The United States’ political climate changed due to the great depression, calling forth individuals ready and willing to confront the status quo and foster their success. Franklin Roosevelt made a significant contribution by demonstrating how hardship serves as a forging ground and how charismatic people influence history.
Roosevelt’s strategy to combat the Great Depression included the deployment of federal monies to encourage the resurgence of the American economy. During the New Deal, Roosevelt invested a sum of federal money in public works projects. These included the Public Works Administration, which employed jobless individuals to construct roads, dams, and educational facilities. Garrison wanted to demonstrate that the federal government’s decision to invest in fighting the nation’s poverty, something no administration had ever done before, came at a significant political and financial cost. In order to combat the Depression, Hoover had personally spent each year, but Roosevelt boosted that sum by two times and eventually by more than three times (Stanage, 2022). The historical context for this information is that it was made available at a time when the federal government was running massive deficits while also making first-ever financial recovery expenditures. Roosevelt invested public cash in programs like the PWA and RFC with the goal of fostering economic recovery.
Roosevelt took steps to increase elderly Americans’ sense of financial security as they got older. Older Americans immediately profited from the protection of life savings provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, efforts to recover deferred loans made by the Home Owners Loan Corporation, allocation of overabundance goods and food by the Department of Agriculture, and the inclusion of assisted living in low-income initiatives under the 1937 United States Housing Act, to name just a few. Under work-relief programs like the Works Progress Administration, a large number of older employees were able to find employment. For instance, more than 40% of WPA employees in late 1937 were between the ages of 45 and 64. Yet, only 3% of WPA employees were 65 or older (Peter, 2021). Three factors contributed to this low percentage: the physical demands of the majority of WPA manual labor positions; some old-age aid that barred recipients from work relief; and the far lower proportion of Americans over 65 in the 1930s.
Federal legislation granted unions the right to start and involve themselves in collective bargaining in 1935, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 created the foundation for fixing a price floor on salaries and a cap on the number of hours worked per week that remain in use today (Grapes, 2001). In 1935, it provided cash aid to the sick and unemployed when they were unable to maintain themselves. It also provided price assistance and development programs to rural and agricultural America at a time when these sectors were barely able to exist. After 1937, the government adopted an aggressive fiscal stance and took charge of repairing the kinks in the American economy.
Franklin Roosevelt’s also changed the American presidency through Fireside talks, which he used to communicate with the public through radio broadcasts, contributed to the public’s impression of the president as the country’s defender. Franklin Roosevelt’s asked that the president be given more authority to make decisions on legislation as both the primary executive and the major legislative. For the purpose of seeking to construct and create legislation, Franklin Roosevelt’s also required a White House workforce and team of experts unlike anything ever seen in Washington. (Daynes & Sussman,2010). The President now required a full-time team that was proficient in these fields, enthusiastic about leadership, and educated about both home and global issues. The Executive Reorganization statute, which he passed in 1939, permanently changed the shape of the White House.
In conclusion, the Franklin Roosevelt New Deal established solid economic and social policies for the American people although he faced intense opposition. The laws it established are still in effect today in America. The federal reserve system has helped many banks become more stable and less cash-hoarding. He enacted new laws and regulations through his “new deal” in order to combat fraud in the American banking system.
Reference
Peters, B.G., 2021. Governing in a time of global crises: the good, the bad, and the merely normal. Global Public Policy and Governance, 1, pp.4-19.
Stanage, N. (2022, July 28). How recessions haunted three presidents, and how two others recovered. The Hill. Retrieved November 5, 2022, from https://thehill.com/homenews/3577178-how- recessions-haunted-three-presidents-and-how-two-others-recovered/
Grapes, B. J. (2001). Franklin D. Roosevelt. Greenhaven Press, Incorporated.
Daynes, B. W., & Sussman, G. (2010). White house politics and the environment: Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush. Texas A&M University Press.
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