"Many historians have boiled the goals of the New Deal down to three concepts: Reform, Relief and Recovery. Watch the documentary clips and decide which of the three the New Deal emphasized.”
President Roosevelt withdrew 2.25 billion dollars to fund projects in order to cure the Depression. In response to the prompt and while this money was clearly spent to provide relief, recovery, and reform, the New Deal could be argued to have focused the most on providing relief for the American people. The emphasis of relief through the New Deal can be seen in many of the acts that were passed regarding economic relief. The Emergency Banking Relief Act of 1933 was passed to help reorganize the banking systems across America. In this act, the treasury department would inspect all banks in order to determine which banks were best suited to be shut down versus which ones needed help to remain stable. Immediate relief was the primary focus of the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) of 1933. While solving short term issues, the FERA was tailored to those who were unemployed or barely surviving. Cash payments were given to those in need. This was controlled by both state and local governments. Another act that focused on economic relief was the Agricultural Adjustment Act to solve the issue of over production that was very evident towards the start of the depression. While the New Deal can be categorized in either reform, relief, or recovery, many of the short term issues it focused on solving dealt with economic problems where relief was necessary in order to get back on track. The Depression, while it lasted for ten years, was caused by issues which stemmed from problems that were not permanent and could be solved—there was a need for relief.
Sources:
New Deal document on Google Classroom
Documentary from class
Great argument and I agree - much of the New Deal's main focus was on relief. It is no wonder that the New Deal did not actually solve the Depression, and only offered short-term solutions until the war. Moreover, acts and organizations attempting to influence reform and recovery such as the NRA ultimately failed.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I thought that relief was the most important of the "Three R's" as well. I also learned that using the New Deal, FDR would take to the extreme extent to attempt to stabilize America, however only in short terms. I also thought that FDR never foresee the longterm affect of his New Deal, but only sought to revert to a time where America was not in great turmoil.
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