The New Deal Essay

World War I formally ended in June of 1919. The world was ready to put the death of more than 9 million men behind them and forget the shear destructiveness of the war. Hope, however, would not last long. The 1920s represented a decade of economic recession in Europe, and by 1930 the world was entering a global depression that would last for more than a decade. Many European powers witnessed radical political change during this time. The Great Depression also led to dramatic changes by the Roosevelt administration in regards to social welfare and public infrastructure, these changes are collectively referred to as the New Deal (Wallis 443). Some credit Roosevelt, and his New Deal program, with restoring hope for the American people, but the

It also helped to establish a precedence for government intervention in economic matters over the last century. Where the New Deal really contrasted with previous attempts to stabilize a failing economy was how quickly acts were being passed. As was mentioned before, the people of the United States were desperate. Due to this desperation, and sense of urgency, much of the New Deal was “hastily drawn and weakly administered” (U.S. Department of State). Some actions actually contradicted previous reform measures taken by the Hoover and Roosevelt

In Fascism and the New Deal, Shaw claims the New Deal “is surfeited with grave difficulties,” including “lavish borrowing,” “needless strikes,” and “ill-advised agrarian policy” (563). In order to prevent prices and income from declining even more, the federal government implemented a corporate state that in some ways paralleled what was taking place in fascist Italy. In fact, the founder of the Fascist Party in Italy, Benito Mussolini, praised the New Deal. FDR was also known to keep in touch with Mussolini and openly admired his efforts of restoring