The New Deal Dbq Analysis

In 1929, the stock market crashed, bringing great ruin to our country. The result, the Great Depression, was a time of hardship for everyone around the world. The economy in the US was lower than ever and people were suffering immensely. During these trying times, two presidents served- Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (F.D.R.) Both had different views on how the depression should be handled, with Hoover believing that the people could solve the issue themselves with no government involvement, and with F.D.R. believing that the government should work for their people in such difficult times.

Herbert Hoover, elected as president in 1928, was a president who was not actively involved with the lives of the people in his country. His

intentions were good, as he was hoping that “we [the United States] shall soon...be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation” (Document 2). However, the way he went about bringing on those changes were often unsuccessful. For instance, when the stock market crashed, poverty was everywhere. Hoover, instead of creating emergency relief programs and getting involved with the nation’s people, chose to stay separated. In Document 3, Hoover states, “It is a question as to whether the American people...will maintain the spirit of...voluntary giving.” Hoover believed that “self-government", a government in which people themselves solve the issues, was the best type of government. Therefore, he believed that in order to solve the economic crisis, those who had more money should help the economy themselves. Hoover thought that the money would then “trickle down” to the poor, so that eventually, everything would be stable again. Of course, because of this lack of action, most of the country disliked Herbert Hoover, and, as seen in Document 1, blamed him for the fact that our economy was taking such a long time to improve. In the document, people are standing in a circle all pointing towards the middle, where it says “Blame it on Hoover,” meaning that the hatred of Hoover was common among the American public.That is why, when Franklin D. Roosevelt came by with his almost polar opposite ideas, the country embraced him and made him a national hero.
Unlike Herbert Hoover, Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed that the government was there to serve its people.

According to “The Banking System” from the National Archives, “Roosevelt’s first priority was getting the banks on solid foundation. F.D.R declared a "bank holiday," preventing any money from being withdrawn from banks for four days. This gave him and Congress time to come up with the Emergency Banking Act, as well as several relief programs to aid the economy, jokingly called “FDR’s alphabet soup” by the public. This was known as the “New Deal.” As shown in Document 4, many public works relief programs were started up, such as the CCC and the CWA. In the document, F.D.R., portrayed as a doctor, is providing his patient with flasks labelled with the names of the relief programs. F.D.R. is saying to a nurse, representing Congress, “Of course we may have to change remedies if we don’t get results.” This political cartoon is showing how Franklin D. Roosevelt was willing to pass as many acts and programs as needed to help his country. According to U.S. History: Putting People Back to Work, "Unlike Herbert Hoover, who refused to offer direct assistance to individuals, Franklin Roosevelt knew that the nation's unemployed could only last so long...aid would be immediate." The relief programs Roosevelt started up provided unemployed Americans with various jobs, mostly working to improve the country’s infrastructure and wildlife. One of his programs even focused on the arts,

creating public murals and allowing artists, who were often underappreciated, to earn a living.
Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were both great men, with different ideas on how to lead a country in times of distress. Herbert Hoover believed greatly in self-government, meaning that the people should solve their own issues, rather than depending on the government for help. During the Great Depression, he did just that, choosing not to get involved in the people’s issues. On the contrary, F.D.R believed that the government existed to serve its people, and did all he could to fix the gaping wounds the stock market crash left in our economy. F.D.R’s methods were, overall, more successful than Hoover’s, and the country remembered him as a national hero for this for many years to come.