The New Deal

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The presidential election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932 had risen the nation’s hope of economic restoration. Over three years of unrelenting hardship had taken damage on the American psyche. Roosevelt’s landslide electoral victory over former president Herbert Hoover, signaled a thorough rejection of the existing state of affairs and a desire for a new approach on “fixing the national economic crisis” (Hurley). The new president would not let down the nation. During his first two terms in office, FDR “enforced legislation through Congress that set a new standard for government intervention in the economy” (wm.edu). The change he made for the nation was radical, the plan would create a lasting impact that benefitted the country for years to come. Although the New Deal did not end the Great Depression, it succeeded in rebuilding the nation’s public confidence in the banking system and the development of new programs that brought relief to millions of Americans.
During the time of President FDR’s first inauguration, the Great Depression was at its darkest moment. Unemployment rates in the United States reached near 25 percent, with more than 11 million unemployed. Several million people lost their life savings after thousands of banks closed their doors. The nation was full of fear, anger, and desperation. During his inaugural address in March 1933, President Roosevelt states in his first and everlasting sentence that the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This was a call to fight against the Great Depression, specifically the high unemployment, the shrinking economy and the hopelessness of a better future.
Following his inauguration, President Roosevelt outlined a plan to restore America’s confidence in the nat...

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...ide Chat (May 7, 1933), http://newdeal.feri.org/texts/380.htm. New Deal Network, http://newdeal.feri.org (January 1, 1998).
Roosevelt, Franklin D., “Review of the Achievements of the Seventy-third Congress”,
Fireside Chat (June 28, 1934), http://newdeal.feri.org/texts/383.htm. New Deal Network, http://newdeal.feri.org (January 1, 1998).
Roosevelt, Franklin D., “On the Currency Situation,” Fireside Chat (October 22, 1933), http://newdeal.feri.org/texts/382.htm, New Deal Network, http://newdeal.feri.org (January 1, 1998).
Allen, Robert S., “Washington Sweatshop,” The Nation, Vol. 145, No.3, P. 63-64 (July 17, 1937), http://newdeal.feri.org/texts/867.htm, New Deal Network, http://newdeal.feri.org (January 1, 1998).
History.com/staff, “New Deal,” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 22 Apr. 2014…
Hurley, Andrew, “Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal” umsl.edu

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