Roosevelt also wanted to help the farmers. He did this by creating the Farm Security Administration (FSA). The FSA loaned more than $1 billion to farmers and set up camps for migrant workers. Also the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) and Agriculture Adjustment Administration (AAA) were formed. In order to help people keep their houses the HOLC refinanced mortgages of middle-income home owners. The AAA tried to raise farm prices. It used proceed from a new tax to pay farmers not to raise specific crops and animals. Lower production would, in turn, increase prices. This meant that farmers killed off certain animals and crops as they were told to do by the AAA. Many could not believe that the federal government was condoning such an action when many Americans were starving. This was declared unconstitutional later on.
Finally, the New Deal was there to provide help with the industry. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 banned child labor and set a minimum wage. This law was a long awaited triumph for the progressive-era social reformers. Finally, the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of June 1933. The NIRA was formed in order to boost the declining prices, helping businesses and workers. The NIRA also allowed trade associations in many industries to write codes regulating wages, working conditions, production, and prices. It also set a minimum wage. It was declared unconstitutional later on.
In conclusion, all these features are linked to Roosevelt’s overall aim which was to bring America out of depression. These features were liked because in order to achieve his overall aim, Roosevelt had to first solve the problems that the depression created which were, the people had lost confidence in the banks and in themselves as they were loosing their money and most, if not all, were loosing their jobs too. Also, farmers were over producing and so they were getting less money and thus they were facing financial problems. Finally, Roosevelt wanted to improve working conditions in the industry. Overall, Roosevelt wanted to relieve the people of their stress, help regain their confidence, recover America from the depression they were facing and to finally reform America so they don’t go back into depression again.
b) Explain why Roosevelt introduced the New Deal
Roosevelt introduced the New Deal to solve the problems caused in America by the depression. Almost all Americans were hit by the depression. They were suffering from unemployment, poverty and uncertainty as a result of the depression caused by the Wall Street Crash.
Firstly, Roosevelt introduced the New Deal to solve the problem of confidence. The Americans had lost confidence in the banks and in themselves and began to take their money out of the banks. If everyone had taken their money out of the banks it would have been a real disaster as all the banks would have collapsed. Also, people had stopped spending as much and the economy was in danger. To deal with this Roosevelt started the fireside chats which persuaded people to put their money back into the banks.
Secondly, Roosevelt introduced the New Deal to provide work for the unemployed. As a result of the depression companies were cutting down on expenses which meant they started to lower the number of staff they had. The economy was suffering because people had stopped spending. As a result of this millions of people were now unemployed and out of money. To help them Roosevelt set up a number of agencies to deal with the unemployment. Most of these agencies gave the unemployed jobs like building or repairing roads, parks, airports, etc which paid little but got them spending.
Roosevelt also introduced the New Deal to help those that were in poverty. As a result of the depression a lot of Americans were now in poverty. To help them Roosevelt set up agencies which gave money out to the people who were old, disabled, looking for work or in desperate need of money.
Also, Roosevelt introduced the New Deal to help farmers. The depression meant that farmers produce was lowering in price and the value of their farm was decreasing because of over production. To help the farmers Roosevelt set up more agencies which loaned out money to the farmers and helped them by refinancing their mortgages. For example the FSA loaned more than $1billion to farmers.
Finally, the New Deal was made to help the industry. As a result of the depression the industry was facing major problems. Workers were being forced to work for longer hours without a pay rise. If they were to rebel they were being fired. To deal with this Roosevelt got congress to sign two acts. The first one banned child labor and set a minimum wage. The second was formed in order to boost the declining prices, helping businesses, workers and allowed trade associations in many industries to write codes regulating wages, working conditions, production, and prices. It also set a minimum wage.
c) "The New Deal was not a complete success" How far do you agree?
I agree that the New Deal was not a complete success because there is evidence which can support it. However, the New Deal was partly a success because it decreased the number of unemployed, it increased the amount of confidence the American people had in the banks, it helped those in poverty, helped farmers and it managed to help the industry. It was considered as a success because it managed to get America out of depression. But, it was considered a failure as it didn’t restore everything completely.
The New Deal was partly a success because it clearly helped America to make some recovery from the depression and prevented the collapse of democracy in America. Due to the New Deal the American people had restored their faith in the government and their trust and confidence in the banks and the government also helped the most trustworthy banks stay open and reopened 5000 banks. Also, the New Deal restored the faith of the American people in their government. Also, Roosevelt's government generally tried to support unions and make large corporations negotiate with them. The banks in the nation were all failing because of the depression. The depression caused the people to loose confidence in the banks and so everyone started to withdraw their money and so the banks were out of money and so they couldn’t continue to lend out money as they didn’t have any.
The New Deal also created millions of jobs and stabilized the American banking system and it cut the number of business failures. Also, projects such as the TVA brought work and an improved standard of living to deprived parts of the USA, and they provided the USA with valuable resources such as schools, roads, power stations, parks and airports. Overall, he did manage to get America out of the depression that it was in.
The New Deal wasn’t a success because it undermined local government. Also, big businesses remained immensely powerful in the USA despite being challenged by the government and unions were being treated with suspicion by employers. Companies such as Ford, Republic Steel and Chrysler employed their own thugs or controlled local police forces and if someone was to go on strike, the company would hire people to end the strike with brutal violence. The US economy took longer to recover than any other European country and when Roosevelt cut spending, the country went back into recession and it was only the USA's entry into the war that brought an end to unemployment. Also, the New Deal divided the USA. Roosevelt and his officials were often accused of being communists and of undermining American values. Ickes and Hopkins were both accused of being anti-business because they supported trade unions. As well as that, the New Deal never solved the underlying economic problems and confidence still remained low as people spent and invested only 75% of what they normally would. Many black Americans still remained poor, and also poor in farming areas. Huey Long was a Democrat and he was in Roosevelt’s party but he still disagreed with Roosevelt and believed he wasn’t doing enough. Huey Long argued for the black Americans and for the black Americans with poor farming areas. He was the governor of Louisiana in 1928 and senator in 1932. He treated all Americans fairly. At first he supported the New Deal, but soon he lost faith as he thought that they were not doing enough to help the Americans.
In conclusion, the New Deal wasn’t a complete success because in 1973, under attack from his opponents, Roosevelt cut New Deal spending and the economy fell back into trouble. This suggests that while the New Deal erased the effects of the depression, it did not cure it. It was America's entry into the war that finally ended the depression as it created many jobs for the unemployed. Overall, it must be noted that alongside the successes such as restoring banks and the work of the WPA were several problems. For example, big businesses still held enormous power relative to workers and even though America was producing huge amounts during the war, she only just managed to come out of the depression. Also, I believe that the New Deal was a mistake as Roosevelt didn’t solve any problems as it was WWII that got America out of depression because it increased employment opportunities. Finally, agencies helped mainly the poor, unemployed, elderly and the banks of America. All these agencies did different things such as: building schools, building roads, dams, airports etc and this helped the unemployment because it gave the unemployed jobs and they made homelessness go down by making soup kitchens and giving blankets. He made sure that there was a small percentage as possible of homeless people and he had achieved that, he also helped farms and farmers who were having trouble and he helped them pay their mortgages. He gave nationwide speeches to help build their confidence and get them back on their feet and to make them feel involved. This shows that he helped America emotionally because he had helped them bring themselves out of the consequences of the Great Depression and the Wall Street crash.
