The New Deal

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After the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the stock market and the entire nation was ushered into a new age, The Great Depression. Many lives were shattered with the downfall of the market, every single movement by the Federal Reserve was watched and banks began to fail with the continuous withdraws of money, forcing many to close down leaving Americans who never get their money in time poor. One man though, had the rights and the responsibilities to change our economic situation, and shape what we know today as America. Franklin D. Roosevelt started The New Deal, many of its individual programs which still to this day affect us. While most people state that the economy recovered due to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Program, others considered World War II the end of the Great Depression and the economic crisis in its entirety, blaming Franklin D. Roosevelt for not implementing bigger reforms in order to turn the tide of the Great Depression. President Herbert Hoover, the president of the United States before the New Deal era, was struggling to regain control of America’s struggling economy after the 1929 stock market crash known as Black Tuesday. President Hoover tried to pass new laws and raised interest rates to deflect investors from borrowing money to put into the stock market, which did not make the conditions any better. Stores began too close, 25,000 banks failed and stocks lost almost 75% of their value. By the end of President Hoover’s presidency, people wondered if their wishes, prayers and hopes to get back onto their feet’s would be answered. A Chicago school teacher, Elsa Ponselle, said, “People would always live in fear of losing their jobs,” as she recalled the events of stores closing and restaurants going into de... ... middle of paper ... ...is made sure that both were able to meet any financial obligations and both were responsible with the income they receive. This rule brought confidence to the banks knowing that they will not be losing money from people who borrow money because of investing it in the stock market without conforming to these rules. The Banking Act of 1933 and 1935 was then formed to make the Federal Reserve responsible for monetary policies for banks, the stock market and many other businesses. The formation of this act caused investors to become more actively involved in the federal government as well as the citizens of America. The Glass-Steagall Act was also passed to regulate speculation. It restricted investors from excessively using bank credit to cause “artificial" rise in stock prices. It also made investors confident about putting their money into a less speculative market.

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