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Introduction
The New Deal is one of the most talked-about eras in American history. Transpiring during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, it contained some of the country’s most notable accomplishments and failures during the Great Depression.
Looking at it as a whole, was the New Deal a success or failure? The author of this sample essay attempts to dissect some of the major events of this season and draws his own conclusion.
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So was the New Deal A Success or Failure
Everyone who has studied American history is familiar with the New Deal, the series of programs created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during this term. Both good and bad things have been said about the New Deal programs, mostly focusing on whether they ultimately achieved their goal of helping the United States bounce back from the Great Depression.
Just how successful was the New Deal? In this essay, I will revisit the nuances of President Roosevelt’s large-scale effort to resuscitate the United States economy and identify the successes and failures of the New Deal.
The New Deal: Origins and Beginnings
Enacted by President Franklin Roosevelt to counteract the negative impact of the Great Depression on the U.S. economy, The New Deal is a series of programs designed to stimulate economic recovery. These programs were also part of a larger campaign called “The New Nationalism.” Roosevelt desired to help restore the country’s greatness following the economic problems created by World War I and World War II.
The overall objectives of Roosevelt’s New Deal were to provide relief programs for jobless Americans, launch Social Security, develop national parks, elevate national production, and offer housing subsidies to provide affordable options for the working class. To achieve this, he created alphabet agencies that would address particular concerns.
The effectiveness of the New Deal was ensured by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who applied his ability to connect with different parties, to get the New Deal legislation in motion.
Impact and Implications
It goes without saying that this time period was a life-transforming one for all citizens who experienced direct relief through the programs. Looking at it from the bigger picture, it is clear that it, through the National Recovery Administration, has uplifted many lives and helped millions get back on their feet.
What were some of the key milestones from this time period?
The Introduction of Banking Reform
Under Roosevelt’s leadership, a new banking system was implemented, which allowed the federal government to oversee the processes of the industry. This increased the capacity to create jobs and reduce unemployment by applying better safeguards against business failures.
The Creation of the Farm Security Administration (FSA)
Recognizing the specific and unique economic impact of the Depression on farmers, Roosevelt instituted the FSA to help balance out farm prices and earnings by allowing farmers to enjoy the benefits of credit and crop insurance. Roosevelt helped farmers as well through the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which provided financial subsidies for farmers to produce less cotton in order to increase its price.
Sharp Focus on Relief Recovery and Reform
Responding to the overwhelming loss of jobs, subpar working conditions, and poor wages caused by the Great Depression, the federal government legislated monetary reform programs to provide aid to countless affected American citizens. Among these was the Homeowners Refinancing Act, which provided mortgage assistance to those who were perilously close to losing their homes.
The Emergence of the Social Security Act
Roosevelt’s New Deal included the enactment of the Social Security Act, which ensured regular income payouts for more vulnerable populations such as the elderly, physically handicapped, and children of the less fortunate.
The Establishment of the Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was formed specifically to address the issue of unemployment. This endeavor provided jobs to many jobless workers, as they were deployed to public work projects such as the construction of public buildings and roads. Another one of their feats was the Federal One Project, which provided monetary assistance to creative professionals such as artists, musicians, and writers. They were commissioned to produce art pieces that would generate some public interest.
There was also the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which offered young men the opportunity to join work programs involving the development of public parks, forests, and lands. Finally, the Wagner Act gave workers a platform to bargain and organize fair and open elections for a bargain agent, should they choose it.
Given these key accomplishments, it is clear that the New Deal was a blessing to America. It had taken a nation coming off many ordeals and turned the American economy into a series of positive possibilities. It had provided immediate relief to those who needed it. However, having said all these, there are still some criticisms of President Roosevelt and his massive economic stimulation effort.
The biggest criticism of the New Deal is that while it offered immediate relief recovery and reform, these tended to be short-term solutions. Recovering from the Great Depression is not something that can be instantly achieved. People felt that certain subsidy programs such as the Tennessee Valley Authority Act (TVA), which aimed to improve the ease of navigation through the Tennessee River, only benefited a handful of people at a much greater cost.
At the same time, while the alphabet agencies rolled out exciting initiatives like a big economic stimulus package, it eventually generated a lot of uncertainty and experimentation from the end of the federal government. For instance, President Franklin increased taxes, yet did not encourage businessmen to grow their groups.
Ultimately, the New Deal ended up extending some of the effects of the Great Depression by perpetuating a culture of uncertainty. From policies on tax, finance, labor, and other legal issues, the regulations that were put in place did not inspire much confidence. In essence, this effort simply moved the economy to the public sphere. It did have an immediate effect when the programs were launched, but the execution and thought behind these endeavors were unsustainable for the long term.
At the end of the day, the New Deal may not have succeeded in providing permanent and long-term solutions to the nationwide damage caused by the Great Depression, but it pointed American citizens towards a path of hope and expectancy that things were taking a turn for the better. In this sense, by at least putting America on the firm trajectory of recovery, I believe that the New Deal experienced some success. Unfortunately, a lot of the gains were short-lived because Roosevelt failed to factor in long-term implications of all the things that were proposed as part of the campaign.
Was the New Deal a success or a failure? I’d like to believe that it was a mixture of both.
FAQs
The Pros Of The New New Deal
President Franklin Roosevelt proposed the Second New Deal, which aimed to supplement the first wave of legislation that was passed. Some of the key accomplishments of this period included the Social Security Act, Wagner Act, and the Works Progress Administration. The first aimed to provide additional monetary assistance to more at-risk populations such as the elderly, disabled, and young kids of families in poverty. The second aimed to assist workers by providing them a venue where they could act on their labor rights and bargain collectively or elect a bargaining agent. The last creatively provided jobs to the unemployed through an enlistment to a chosen work program.
The Cons Of The New New Deal
The major downside of the new New Deal was that it only provided short-term solutions to a long-term process. The Great Depression is a major event to recover from, making it even from an economic standpoint. The assumption was that this slew of exciting programs would act like a massive economic stimulus package that would reinvigorate the American economy and push it toward a full recovery.
While it had succeeded in putting it on the right track, the efforts eventually failed to accomplish its end goal. However, one could still consider this a partial success as it laid down the first successful steps towards a hopeful path. Having instilled a sense of hopeful optimism in American citizens, it had certainly done its part in at least sparking the beginning of a great recovery.