In the prosperity farmers did not do very well. FDR wanted to help the farmers. The alphabet agency the AAA (Agriculture Adjustment administration) helped these suffering farmers. The farmers were paid lo produce less and cut down on there land. This meant that supply went down and demand went up so the price of the produce increases. Also the farmers had chance to buy new machinery with the funding and money from the sales. This in turn increases manufacture. The problem was that the workers were not in as much demand with less work being needed so some of the workers were laid-off.
The alphabet agencies were set-up for more jobs being created. This idea was supposed to lower unemployed rates, which would increase output (GNP). The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was formed to create as many short-term jobs. People were paid to improve schools and roads and airports, even scaring away pigeons from buildings. The public Works Administration (PWA) was formed to employ skilled men to build real things that would last for years. The PWA built dams, bridges, sewage, systems and 70% of the USA’s schools. 7 billion was spent to employ these men but nearly all the things built still stand today. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was alike to the PWA. The workers built roads, schools but on a smaller scale. It employed writers, artists and photographers. It was the biggest employer with 2 million being employed every year.
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was set up to increase wages, so money could be spent on goods, make factory owners make more profit and give workers a fair deal in the workplace. The NRA started the minimum wage, abolished child lab our and encouraged trade unions (even though businessmen like Henry ford hated this). With the NRA encouraging business to join up and mass publicity the whole organisation was a huge success.
The Tennessee River caused huge basin problems, it ran through 7 states and left everywhere like a dustbowl. So a perfect solution to unemployment was to employ people to solve this problem. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was there to solve this problem. To sort out both problems 21 dams were built to prevent fl9oding and trees planted to improve soil.
All of FDR’s idea’s had worked to a degree. There was still 6 million unemployed in 1941. Not everyone could get a job with unskilled people not making any progress in their work. The thing that solved the unemployment was the Second World War when ammunition had to be made so industry began to boom. Also, in 1937 the New deal faltered. Unemployment rose again when the government stopped ‘pump priming’ and investing money. Critics of FDR (republicans) thought that the jobs created were of no use and too expensive. They said it was too expensive because FDR had inputted lots of money that had come from the taxpayer and rich i.e. republicans.
Also, the critics said that not everyone benefited from the new deal; black people, women and immigrants. These people were discriminated because they were not valued like others in America. They got little money and if they did get a job then they would get paid a lot less. However, was FDR’s minister, so women were beginning to be thought of as the same as men. Black people also started to get positions of high authority in the TVA.
Roosevelt did achieve an awful amount in his time as president. He created many new ideas like social security and minimum wage, which the rest of the world got a lot later. He created many great organisation, built schools, dams, hospitals, improved roads, solved the banking crisis, helped restore Wall Street, solved the Tennessee basin and cut unemployment. He fought for what he believed in. However, he did spend a lot of money and did not actually solve the unemployment crisis and depression, it was not until the Second World War that the depression was over. Though, he was undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest leaders ever.
