New Deal Dbq

What did the New Deal really bring to the various social and ethnic groups? In some ways, the New Deal represented an important opportunity for many groups, but what they gained was limited. The discrimination and prejudice continued to plague them and to prevent their full and equal participation in national life.

Many women had a rough time during the years of the New Deal, they also experienced some victories. The New Deal allowed for unequal wages; Social Security, the NRA, & minimum wage laws offered little help for women. But, the New Deal had a positive impact on women’s roles in the government. For instance, President Roosevelt appointed Francis Perkins as Secretary of Labor which made her the first women to work in the cabinet. Not only that many women also gained significant administrative positions in New Deal programs. However, these welfare programs were purposely created for men and offered insufficient benefits toward women. The prohibition of the federal government from hiring members of the same family caused numerous unemployment for women. Not all women benefited from the New Deal because they were unemployed like before.

African-Americans were particularly badly affected by the Great Depression.

Many lost their jobs to unemployed whites. With the New Deal also came more misfortunes for African-Americans. The AAA offered white landowners cash for leaving their fields unharvested, however, the black sharecroppers and tenant farmers who actually worked the land never receive any cash. Even in the North, African-Americans found that the New Deal did not treat them as well as the whites. Aside the few setbacks, African-Americans did find respect in other areas of the New Deal, such as the Public Works Administration and the Farm Security Administration. Like women, some African-Americans were also appointed to government

roles.

Mexican Americans were poorly affected by the New Deal. Between 1900 and 1930, the number of Mexican people living in America raised from 375,000 to over 1.1 million. Many Mexicans found jobs but with low paying on large farms; however, the Great Depression reduced the need for farm labor. The Mexican American unemployment rate skyrocketed because of that. The federal government effort, to solve this issue, was to send nearly four hundred thousand Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to Mexico. Those stayed in America have to adjust to horrible poverty and unfair discrimination while the New Deal did little to contribute to.

Native Americans did receive several benefits from the New Deal. In 1933, Native Americans had received full citizenship. The tribes able to claim the lands and prohibit the government from selling the lands. Native Americans children could attend school on the reservations. As for politics, the tribes had permission to elect councils to govern the reservation. Not all Native Americans were satisfied with the impact of the New Deal because they felt that they were controlled by the government.

The New Deal affected labor by making it much easier for workers to organize unions. For the 1st time, unskilled and skilled laborers were unionized. Women and African-Americans benefited because they had a large percentage of unskilled labors. Although the New Deal’s Wagner Act helped make unions stronger, major steps, to unite, were created by the unions themselves and not the government. Between 1933 and 1945, union membership grew from less than 3 million employees to 14 million workers. Union workers had better working conditions like mandating a 40-hour work week, minimum wage, and overtime pay. The end of child labor was passed as one of the laws of the New Deal. The New Deal brought workers to fight for their rights. The New Deal also brought many misfortune for the workers because not all strikes were a success. On one of the sit-down strikes, ten people were killed and 84 wounded in Memorial Day Massacre because the police attacked the strikers.

Women, African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Native Americans, and employees from all walks of life were greatly affected by the New Deal. While some groups received benefits from the New Deal, other groups remained inferior and helpless.