President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal

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On October 24, 1929, a day historically known as “Black Thursday”, the United States stock market crashed due to investors in the market starting to “sell off their shares, which resulted in a decline in stock prices.” (Dau-Schmidt, pg 60) This economic downturn in the market gave birth to financial ambivalence in the country, increasing unemployment, as well as other consequences on the landscape of international economics. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt took over as president in the year of 1933, “The country was in its depth of the Great Depression.” (Neal, 2010) Roosevelt’s New Deal consisted of implementing relief programs such as the Work Progress Administration and the Civil Works Administration, which aimed at revitalizing the U.S. labor market. However, these programs were short-lived due to insufficient funding. Although these programs were effective, their short life span only sought temporary remedy. The on again off again pattern of these programs existence caused a cyclical trend in the increase and decrease of unemployment. “John M. Keynes born on June 5, 1883 was one of the most influential economists of the Twentieth Century.” (Pettinger, pg 1) Keynes argued that the doctrine of the New Deal was a slow remedial procedure to restoring the economy. Although, Roosevelt’s efforts helped reduce unemployment in spurts, it was ultimately an ineffective plan because according to Keynes, to restore the economy during the Great Depression, there had to of been deep government spending and increased high taxes.

When President Roosevelt took office, he had to fulfill his ideas he had proposed to the citizens while campaigning for presidency. One of his ideas and that he fulfilled, was the Works Progress Administrati...

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...n Kantor. "The Dynamics Of Relief Spending And The Private Urban Labor Market During The New Deal." Journal Of Economic History 70.1 (2010): 195-220. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Mar. 2013.

Powell, Jim. "The Unemployment President." Cato Institute. The Washington Times N.p., 4 Aug. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Pettinger, Tejvan. "Biography of John M Keynes", Oxford, www.biographyonline.net 3 Feb. 2013

Rauchway, Eric. "Learning From the New Deal's Mistakes." The American Prospect. The American Prospect, 19 Dec. 2008. Web. 02 Apr. 2013

Winkler, Allan M. "The New Deal: Accomplishments and Failures." Speech. Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Oxford,Ohio. 31 Mar. 2009. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Winkler, Allan M., and Robert M. Collins. Keynesian Economics. The Web Chronology Project, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

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