Life did get better for many Americans in the 1930s. How far was Roosevelt himself responsible or was it due to other factors?

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Life did get better for many Americans in the 1930’s. How far was Roosevelt himself responsible or was it due to other factors? Explain your answer.

In 1933, when FDR became president, America was in the biggest crisis since the civil war. Banks were closing and there were 14million people unemployed. FDRs New Deals created 7million jobs and $16billion was spent on rebuilding the economy. By 1940 the economy had recovered and WWII had begun. In this essay I will be exploring whether FDRs efforts were the major contributor to recovery, or if WWII boosted the American economy enough to bring it out of depression.

FDRs inaugural speech in 1932 was filled with new hope for the future, which inspired many of the American people. FDR said that the only thing that the only thing they had to fear was ‘fear itself.’ FDRs plans for the new deal were also revealed during his speech and he compared them to ‘priming the pump’ an analogy that many Americans would find it easy to understand. The aims of the New Deal were: Relief; to help the unemployed, Recovery; to rebuild the economy and Reform; to create a fairer society.

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The first New Deal was emergency and temporary. It was made quickly to try and stop the crisis. FDR set up what were know as ‘alphabet agencies’ these including organisations like the WPA, AAA, CCC, TVA, BA. These acts worked well and created emergency relief for the worst hit and much needed jobs. They were quick to act on the problems and produced the intended results fast. The rate of unemployment dropped rapidly and it looked like, for the first time in many years, American people could begin to hope for a better and happier future. Looking at these ...

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