmers also suffered during the Depression. Many had not enjoyed the prosperity of the 1920’s. The AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration), looked at the long-term problems facing farmers. They set quotas to increase the price of farm produce by gradually reduce the production. It also taught the farmers a new and modern way of farming that would save and conserve the soil at the same time. The AAA also gave help on farmer’s mortgages if the case had become to extreme and caused more hardship. The only problem was that a lot of farm labourers were put out of work because of the new modernisation method the farmers had been taught.

   These early actions of the Government were successful in dealing with the emergency Depression and people became more confident. Some people such as wealthy business people disagreed with Roosevelt, but he continued with the second New Deal policies. He tried to make employers pay fair wages and in 1935 passed the Social Security Act. This was a scheme to help the old, sick, widows and disabled, and allowed state governments to give help to these people.  More importantly, a scheme was set up to give out unemployment insurance, which was paid for by employers, who paid a little bit of money to a special fund each week. If workers became unemployed, a small amount of money would be given to them from the special fund, to keep them healthy until they find work.

   This was also one of the successes of the New Deal as it provided security for millions of Americans. However, the New Deal cost a lot of Government money paid for by the taxpayer and in 1937 the amount of money was cut. This meant that some of the people on the government work schemes were paid off, which caused America to go back into recession. The number of unemployed people went up by 5% in 1938 but in 39 it dropped as the war started and more people worked in factories making weapons to send to their allies. The only thing that cut unemployment percentages totally was in 1941 when America finally joined the war, and more people worked in factories and obviously joined the army.

   One of the failures of the New Deal was that unemployment stayed high throughout the 1930’s. The employment schemes did not provide work for everyone. The black people in America were still in a bad state. There were a number of improvements such as 200,000 black people were helped by the CCC and other alphabet agencies, but they also had a major burden that no laws were passed to stop the Ku Klux Klan or anyone else lynching them for sometimes no apparent reason because FDR feared that the Democrats in the southern states wouldn’t support him. The poorest people in America often didn’t get help during these years of benefit, and stayed as poor as they were, but also many were helped thanks to the HOLC.

   In conclusion the New Deal was a great success, as Franklin D. Roosevelt put his heart and soul into saving America and helping them out of the hole that Herbert Hoover had dug for them. He started the Alphabet Agencies, which didn’t just help people but also gave money back to the government. They also helped everyone and not just certain people like the rich or white. The one major problem that it didn’t tackle fully was unemployment, but the joining of the Second World War almost stopped that in its tracks. FDR and his men did save America, and whilst doing this became the most popular president in the history of the USA, proven by the fact he stayed in three terms.