Were Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs Effective?

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New Deal Essay

The effectiveness of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs remains a contentious topic among historians, with critics on both the right and left attacking the size of the program; the right calling it too large, and the left saying it didn’t go far enough. Though most of the criticism of the program at the time was from the right, from figures like 1928 Democratic nominee Al Smith and his American Liberty League, as well as influential Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, it is the criticism from the left which is most prevalent among today’s historians. However, modern historians remain split over how flawed the program was, with some, such as Alan Brinkley in The End of Reform, offering a limited critique, with others like Barton Bernstein and Ronald Radosh attacking the program more fully. One of the reason there are so many varied critiques of the New Deal is because it encompassed so many different programs that all tried to address the same root problem, and there were several failures among the successes simply because the Roosevelt Administration attempted to throw everything at the wall and see what stuck. Overall, though the New Deal largely succeeded in providing immediate relief, it failed to spark an underlying economic recovery or achieve meaningful long-term reforms.

Where the New Deal was undoubtedly effective was in providing immediate relief. The Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration and Public Works Administration succeeded in immediately creating jobs during a critical situation. A period of economic contraction on the scale of the Great Depression was unprecedented in American history, and with millions of people out of work it was necessary to immediately take shor...

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...nturns, and with rising demographic pressure on Social Security in particular may be the cause of economic crisis in the future.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs were the correct response to the immediate crisis that confronted his administration, but had a negative overall impact in the mid-to-long term. Roosevelt’s efforts to provide immediate relief and support to the struggling populace were an immediate and necessary response. However, his overall program, while helping the American people, failed to help American business, and may have prolonged economic recovery. While his efforts to prevent another depression were well-intentioned, the long-lasting reforms he created have spawned their own host of financial problems. Though successful in helping the American people, the New Deal largely failed to help the business sector or future generations.

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