Similarly, the CCC not only eased unemployment, but dramatically improved communication systems and taught thousands to read. The TVA developed welfare and educational programmes, but the CCC could be even more radical as that the programme was later extended to include women. Also mentioned is mortgage relief, offering long-term mortgages at low rates, or low-interest loans to farmers from the FCA – again, examples of direct federal aid in other social areas.
Drastic programmes for other social groups such as the blind, the unemployed, the elderly and children were also introduced, according to source D, with vast funds from the government flowing into the Social Security Act, which, as the first ever measure of direct benefits, shattered the traditional role of the federal government, although some saw it as insufficient for the scale of the crisis and certain groups were neglected. However, no economic policy is stated although the programmes’ beneficial effect on trade is mentioned, and neither source reveals that they were merely temporary solutions.
Source C states that new taxes were introduced as part of the Social Security Act, and while this implies that new social policies were being financed, which would have influenced businesses and the economy, it is not explicit. Whether employers actually followed the act also remains unspecified, so C does not strongly support the argument.
Both sources E and B mention the NIRA, the former showing the reactions of businessmen and conservatives to the radical “labour and tax returns”. It, like B, refers to codes controlling work practices and regulations to improve economic and social situations. The proposal of an unbalanced budget was met with fear of its extremity, and so great were the changes that it was compared to “State socialism”. For the first time, trade unions were officially recognised, as stated in B, and generally showing increased government control of industry.
Also, Source B states that the government exercised more power, as does F. The NIRA enabled the President to approve of employment codes and conditions, and F states that the First New Deal “put more power in the hands of the central government”, particularly in the economy. As when “left to itself, farming was in a state of anarchy”, it is suggested that policies interfering with the agricultural system were introduced – for example, the FCA, FSA, TVA and AAA. Although not mentioned in these sources, many acts were declared unconstitutional – a result of the ‘check and balance’ role of the Supreme Court, which, having many republican or conservative views, would have opposed policies increasing government control.
However, Source F does state that “Roosevelt did not follow any particular policy”, referring to the plummeting economy and unemployment rise of the Roosevelt Recession. This implies that measures were not major enough after the First New Deal. Source G also can be seen as going against the statement as it depicts Roosevelt leading the US away from the “radical shortcut”, and the “Depression” and “Bolshevism”, contradicting Source E.
The sources’ lack of reliability can also diminish the extent to which they support the argument. Fireside Chats, like A, were primarily intended to reassure the people that significant changes were being made to the system, and Roosevelt, being the head of the operation, would have presented the acts in a favourable light to promote both himself and the current government. This may have given reason for embellishment, as with D – which, like A, are from a member of the programme. In both cases, the lack of accurate statistical information suggests uncertainty among other things, and extravagant claims like “never equalled in the history of this nation” with little evidence to back them up causes questioning of factual content.
While extracts from actual acts can be held as completely accurate, there may be emotional factors involved in F, as we can see that the speaker only took part in the First New Deal and he may have been biased against the later acts, whether he was expelled or resigned as Brain Trust Head. Source G was drawn from a highly conservative viewpoint and contains high levels of bias, but is useful in informing us about conservative reactions to Roosevelt’s policies.
Most of the sources can be seen as supporting the view that many radical changes were indeed made during this period, and while they do not mention every change in all social or economic areas, they do tend to show great contrast to Hoover’s policies and therefore support the argument.
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