Life did get better for many Americans in the 1930s. How far was Roosevelt responsible for this?

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Life did get better for many Americans in the 1930s. How far was Roosevelt responsible for this, or

During Roosevelt's impressive campaign for the presidential election in 1932, he promised the American people a "New Deal". It was not entirely clear to Americans what measures this might include. What was clear was that Roosevelt planned to use the full power of the government to get America out of depression.

He aimed to: get Americans back to work, to protect their savings and property, to provide relief for the sick, old and unemployed. He also aimed to get American industry and agriculture back on their feet.

Roosevelt certainly did help American people, and certainly contributed to the improvement of life.

In the first one hundred days of his presidency, Roosevelt worked around the clock with his advisers (known as the "brain trust"), to produce an enormous range of sweeping measures. At the very beginning of his presidency, Roosevelt tackled the banking crisis. The day after his inauguration, Roosevelt ordered all America's banks to close and to remain closed until government officials had checked them over. A few days later, five hundred trustworthy banks were allowed to re-open. They were even supported by government money if needs be. Also, Roosevelt's advisers had come up with a set of rules and regulations, which would prevent more disasters like the Wall Street Crash.

One member of the "brain trust", Raymond Moley, spoke of the reaction to Roosevelt's help with solving the banking crisis:

"When people were able to survive the shock of having all the banks closed, and then see the banks open up, with their money protected there began to be confidence. Good times were coming"


Roosevelt also set up a series of government agencies designed to give the American people much needed help and support. They soon became known by their initials and so were called the "alphabet agencies".

These included the FCA, AAA, CCC, CWA, PWA, FERA, NRA and the TVA

Roosevelt and the "brain trust" set up agencies to help the farmer and to get agriculture back on its feet:

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) made loans to a fifth of all farmers so that they would not lose their farms.

The Agricultural Adjustment Agency (AAA) paid farmers to produce less food. They did this by taking land out of production or reducing their livestock. Less produce meant that prices went up and farmers' income increased. Between 1933 and 1939, farmers' income doubled. The AAA also helped farmers to modernise their farming methods. They introduced new ones that would conserve and protect the soil. In extreme cases, farmers also received help with their mortgages. Although the AAA helped many farmers, the modernisation resulted in farm labourers losing their jobs.

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Roosevelt also set up agencies to cut down on unemployment:

The Civilian Conservation Corps was aimed at unemployed young men in particular. They could sign on for periods of 6 months, which could be renewed if they could still not find work. Most of the work done by the CCC was on environmental projects in national parks. Most of the money earned went back to the men's families.

Around 2 ½ million young men were helped by this scheme.

The Civilian Works Administration (CWA) aimed to give as many people jobs as possible over a short term. Some useful work ...

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