What was more important; the successes or the failures of the new deal?
The new deal was created by Roosevelt to improve US economy and to pull America out of the depression. When Roosevelt officially came to office in 1933, he made his inaugural speech which reassured many Americans that everything would be good. Roosevelt understood that confidence in people would be the key to salvation so he told everyone "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". These famous words encouraged people to stop doubting themselves, and encouraged them to fight on in the battle against poverty.
Most important of all the new deal brought America economical growth. This was achieved mostly by the alphabet agencies created in the famous ‘100 days’. These agencies – such as the WPA and PWA, made work easier to find and supported many people in the struggle for money. But not only did this work give people money, it helped the locals. Things like building roads, bridges and of course the TVA which saved Tennessee (the area equivalent to England and Wales) by building dams and regenerating the area by endorsing industry and agriculture. This vastly saved Tennessee from being poverty stricken. At the start of Roosevelt’s term, he closed all the banks of America in the Emergency Banking Act, and only reinstated those that had properly managed accounts and which had enough money to run. This alongside with Roosevelt’s fireside chats, put Americans at ease and were obliged to put their money back into the bank system. This gave the economy a better line of attack. Other countries like Germany where in parallel to America at this point in time, but they decided to follow fascist dictators like Hitler. Because of the abolition of “rugged individualism” the government were more involved with peoples business and helped homeowners and farmers keep their property. However many people didn’t like the government looking over their shoulder.
