The Great Depression had already led to unyielding economic hardships under the Hoover Administration. When Franklin D. Roosevelt won the office of President in 1932 and it brought hope to the American people. The Depression had brought shrinking economy, high unemployment rates, a total collapse of the financial system and a general sense of despair among the masses. FDR developed the New Deal to address those issues. The different programs under the new deal addressed unemployment, like the CCC to building park facilities and the WPA helped put people to construction work. The FERA program was designed for emergency relief, as well as, the Social Security Administration, which was designed to aid seniors.These programs did work and they made a change in the lives of many American workers and families all across the country.
There are many experts and scholars that argue as to whether or not Roosevelt’s New Deal programs were successful or were they, in fact, a failure? The answer to that question depends entirely on what aspect of the New Deal experience one is referring to. The New Deal programs revitalized the stagnant economy; it put huge numbers of workers to work and brought relief to millions of American people. It was successful in doing a great deal. However, the Great Depression was not ended and some of the programs created were later deemed problematic or Unconstitutional. It is true that Roosevelt’s programs did not put an end to the Great Depression, but may have fended off some of its worst effects. While many programs were dismantled or merged into new policies over the years, there are four that remain today. These programs include, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Corp Insurance Corporation (FCIC), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and, of course, Social Security.
So when one looks at the success or failures of the New Deal programs it really depends on the goal of the programs, if it was to aid the American people and revitalize the economy then they were immensely successful. However, if one believes the goal was to effectively end the Great Depression, then it was definitely less successful. Given the effects of the Great Depression, poverty, hunger, the lack of home and health, anything that could relieve the suffering of the people and improve the situation was needed. Ultimately, during that time in America, any progress and positive momentum could not be anything less than successful.
Bibliography
Bandyk, Matthew. "Did the New Deal Work?" U.S. News, 2008, 1. Accessed January 3, 2017.
http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/articles/2008/04/11/did-the-new-deal-work.
Brinkley, Alan. "The New Deal, Then and Now." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
History. , 2017, 1. Accessed January 3, 2017. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/new-deal/essays/new-deal-then-and-now.
Hannsgen, Greg and Dimitri B. Papadimitriou. "Lessons from the New Deal: Did the New Deal
Prolong or Worsen the Great Depression?" The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, 2009, 1-26. Accessed January 3, 2017.
