To what extent did the New Deal alleviate the United States' economic crisis?

        The opposing views regarding unemployment is critical in taking a stand on whether the New Deal did or did not alleviate America’s economic crisis. Historian of a radical persuasion, Mary Ross, has criticized the New Deal for what it failed to do. “In the years 1922-29 an average of 8 per cent of our industrial workers were unemployed…By 1932 and 1933 industrial unemployment had risen to about 39 per cent.” Conversely, Anne McCormick, a reporter, claims that Roosevelt created numerous organizations and programs that targeted the problem of unemployment. For example, 10,000 men in each planting season were employed for reforestation along with organizations like the T.V.A. that created thousands of jobs for Americans.

C – Evaluation of Sources

        Frank Freidel, a specialist on the history of American political institutions, edited The New Deal and the American People which is a collection of popular opinions on the New Deal expressed by various authors during the early to mid 1960s. Consequently, the collage of opinions in this source do not necessarily support Freidel’s central thesis, but it does give the reader a broad scope on the issue of the New Deal. Freidel suggests that the New Deal grew out of World War I progressivism and was an abandonment of a laissez-faire attitude in the American government. The respected professor of history at Harvard University and Oxford University also possesses an extremely biased point of view as far as his ideologies are concerned. He vehemently expresses that Roosevelt was an economic conservative, wanting to keep a balanced budget, like his conservative predecessors. Prior to the publishing of this source, in 1964, there were only a few books available on the New Deal. As a result, Freidel is able to assess issues surrounding the New Deal within its historical context open-mindedly and without being forced to incorporate the general opinion of authors preceding him. Published in New Jersey, this source predominantly takes the viewpoints from all sects of American society, discussing Freidel’s value: itinerate workers from the Cotton Belt describe their living and working conditions; midwestern pig farmers express their reactions to government farm subsidies; and the business revolt of the labour organizations state their displeasure with American inflation and taxation. With a wide array of opinions, the sole purpose of The New Deal and the American People is to examine the impact of the New Deal on a day-to-day existence.

        The opposing viewpoint differs greatly. One such author that conveys an opinion contrary to Freidel’s is Carl N. Degler. According to Degler’s standpoint in The New Deal, it is a liberal experiment, as seen by the expansive social programs, financed by the federal government. Degler’s The New Deal is also a collage of viewpoints during the Great Depression. In spite of the vastness of opinions in this source, Degler still exhibits a bias in his liberal ideology. He strongly believes that Roosevelt tried several new ideas, which he claims to be liberal at the time, that allowed the government to actively participate in unionizing workers. A wider range of sources were available to Degler, as his work was published in 1970, as compared to Freidel. This source, published in Chicago, assesses the New Deal from differing perspectives, just as in The New Deal and the American People. The historical context, or value, of this source has evolved from that of Freidel’s writing and this fact is evident by examining both sources. New arguments and reasoning appear in Degler’s text that was never mentioned in Freidel’s. This ultimately accounts for the purpose of Degler’s The New Deal, to revise the effects of the New Deal from a 1970 perspective.

D – Analysis

        

        The controversy surrounding the New Deal and America’s economic crisis represents one of history’s most challenging puzzles. According to Freidel, not all aspects of the New Deal were successful in lessening the extent of the economic crisis. In his The New Deal and the American People, the N.R.A. and the T.V.A. are regarded as successes; however, he sees the unemployment issue as a failure.

        Not only did the N.R.A. establish codes to improve the working conditions of the employed, it actually created jobs for Americans abroad. In fact, the increase in employment during the code period is variously estimated at two to three million. With a steady increase in jobs, studies have shown an increase in productivity. Two studies of the same plant, the first made in February 1934, the second in February 1935, showed an 11 percent increase in employment, a rise in payrolls from $7,600,000 to $10,200,000, and an increase in average hourly earnings from 36.6 cents to 42.3 cents. The N.R.A., quite simply, was an excellent indicator of the reestablishment of America’s economy.

        Similarly, the T.V.A. was vital in the economic restoration. Customers of the T.V.A. benefited the most. They were buying more than twice as much power as before for less than a half of what they paid before. In the position America was at the time, the T.V.A. ensured cheap power for the people who wanted it. Unlike employment, what remains of the T.V.A. cannot be taken away from the American people as its mark in society is permanent.

        The New Deal never really improved the issue of unemployment. Statistics show that from 1922-1929, nearly 1,500,000, on average were jobless and in 1932-1933, two industrial workers out of five – 10,000,000 or more in all were unemployed. By the early months of 1937, some seven to nine million Americans were still unemployed. Unemployment was simply an issue not adequately dealt with by the Roosevelt administration.  

        Degler interprets the New Deal differently. According to his The New Deal, both the N.R.A. and T.V.A. were failures whereas the unemployment issue was a success.

        The primary reason for the failure of the N.R.A. was that no employer could be compelled by law to obey the rules they laid down. As a result, some employers, in an attempt to raise production, paid their workers lower than minimum wage that they agreed upon. This, consequently, resulted in a lack of enthusiasm for the workers.

        The failure of the T.V.A. is primarily discussed through the battle between the government and business. The authority was created to solve the unemployment issue and to provide a cheap resource for Americans. Businesses wanted to flourish, through exploiting cheap labour, to increase profits while the government wanted the people to be the beneficiaries to cope with the harsh effects of the Great Depression. What resulted was a reformist and “anti-business” perspective in the South that limited the economy.

        In spite of regarding the N.R.A. and T.V.A. as failures, Degler believes that unemployment was a step in the right direction. Through the creation of special programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps, two and a half million young men were employed. The young men built more than 82,000 miles of truck trails, planted 1,000,000,000 trees, and treated 3,8000,000 acres in soil erosion. Through the C.C.C, both the government and unemployed benefited.

E – Conclusion

        As time has passed and new archival evidence concerning the New Deal has become available, understanding the extent to which the New Deal alleviated America’s economic crisis has undergone revision. From the evidence provided through Frank Freidel’s The New Deal and the American People and Carl Degler’s The New Deal, a decisive conclusion has been established: the New Deal was a substantial economic achievement. The New Deal, in an essence, reduced child labour, mandated minimal working standards, provided jobs for millions of unemployed, created a special program for the jobless young and for students, generated electrical power, transformed the economy of agriculture, and brought about a constitutional revolution. Its most obvious and noteworthy achievement is its impact in bringing the United States out of the Depression. Roosevelt had shown that it was possible to overcome great problems and make beneficial changes in a nation’s life through implementing his New Deal. He would lead the Americans on their quest to happiness and prosperity and the world was sure to follow.

F – List of Sources

Degler, Carl N. The New Deal. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1970.

Dudley, William. The Great Depression: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven         Press, 1994.

Freidel, Frank. The New Deal and the American People. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:         Prentice- Hall Inc., 1964.

Hofstadter, Richard. Great Issues in American History: A Documentary Record, Volume _        II, 1864-1957. New York: Vintage Books, 1960.

Nardo, Don. The Great Depression. San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc., 1998.

O’Callaghan, D.B. Roosevelt and the United States. London: Longman Group Limited,         1966.

Schlesinger, Arthur M. The Coming of the New Deal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959.

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