How Successful was the New Deal?

The agencies like the C.W.A and the W.P.A gave jobs to approximately 13 million workers decreasing unemployment and they also repaired airfields, schools, hospitals and roads. The C.C.C gave work to 2.5 million unemployed single men who restored forests, beaches and parks the C.C.C gave the young men training which did help them get jobs later on in life. However everything was not perfect with Roosevelt’s Alphabet agencies, the N.R.A was a agency that dealt with the fair work fair wage giving the American workers who were signed up with them a fair competition. In 1935 two brothers broke one of their acts for selling diseased chickens the N.R.A took them to court where they were found guilty, the brothers appealed to the Supreme court where the supreme court declared that it was the business of the New York State and not Washington. After this 16 cases of the alphabet agencies were under trial and then later the New Deal was declared unconstitutional losing the American people money and jobs.

The unemployment fell from 25% to 14%; the New Deal had found job for 11% of the population this would mean that there were fewer jobs to find for the 13% still unemployed. Also that Roosevelt would be able to put more taxes on consumer goods e.g. Fridges and Cookers so that the government would get back some of the billions of dollars they had stuck into the New Deal. Regardless of this the first New Deal was made unconstitutional making the rate of unemployment rise between the years of 1937-39 from 14% to 18% which brought less money into the American Government and Roosevelt. After 1939 the unemployment rated fell rapidly as America had just joined World War two and they were recruiting soldiers, Pilots, sailors and workers in the factories to make machinery and artillery.

Roosevelt connected with the ‘Normal’ American people better than the other presidents before him had done. Roosevelt did this with his fireside chat. Fireside chats were where President Roosevelt would speak to the nation over the radio in they’re own houses. Over The time of Roosevelt’s Presidential rule he had letters saying “Millions of others praying for you every night” and envelopes addressed to “Gods Gift to the USA, the White House”. Roosevelt was not loved by everyone the businessmen disliked Roosevelt as he had declared there would be unions for their workers, the Republicans disliked Roosevelt as they still believed in “Rugged Individualism” and anyway they were the opposition to the democrats. The upper class disliked Roosevelt’s actions as they had the most money out of the United States and they were the ones affected the most by Roosevelt’s taxes. The Radicals had said that the New Deal has done nothing for anyone.

With the New Deal people had jobs and therefore could spend their money or invest it. The economy does recover after the New Deal being made illegal it’s Gross National Product goes up but unfortunately not reaching the pre-depression rates the private investment goes up but the consumer prices do not rise as much. In my opinion the New Deal was a success in its own way it brought jobs for people after the Great Depression, it helped the dustbowl in Tennessee and it started to slowly turn America around from what it was after the Depression.