With the inactivity, and poor decision made by the previous president, Herbert Hoover. Franklin Roosevelt easily defeated Hoover in the reelection. With Roosevelt now in charge, all hope of Americans lay in his hands. In the end he did ease the hardships of The Great Depression, and became a hero.
"New Deal"
This term came from his speech, "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people." Roosevelt's "New Deal" was a series of solutions to the economic crisis. The first thing he did was declared the "Emergency Banking Act" March 9. With all the banks either bankrupted or closed down, banks are no longer stable. Banks were ordered to be closed down, and to be reopened only when it is stable.
Economy Act (March 20), cutting the federal costs, and cuts in salaries and veteran pensions.
Beer - Wine Revenue Act (March 22). President Franklin Roosevelt legalized wine and beer. Though with the legalization, wine and beer were also taxed.
Civilian Conservation Corps Act (CCC) (March 31). This is one of the greatest solutions created to solve the crisis. With the number of the unemployed sky high, this act is designed to lower the number of unemployed. For the first time in "The Great Depression," something was done in attempt to lower the number of unemployed. Furthermore, this proved to be very successful. Approximately 3 million people ages 18-25 were finally given work. Work in road building, forestry labor, flood control, etc.
Federal Emergency Relief Act (May 12). Distributing 500 million dollars to states and localities.
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) (May 12). Another, very big change is this act. With the effects of "The Dust Bowl," now increasing, something has to be done to stop it. Farms all over the country effected by the storms, or the soil erosion, are either closed down, and stunned. Because of the overproduction of food in farms, the soil has totally worn out. This act was established to decrease crop surpluses by giving money to farmers who voluntarily decrease production. Although this act was frown upon, it did help in the long run. As for the food prices already high enough, since the farms were idle. Making this act, trying to cut down food surplus production angered the people.
Tennessee Valley Authority Act (TVA) (May 18). In this act, the government build dams and power plants. This was carefully planed to work with agriculture and industrial planning, to generate wealth, energy, and area development.
There are more of the acts, in response to The Great Depression. Though with the great changes, it would take alot of money. The big question is where did all that money came from? To fund all the new legislation, the government's spending rose. from 697 million dollars in 1916, to 9 billion in 1936. Modifications to taxes were made to tax the wealthy the most, raised tax, and borrowing money. The national debt spiked up.
1. How did the government emerge and what conditions led to its implementations?
The government emerged from the election of 1932, with the victory of Franklin Roosevelt, because of the inactivity of the previous president, with Franklin now president, all hopes were on him to fix the economic crisis. The new government focused all its resources and power, all to solve the hardships of The Great Depression. The triple Rs was the goal of this government at that time. Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
2. What social, political, and economic events shaped the activities of the government?
The stock market crashing, and the banks bankrupted, can only mean one thing, economy is crushed to dust. With the economy down, most of the new laws, and acts were designed to revive the economy. For example closing down all banks, stabilizing it before reopen. the TVA, the tax on beer and wine, the AAA, etc. The primary social problem that shaped the activities of the government was the number of unemployed, and the amount of poverty that exists at that time. The CCC proved to be immensely effective. Because of the huge number of unemployed, the CCC allowed the unemployed to finally have work to do, and most importantly, money.
3. Judge the effectiveness of this particular government in regard to its actions and agendas. The effectiveness was great, as the new acts greatly reduced the effects of the depression. The acts, CCC, AAA, TVA proved to be very effective. Although the government's actions did not totally heal the economy from the depression, but it eased alot of its effects.
4. What particular individuals played key roles? Franklin Roosevelt was like the hero. As his actions, implementations, and his decisions proved to be effective in healing the economy. As for proving Americans, that there was still hope in reviving the economy. As for saving America from The Great Depression, he became a hero. While the previous president, Herbert Hoover, was blamed for making everything worse. Some even blamed him for the stock market crashing. As for his inactivity, and his poor decisions made.
This political cartoon is displaying the government in the middle, surrounded by the legislative.
Sources used:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1930s/p/greatdepression.htm
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/depression/section5.rhtml
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1851.html
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/connections_n2/great_depression.html
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