Franklin D. Roosevelt and The New Deal
Franklin D. Roosevelt and New Deal
As one of the greatest Presidents in the American history, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) saved the U.S. from the Great Depression by carrying out his famous "A New Deal." But criticism of FDR's New Deal has never stopped since the day it was created. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in his article "FDR was overrated" notes that "…government spending revived economic activity under Roosevelt has had extremely damaging consequences for the rest of the 20th century."(Evans-Pritchard, 24) William J. Barber also complains that FDR's New Deal gave American a "big government legacy". Do these words really tell the truth about what happened in 1930's? Is it fair to FDR's great attempt to help the nation recover from the Great Depression?
To answer these questions we should have some basic background knowledge of FDR himself. Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York on January 30, 1882. In the year 1903, he finished his law study at Columbia University and practiced law with a prominent New York City law firm. He entered politics in 1910 and was elected to the New York State Senate as a Democrat from his traditionally Republican home district. In 1905, he had married a distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was reelected to the State Senate in 1912. In 1928 Roosevelt was elected governor. Following his reelection as governor in 1930, Roosevelt began to campaign for the presidency. His activist approach and personal charm helped to defeat Hoover in November 1932 by seven million votes. Roosevelt easily defeated Alfred M. Landon in 1936 and went on to defeat by lesser margins, Wendell ...
... middle of paper ...
...a striking success. Mr. Roosevelt may have given the wrong answers to many of his problems. But he is the first president of modern America who has asked the right questions.
Bibliography:
Work Cited
Barber, William J., "FDR's big government legacy" Regional Review, Summer97, Vol. 7 Issue 3, p18
Center for New Deal Studies—Roosevelt University
http://www.roosevelt.edu/newdeal/
Edsforth, Ronald The New Deal—America's Response to the Great Depression The Blackwell Publishers. Malden, Massachusetts. 2000
Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose. "FDR was overrated" Alberta Report / Newsmagazine, 5/29/95, Vol. 22 Issue 24, p23
"FDR and the New Deal"
Economist, 12/31/99, Vol. 353 Issue 8151, Millennium issue p49
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/
New Deal Network
http://Newdeal.feri.org/
The era of the Great Depression was by far the worst shape the United States had ever been in, both economically and physically. Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1932 and began to bring relief with his New Deal. In his first 100 days as President, sixteen pieces of legislation were passed by Congress, the most to be passed in a short amount of time. Roosevelt was re-elected twice, and quickly gained the trust of the American people. Many of the New Deal policies helped the United States economy greatly, but some did not. One particularly contradictory act was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was later declared unconstitutional by Congress. Many things also stayed very consistent in the New Deal. For example, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and Social Security, since Americans were looking for any help they could get, these acts weren't seen as a detrimental at first. Overall, Roosevelt's New Deal was a success, but it also hit its stumbling points.
Still, Roosevelt's historical reputation is deservedly high. In attacking the Great Depression he did much to develop a partial welfare state in the United States and to make the federal government an agent of social and economic reform. His administration indirectly encouraged the rise of organized labor and greatly invigorated the Democratic party. His foreign policies, while occasionally devious, were shrewd enough to sustain domestic unity and the allied coalition in World War II. Roosevelt was a president of stature.
The traditional view of Franklin D. Roosevelt is that he motivated and helped the United States during the “Great Depression” and was a great president, however, as time has passed, economist historians have begun analyzing Roosevelt’s presidency. Many have concluded that he did not help America during the Great Depression but instead amplified and prolonged the depression. Jim Powell wrote about FDR economic policies and did an excellent job explaining Roosevelt’s incompetent initiatives. Roosevelt did not know anything about economics and his advisors made everything worse by admiring the Soviet Union.
Richard Kinderdall, The New Deal as Watershed: The Recent Literature, The Journal of American History, Vol 54, No.4 March 1968 p.845
President Franklin Roosevelt was one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. He created economic stability when the United States was suffering through the Great Depression. In his first three months of office, known as the Hundred Days, Roosevelt took immediate action to help the struggling nation.1 "In a period of massive unemployment, a collapsed stock market, thousands of banks closing for lack of liquidity, and agricultural prices fallen below the cost of production," Roosevelt passed a series of relief measures.2 These relief measures, known as the New Deal, provided help for individuals and businesses to prevent bankruptcy. Also, the New Deal is responsible for social security, welfare, and national parks. A further reason why Roosevelt is considered a great president is because he was a good role model for being determined in his...
The Great Depression of 1929 to 1940 began and centered in the United States, but spread quickly throughout the industrial world. The economic catastrophe and its impact defied the description of the grim words that described the Great Depression. This was a severe blow to the United States economy. President Roosevelt’s New Deal is what helped reshape the economy and even the structure of the United States. The programs that the New Deal had helped employ and gave financial security to several Americans. The New Deals programs would prove to be effective and beneficial to the American society.
In his presidential acceptance speech in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed to the citizens of the United States, “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” The New Deal, beginning in 1933, was a series of federal programs designed to provide relief, recovery, and reform to the fragile nation. The U.S. had been both economically and psychologically buffeted by the Great Depression. Many citizens looked up to FDR and his New Deal for help. However, there is much skepticism and controversy on whether these work projects significantly abated the dangerously high employment rates and pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression. The New Deal was a bad deal for America because it only provided opportunities for a few and required too much government spending.
Cole, Harold L., and Lee E. Ohanian. "New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great
During the great depression, then President, Herbert Hoover disappointed Americans. America was therefore ready for a change. In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected as President. He pledged a “New Deal” for the country. According to Exploring American Histories, this New Deal would eventually “provide relief, put millions of people to work, raise price for farmers, extend conservation projects, revitalize America’s financial system and restore capitalism.”
One effect of the Great Depression was the way that he was able to change American culture in such a short time. His actions gave the executive branch of the government an amount of power that they hadn’t ever wielded prior. Presidents of the past would usually just sign what came across their desk. His work with congress initiated all kinds of reform, recovery and relief programs. “Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced programs between 1933 and 1938, designed to help America pull out of the Great Depression by addressing high rates of unemployment and poverty. An array of services, regulations, and subsidies were introduced by FDR and Congress, including widespread work creation programs. The cornerstones of the New Deal were the Public Works Administration and the National Recovery Administration.” (Croft Communications,
Franklin Roosevelt was overall, an effective president albeit had some major blunders during his administration. Without Roosevelt, the Great Depression could have lasted a lot longer. Roosevelt’s New Deal provided jobs to millions and provided relief for ailing farmers. Public works projects and Roosevelt’s water policy improved the standard of living in under developed rural areas. For the first time in American history, the government took responsibility for helping citizens. With Roosevelt’s leadership, America was able to recovery from the Great Depression and emerge an economic superpower.
His New Deal programs caused a tranquil peace of mind among many Americans, considering the programs were designed to progress America’s situation after the Depression. However, several Americans opposed Roosevelt, and objected his New Deal laws. This group of Americans believed that the government was doing too much, and was taking away their personal freedom. Others believed that the government was not doing enough, and should have played an even greater role within the American society. Roosevelt’s New Deal not only brought prosperity to America after the Great Depression, but it also brought division among Americans. His New Deal had, and still does have, an impact on America, and it is still pondered today whether or not his New Deal laws were successful or
The New Deal period has generally - but not unanimously - been seen as a turning point in American politics, with the states relinquishing much of their autonomy, the President acquiring new authority and importance, and the role of government in citizens' lives increasing. The extent to which this was planned by the architect of the New Deal, Franklin D. Roosevelt, has been greatly contested, however. Yet, while it is instructive to note the limitations of Roosevelt's leadership, there is not much sense in the claims that the New Deal was haphazard, a jumble of expedient and populist schemes, or as W. Williams has put it, "undirected". FDR had a clear overarching vision of what he wanted to do to America, and was prepared to drive through the structural changes required to achieve this vision.
Throughout history, America has had a plethora of leaders. A handful of these leaders have found a place in the heart of many Americans. Franklin D. Roosevelt, commonly referred to as FDR, is without a doubt one of these leaders. FDR made new laws, put forth many ideas, and raised the public’s morale before, during, and after WWII. He affected America in such a way that he brought us out of the slum of Great Depression. Even though Franklin D. Roosevelt put America in debt, his new deal policy gave millions of Americans jobs, stimulated the economy, raised public moral, and introduced new big government tactics. He was truly the people’s president.
A change in strategy leads to new perspective over certain matters. During FDR’s tenure many new reforms were adopted as part of the New Deal. Some o...