Effects Of The New Deal During The Great Depression

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African American Life During the Great Depression The Great Depression lasted from 1929 until 1939, which is arguably the hardest ten years in American History. The Great Depression saw the highest unemployment rates, and all of America suffered together. Although all of America felt the stings of the Great Depression, African Americans felt it worse, because they had even lower unemployment rates, were facing racial discrimination, and received little help from the New Deal. These problems made life for African Americans during the Great Depression as well as after that much harder. While the unemployment rate in America dropped to almost 16% in 1932, and would later drop even lower, African Americans unemployment rate dropped to 50%.
Roosevelt was elected to office in the fall of 1932, and throughout his campaign promised the American people a New Deal to help them out of the Great Depression. This New Deal began to take shape in 1933 immediately following his inauguration. In this New Deal were reforms for banking, emergency relief programs, work relief programs, and agricultural programs. Following this first New Deal, was a second New Deal. The second New Deal included union protection programs, the Social Security Act, and programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers. The promise of these programs began to give hope to African Americans, they believed that finally they had a president who was also willing to help them as well, which Roosevelt had promised to do. Despite his promises there were still major problems in the New Deal for African
This gave many Americans jobs whether it was becoming soldiers or building supplies to help with the war effort. African Americans were even discriminated against during this effort. This caused President Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802, “stating that all persons, regardless of race, creed, color or national origin, would be allowed to participate fully in the defense of the United States.” (Race Relations in the 1930s and 1940s 1) This later led to African Americans to gain the respect of many White Americans. This was the single way to received a way out of the Great Depression, the African Americans had to fight for a country that had previously held them

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