The three main aims of the New Deal were: Relief, Recovery and Reform.
Roosevelt introduced a series of government agencies to help America out of trouble. These quickly became known by their initials and were therefore called ‘Alphabet Agencies.’ Some Agencies contributed to more than one aim that Roosevelt had.
Roosevelt, unlike Hoover, was prepared to use government money to help people get back to life, which resembled the norm.
Relief: At this time the United States of America was rather like a Third World country. There was extreme poverty everywhere; many people were dying of starvation. One of Roosevelt’s priorities was to put a stop to this. He wanted to get people back into work and feed them. Some people still had their homes and farms, however were on the brink of loosing them. The President wanted to stop them from loosing everything.
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration focussed on meeting the needs of the poor and unemployed. $500 million was spent on soup kitchens, blankets, employment schemes and nursery schools. This was not a long-term solution to the problem of the poor, however, it put a halt to threats of starvation and kept the people warm and happy that something was being done.
The Home Owners Loan Corporation loaned money to homeowners to prevent them from loosing their homes. They loaned over a million people money. This was very popular with homeowners, however did not help the people who had already lost their homes and were having to sleep rough on America’s streets.
The Social Security Act was in charge of giving out unemployment benefit. It also handled pensions, which were in a bad way after the Wall Street Crash. Support was given to single mothers, as they were seriously in need.
Recovery: Roosevelt aimed to get the country’s economy back on its feet. Roosevelt also wanted everyone back to work, so they were not completely reliant on the unemployment benefit that was handed out. Many Alphabet Agencies were used to help with the recovery of the economy.
The Civilian Works Administration was only designed for the short term. There were vast numbers of unemployed in the United States and this focussed on getting those people back to work. Some of these jobs actually were useful to the country, however most were designed simply to raise the morale of the country. People felt a lot better about themselves if they were out working and not stuck inside all day doing nothing. They felt that they had actually earned their money.
The Public Works Administration found projects that needed doing and employed people to work on site. The aim was to find projects, which were going to last for some time and be of great use. $7 billion was spent employing a skilled task force. Examples of the projects, which the PWA created, are damns, sewage systems, residential areas and bridges. The PWA built approximately 70% America’s schools.
The Civilian Conservation Crops gave jobs to any, unemployed, single men who were under twenty-five years of age. They lived in government camps in the countryside. The idea was to get the working on hard labour, such as planting trees and strengthening riverbanks. They got a small wage, most of which was sent home to help their parents, they were given food, water and clothes.
Reform: The main idea of this was to make the USA, generally a better place to live and more attractive. This was very much aimed at the ordinary people of the USA. Roosevelt, together with is team of advisers brought in measures such as unemployment insurance and old age pensions. Help was also offered to the disabled, sick and needy.
The Wanger Act helped workers from unions. The idea was to stop them from being the victims of unfair dismissal. Workers were terminated literally just for being part of a union as employers sore this as a threat to their authority. This act was not introduced until 1935.
The Tennessee Valley Authority was set up to develop the Tennessee Valley, a vast area, which cut through seven states. This project put a stop to soil erosion and organised the building of 33 damns, this provided cheap power. The TVA created a thousand jobs and revived a poor area.
The new deal was designed to get America back on its feet economically and to raise the general morale of the American people. Roosevelt needed to take immediate action. He needed to be seen doing something as the American people were relying on him. He was given a special amount of power for one hundred days and during that time he, together with his panel of experts, called the Brain Trust passed thirteen new laws. Roosevelt focussed on three main things, relief, recovery and reform. Many agencies were set up to help in different areas. The American people referred to them using their initials and they were known as the alphabet agencies.
