New Deal Dbq

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US History Kyle Chi
Worth Block #4
The ‘New’ New Deal

Following the years of The Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or FDR, spearheaded a controversial set of programs collectively known as The New Deal. His aim was to bring relief, recovery, and reform to America. To achieve these goals, the New Deal programs promised “Bold, persistent experimentation,” as the president called it. Within the first of FDR’s ‘Hundred Days’ he was able to pass fifteen major acts. It is arguable whether or not the New Deal altered the social contract between Americans and their government. One reason it wasn’t new was because it continued to leave out African Americans and women from many relief efforts. The New Deal …show more content…

One such program was the called the NRA, or National Recovery Administration. This program set fair codes of competition for wages and working hours. Another was the SEC, or Securities and Exchanges Commission, which regulated the stock market. This allowed the government to prevent harmful practices such as using borrowed money to buy stocks. The Wagner Act gave unions the right to organize and bargain. Given that this was a government program, union participation skyrocketed because people were no longer afraid to join, now that they were backed by FDR himself. They didn’t have to fear being fired, blacklisted, or being called communist. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration controlled prices and production in farming. The government paid farmers to cut down on what they made in an effort to get the agriculture industry back on track. As evidenced by these programs, the government played a large role in business as a result of the New Deal. This was a change in the relationship between the people and the government because previously, America had leaned on Laissez-Faire policies. Although the federal government dabbled in business, especially during World War I, it mostly stayed out of the way of America’s capitalist economy. Especially under presidents Coolidge and Harding, free-market capitalism was not to be …show more content…

With programs such as the NRA and SEC, the government intervened in business, straying away from previous Laissez-Faire policies. Other programs such as the CWA, PWA, and WPA provided a multitude of jobs for Americans nationwide, on a larger scale than ever before. The Social Security Act and FERA provided money to the unemployed, which was new for the federal government. Some of its effects are evident today. Even in San Francisco, projects such as the Bay Bridge, Lincoln High School, and the San Francisco Zoo were completed during the years of the New Deal. Social Security can’t be taken away and still exists as well. This ‘new’ New Deal changed the fundamental relationship between the American people and the federal government, and helped get the nation out of

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