Compare and Contrast Essay Rough Draft January 26, 2016 Justin Park The Great Depression was the worst period in the history of America’s economy. There is no way to overstate how tough this time was for the average worker and there was a feeling of desperation that hung over the entire country. Current political wisdom leading up to the Great Depression had been that the federal government does not get involved in business or the economy under any circumstances. Three Presidents in a row; Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover, all were cut from the same cloth of enacting pro-business policies to generate a powerful economy. Because the economy was doing so well during the “Roaring 20s”, there wasn’t much of a dispute 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, But economically, Roosevelt and his “brains trust” had no idea what they were doing. They attempted one failed intervention after another. The Great Depression was a disaster, and sadly an avoidable one.” (Edwards, 2005) The trouble with this view is that it completely ignores some important facts. The entire time that Roosevelt was in office, the economy improved except for 13 months in 1937-1938 when farms were the only ones getting government subsidies. Unemployment again went through the roof until the government stepped back in. And in the end, the Second World War is what ended the Depression through a large amount of government spending! President Roosevelt brought the executive branch of the government into power like never before. He is hated to this day by many people. But for the majority of the country during one of our toughest times, he was what we needed. Without consulting history acknowledging that, it’s impossible to judge what he did very negatively. The old ways weren’t working, and while President Hoover tried to do something, it wasn’t enough. President Roosevelt was more successful with the actions he took for relief during the Great Depression.
... Historians claim that Hoover's term during the depression was filled with false promises and accuse the president of doing nothing while the depression worsened. Along with worsening the debt and a fairly aggressive use of government, it is clear his approach towards the situation was not the best. FDR’s approach would prove during his administration to suffice in the augmentation of the crisis. Although it seemed like a completely opposite presidency, many ideas came from his predecessor.
In 1929, the stock market crashed, bringing great ruin to our country. The result, the Great Depression, was a time of hardship for everyone around the world. The economy in the US was lower than ever and people were suffering immensely. During these trying times, two presidents served- Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (F.D.R.) Both had different views on how the depression should be handled, with Hoover believing that the people could solve the issue themselves with no government involvement, and with F.D.R. believing that the government should work for their people in such difficult times.
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.
Franklin D. Roosevelt once asserted “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people,” in belief for a change, for a better nation, and for guidance to those who have lost all faith in humanity. During the Great Depression, the United States faced many different scenarios in which it caused people to doubt and question the “American Dream.” The Great Depression began in 1929 and ended in 1939. In these ten years, people went through unemployment, poverty, banks failed and people lost hope. President Herbert Hoover thought it wasn’t his responsibility to try and fix such issues in the nation.
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...
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
He is therefore recognized by many as the more effective of the two presidents, which would then indicate that liberalism was more effectual than conservative ideas. However, in reality, Roosevelt was little more successful than Hoover in ending the Great Depression.
After the depression America was in a state mass hysteria as the Wall Street crash had caused a massive crisis among the American public because the impact of the wall street crash caused 12 million people out of work, it also caused 20,000 companies to go bankrupt and there were 23,000 suicides in one year because of the wall street crash this was the highest amount of suicides in a year ever. The main aims of the new deal were Relief, Recovery and Reform, Relief was for the Homeless and Unemployed, recovery was for Industry, Agriculture and Banks and Reform was to prevent the depression form happening again. The structure of The New Deal was the First Hundred Days (1933) where he would focus on relief by helping the homeless and unemployed and recovery by helping industry, agriculture and banks, there was also the Second New Deal where he would focus on Reform, preventing the depression from happening again. Roosevelt believed that the government should help those people worst affected by the depression, this is why he created over 50 alphabet agencies to deal with the problems caused by the depression, this is why he introduced the new deal because he wanted to ease the pressure
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.
Roosevelt, unlike the presidents before him took action in an attempt to end the depression. When Roosevelt took office in 1933, the country was in the middle of the Great Depression.
Roosevelt immediately gained the public's favor with his liberal ideas. In the first 100 days, Roosevelt stabilized banks with the Federal Bank Holiday. In the New Deal he fought poverty with the TVA, NRA, AAA, CCC, PWA, and CWA. These policies were definitely liberal in the 1930's and because of the new programs, Roosevelt received false credit for ending the Depression. Ironically Roosevelt succeeded only a little more than Hoover in ending the Depression. Despite tripling expenditures during Roosevelt's administration, (Document F) the American economy did not recover from the Depression until World War II.
As people struggled to find jobs due to the harsh conditions during the new deal, roosevelt was able to increase the employment rate, although it was not by much it was better than nothing, “The new deal itself created millions of jobs and sponsors the public works project that reached most every county in the nation”(ushistory.org). Some people may disagree and say that roosevelt did more bad than good , because of its increasing debt that we are still recovering from today, the unemployment rate was still at 19%, and it brought us into world war two, our nation was also served with many long lasting laws that have crucially benefited us and has created better living standards both economically and socially,for the living proof we are given today, the good has outweighed the bad. As roosevelt struggled to make the right decision all the time he did his best to do what he thought was right for us, it may not have always been the most correct, but this situation was never dealt with before and it was definitely a big Success for Roosevelt.
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.
The US government’s role in the Great Depression has been very controversy. Different hypothesizes argued differently on the causes of the Great depression and whether the New Deal introduced by the government and President Roosevelt helped United States got out of the depression. I would argue that even though not the only factor, the US government did lead the country into the Great Depression and the New Deal actually delayed the recovery process. I will discuss five different factors (stock market crash, bank failure, tariff and tax cut, consumer spending and agriculture) that are commonly accepted to cause the depression and how the government linked to them. Furthermore, I will try to show how the government prolonged the depression in the United States by introducing the New Deal.
America has went through a lot throughout its history as in The Great Depression. In the 1930s America was just coming up in the world cultural, religious, and traditional. Then came The Great Depression plunging America into an economic downturn caused by banking policies, Stock Market crash, overproduction, and poor government. Franklin Delano Roosevelt President in 1932 won the election, Many Americans hoped that he would bring the wealth back into their lives. President Roosevelt did exactly what he promised by creating the New Deal. The New Deal was to assist millions of needy Americans, improve the economy, and pass laws to end poverty and unemployment. The New Deal didn’t stop the depression but it was a success in instituting public confidence and new programs that helped millions of Americans.