Roosevelt and His New Deal

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Roosevelt and His New Deal

Introduction: Whilst Hoover was President, the depression kept getting

worse. By 1933 some cities were without power as the power companies

went bankrupt. Virtually every bank had closed. America was in chaos.

Roosevelt had won the election of 1932 but he actually became

President in 1933. He said that the only thing ‘to fear is fear

itself’. By this he meant that things would get better if people took

positive action and did not let their fears hold them back by causing

panic and chaos (e.g. in the banking system). Roosevelt thought that

the fight against the depression was like fighting a war.

Consequently, he used the Trading with the Enemy Act (passed during

World War 1) which allowed him to change the law without asking

Congress. Roosevelt was determined to take positive action to restore

peoples’ confidence in the economy - this was the New Deal.

Aims of the New Deal: Roosevelt took positive action by establishing

the Federal Government Alphabet Agencies. Unlike Hoover, Roosevelt

thought that the Federal Government had a responsibility to help. The

Alphabet Agencies were designed to:

*End the depression by increasing demand and raising confidence. This

was primarily to be done by creating new jobs and protecting old ones.

*Relieve suffering (e.g. help the unemployed).

*Reform (i.e. create a fairer society)

THE NEW DEAL

Roosevelt said that people ‘wanted action, and action now’. In the

first 100 days of his presidency Roosevelt took more action to end the

depression than Hoover had ever done. Roosevelt first passed some

Emergency Measures to stabilise the situation. Roosevelt used the

radio to tell the Americans what he was doing. He called these

broadcasts ‘fireside chats’. By using this term he hoped that

Americans would think he was talking to them directly, addressing

their individual problems. Roosevelt wanted to be seen as one of the

people, understanding their needs. In this way he hoped to reassure

people and thus increase confidence.

1) Emergency Banking Act - All banks were closed and their accounts

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