Roosevelt’s advisers had come up with a set of rules and regulations, which would prevent the reckless speculation, that had contributed to the Wall Street Crash from happening again.
The first two measures taken gave the American people a taste of what the New Deal was too look like, these were the Emergency Banking Act and the Securities Exchange Commission. In the 100 Days, 15 proposals were sent to Congress by Roosevelt of which all were adopted. Roosevelt knew to gain the support and trust of the American people he would have to take time to explain to the people of America what he was doing and why he was doing it, so every Sunday he broadcast to the nation on radio, it was estimated 60 million Americans tuned in, they became known as fireside chats.
In the 100 days as part of the New Deal the Alphabet Agencies were set up.
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The Federal Emergency Relief Administration helped the poor and homeless
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The Civilian Conservation Corps aimed to get young men back to work.
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The Agriculture Adjustment Agency helped farmers with long-term support and help.
Other agencies set up included the Public Works Administration, the National Recovery Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority which was set up by Roosevelt, it cut the powers of the local state governments in the Tennessee area and with the power he set up a series of dams on the Tennessee river which provided water relief, electricity and most importantly jobs to the local area.
The measures introduced had an immediate effect; they restored confidence in the government and brought back spirit to the USA after the Depression. The New Deal had a marked effect on the American people, though by May 1935 Roosevelt was facing criticism, Senators complained that he was doing too little and people from wealthy businesses who said he was doing too much.
Europe was recovering far quicker from the Depression than the USA. People were losing enthusiasm, Roosevelt was unsure what to do, all his hopes seemed to be failing. On 14th May 1935 Roosevelt met with a group of Senators and close-advisors who shared his views and aims, they agreed to take radical steps to make the USA a fairer place for all American citizens. A month later on June 14th he presented the leaders of the Congress with a huge range of laws he wanted passing, which became known as the Second New Deal.
The main aspects of the deal included the Wagner Act which forced all employers to allow trade unions to operate so that they could negotiate with employers, the Social Security Act provided state pensions for the elderly and widows, and allowed state governments to work with federal government to provide help for the sick and disabled and most importantly set up a scheme for unemployment insurance. Other schemes included the Work Progress Administration, which brought together all organisations whose aim was to create jobs, but it also extended work opportunities beyond just building projects, too jobs for officer workers and even unemployed actors, artists and photographers. And finally the Resettlement Administration, which was later, replaced by the Farm Security Administration, both helped to relocate over 500,000 families to better quality land and housing and also supply special loans to farmers to help them get back on their feet. As a result of both New Deals Roosevelt met his promises of getting the country back to work and pull the whole country out of the Depression and provided the county with immediate relief, recovery and long term reform.
