Roosevelt declared a nationwide bank holiday. This gave people time to regain their nerve and prevented panic. He then closed all banks and allowed those which were reliable, to reopen under licence. This gave the public trust in the banks.
The New Deal didn’t help black people much, as they continued to be discriminated against and segregated. Black people were forbidden to move to the new towns in the Tennessee Valley. They were put in separate camps to work under the Civilian Conservation Corps. Any jobs that were available were usually given to white people. Although black people were dealt with harshly, they did benefit from some of The New Deal measures. The Federal Emergency Relief Act gave poor black people help they had never received before and the CCC gave black people more than 200,000 jobs.
Many women benefited from The New Deal. They gained themselves a higher status in many of the new agencies. Mothers were also provided with money from The Social Security Act. However, most of The New Deal programmes didn’t involve many women and their average wage was half that of men.
I think that Roosevelt did as well as he could do to help the American public, under the circumstances. He gave them belief and confidence to keep going. The New Deal didn’t end unemployment or completely recover industry and agriculture until the war. However, it did relieve the worst effects of the depression and saved many lives by giving the unemployed shelter, water, food and some form of work. Roosevelt failed to bring in any laws to prevent discrimination. Although this seems bad of him, I think that if he had brought in these laws the racist public wouldn’t have voted for him.
The New Deal had many agencies including:
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) - negotiated with the major industries to create fair prices, wages and working hours.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) - responsible for flood control, building dams and constructing new towns.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) – paid farmers to reduce farm production and boost farm prices.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) - offered short-term work to young men on conservation projects.
The Public Works Administration (PWA) – offered jobs to skilled workers to construct schools, hospitals and other public buildings.
CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION (Relief)
Created in 1933, the CWA employed four million people--paid an average of $15 a week--many in useful construction jobs such as repairing schools, laying sewer pipes, building roads. Some CWA jobs, however, were criticized as useless (e.g., leaf raking). Roosevelt disbanded the program after less than a year.
