FDR And The New Deal

What was the New Deal? It was a series of policies, created as a result of the collaboration of FDR, scientists, and Colombia law professors, to address the problems of the Great Depression. The policies had three main goals: relief of the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform . When the FDR administration took office, they started a period of furious activity called the Hundred Days. During this time, Congress passed more than 15 major pieces of the New Deal. Much of the New Deal increased the government's influence on the economy. FDR wanted to first address the bank failures caused by the market crash on Black Tuesday and mass withdrawal of money from banks . Many banks were not being inspected and others not enough before the Great Depression and they accepted deposits which they invested without keeping much as back-up. FDR declared a bank holiday to stop more withdrawals from occurring. In 1933, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Relief act, which allowed the Treasury department to inspect the banks. The banks that passed the inspections were allowed to open but the ones that could not repay their debts were forced to remain closed. However, FDR gave the debt-ridden banks the choice to ask for a loan from the government to open again . Congress also passed the Glass-Steagall Act which provided federal insurance to the banks. These acts created more confidence in the public because they could now deposit money in banks that they knew were safer. FDR worked to supervise the stock market, which people lost confidence in after Black Tuesday. Congress passed the Federal Securities Act which mandated that corporations provide all information about their stocks and made them responsible for any errors. The act create... ... middle of paper ... ...ot only the average person but also the minority groups. Many farmers benefited from the AAA. However, the poorest farmers, namely sharecroppers, suffered greatly from the act. From 1929 to 1933, their average income went from "$735 to $216." whereas the rich farmers who owned more land received more subsidies for the land that they did not use. In addition to this, the AAA specifically benefited people who grew basic crops such as wheat, dairy and corn. The people who did not grow these crops did not receive funds from the government and also suffered from the increased price of crops created by reduction of used acreage, For example, farmers who raised cattle had to pay more money to buy corn and wheat feed to maintain their stock because the farmers of wheat and corn used less land, thus growing less crops and ultimately, driving up the prices of wheat and corn.