New Deal Dbq

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Beginning on October 24, 1929, the United States experienced a period of widespread anxiety in response to its largest stock market collapse, an event that historians refer to as the Great Depression. With investments disappearing and the prices of stocks skyrocketing, the crash not only stunned the nation, but exposed the underlying problems of the American economy, such as rising inequality, declining demand, increasing unemployment, and overextended investors.1 (194) Despite the foundational problems exposed in both the industrial and agricultural economy, many citizens blindly believed that their society would quickly recover. President Herbert Hoover’s Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 only furthered this false hope and exacerbated the world’s economic collapse as tariffs rose globally.2 (196) Furthermore, President …show more content…

However, citizens in prosperous regions often denied unemployed travelers in fear of threatening local opportunities for recovery. (2005) With no end to the Depression in sight, Americans looked to the government as their last stand against hopelessness. In 1932, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched his “First New Deal”, a program designed to catapult the American economy out of the Great Depression by stabilizing unemployment rates, providing relief for suffering Americans, and reforming the collapsing banking system. (208) In his acceptance speech, Roosevelt emphasizes that American institutions stand for democracy and freedom rather than tyranny or subjection of any American individual (R143). His strong campaign against outdated American beliefs appealed to the public and contrasted greatly with Hoover’s previous hesitancy to address pressing issues, bolstering his popularity initially. Roosevelt also addressed the inequality between southern and national life as well as the impoverished families in the Appalachian

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