New Deal Dbq

In October 1929, the United States faced its greatest crisis since the Civil War. The Wall Street Stock Market collapsed and with that came the end of the infamous “Roaring 20’s.” In the mist of calamity and desolation, Franklin D. Roosevelt came into power in 1933 with his famous line, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,”(IIP Digital | U.S. Department of State), along with his New Deal. Though some might argue that his quick decisions and irrational thinking might have undermined capitalism, to some extent, the New Deal tried to save it. With the New deal came the help for so many Americans who were suffering during the Great Depression. It established many Acts that helped Americans through hardships and strengthen banking and securities. Within the New Deal are Banking and Finance, Unemployment, Industry and Labor, and Agricultural Act that were passed to help strengthen then American economy during such a bleak time and the faith of the American people in it’s government.

President Roosevelt entered office with banks being hammered to the ground. Rapidly the banks were closed and only were allowed to reopen if they were solvent. “The administration adopted a policy

of moderate currency inflation to start an upward movement in commodity prices and to afford some relief to debtors. New governmental agencies brought generous credit facilities to industry and agriculture,” (IIP Digital | U.S. Department of State). “Much of the interdependence of modern economic life is based on the nature of the credit structure. Credit disintegration and business depressions go hand, and hand, as has been abundantly clear sin 1929. The future of government and business relationships must be predicted on the fact that the economic structure, with no particular close connection with government, came near to a complete collapse,” (William F. Ogburn). The FDCI insured saving-banking deposits up to $5,000. With the FDIC comfort and assurance was put back into the public, allowing them to put their reliance in the banks in the government. It secured money, which was guaranteed to be their which in turn helps to boost the economy. Also as Ogburn states, the downfall of credit and the depression of businesses go hand, and hand. Even though the FDCI might seem as undermining capitalism, with out it, banks would not be able to continue to function. So with the help of it, the banks people were able to trust the banks with their money, which then result with the banks having enough money to function and help raise the economy.
In an attempt to conserve natural resources and to help the unemployed, the Civilian Conservation Corps was established. It was an organization in which young men and the age of 18-25 years old were able to work in camps that were administered by the Army. About two million participated in this organization and were able to work on conservation projects such creating reservoirs, watersheds, forests, and parks. The national Experience; a History of the United States articulates, “the Dust storms of the early 1930s, whirling up from the parched and eroded land of the Great Plains, emphasized the need for a revitalized national conservation policy. A “shelter-belt” of trees was planted along the 100th meridian from Canada to Texas. Other measure were undertaken to promote reforestation, to control overgrazing, and to encourage farmers to adopt soil-conservation practices,” (Blum/McFeely/Morgan/Schlesinger, Jr./Stamp and Woodward /). The Public Works Administration (PWA) was also created to establish more jobs. It provided jobs for skilled construction workers on projects such as the Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams, which are located in the Pacific Northwest, a brand new Chicago sewer system, and two aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy, (IIP Digital | U.S. Department of State).
Prier to FDR’S administration that government was more of a “Lassies- Faire Capitalism”, which resulted in the federal government taking a hands-off approach towards business with the exception of regulating banks and railroads, including monopolistic trusts. The National Experience; a History of the United States writes, “in April 1933 he called on Congress to establish “a corporation clothed with the power of Government but possessed of the flexibility and initiative of a private enterprise” charged with “national planning for a complete river watershed,”’ (Blum/McFeely/Morgan/Schlesinger, Jr./Stamp and Woodward). In May 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was set in place by the passing of the Bill by Congress. IIP Digital | U.S. Department of State writes, “Roosevelt’s Republican predecessor, Herbert Hoover, had opposed earlier proposals for government power projects and economic development programs in the Tennessee Valley, saying it would “break down the initiative and enterprise of the American people. … It is the negation of the ideals upon which our civilization has been based.” Despite the detestation of power companies in the area, and being seen as socialism, it still proved to be the most successful of the all the New Deals.
After the deposition of the National Industrial Recovery Act being declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, chaos broke loose. National Labor Relations Act (1935) writes, “violent confrontations occurred between workers trying to form unions and the police and private security forces defending the interests of anti-union employers.” So on July 5, 1935, FDR signed into law the National Labor Relations Act. “The broad intention of the act, commonly known as the Wagner Act after Senator Robert R. Wagner of New York, was to guarantee employees, “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection,” (National Labor Relations Act (1935)). With the help of the NLRA, organized labors and employers were able to coincide and work together.

According to Irving Bernstein/ William Haber, “in his words, “the New Deal intervention to protect the rights of wage earners was based on the assumption that they were unable adequately to organize themselves.” The first step in the New Deal policy regarding collective bargaining was found in “section 7 (a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933.” This short and a seemingly clear statement of policy led to bitter disputes between labor and management regarding its interpretation, and as a result, “the President, his advisers and Congress, to win support of both management and labor for the recovery preprogram, had committed themselves, probably without realizing it to a broad policy of intervention in collective bargaining that was to lead for beyond 7 (a)” (Bernstein/Haber).
In conclusion, Franklin D. Roosevelt entered office in 1933 during the Great Depression, but with his quick thinking and mentality, he was able to help pick the country out of its melancholy state. At a speed that usually last longer, the New Deal was able to accomplish many great things and tried to save capitalism, tough it might sometimes be argued that instead of saving capitalism, it undermined it. Due to the New Deal, the Federal Government was able to tighten the regulation of banking along with securities. Under a social security program funded by payroll taxes, it was able to provide many benefits to the American people. Americans in the 1930s began to look to the federal government to play a major and active role in the life of the nation. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, “as political analyst Michael Barone argues, “The New Deal changed American life by changing the relationship between Americans and their government." Americans in the 1930s began to look to the federal government to play a major and active role in the life of the nation” (Norton/Sheriff/Blight).