During Roosevelt's massive campaign for the 1932 presidential election, Roosevelt promised the American people a New Deal. It was not entirely clear to the Americans what measures this might include. What was clear was that Roosevelt intended to use all the powers of the government to lift America out of the Depression. Its goal was to put Americans back to work, protect their savings and property, and provide relief to the sick, elderly, and unemployed. He also aimed to get American industry and agriculture back on their feet. Roosevelt certainly helped the American people and certainly helped improve lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the first hundred days of his presidency, Roosevelt worked around the clock with his advisors (known as the Brain Trust), to produce a wide range of radical measures. Early in his presidency, Roosevelt faced the banking crisis. The day after he took office, Roosevelt ordered all American banks to close and remain closed until government officials inspected them. A few days later, five hundred reliable banks were able to reopen. If necessary, they were also supported with government money. Furthermore, Roosevelt's advisors had developed a set of rules and regulations, which would prevent further disasters such as the Wall Street crash. A member of the brain trust, Raymond Moley, spoke of the reaction to Roosevelt's help in resolving the banking crisis: When people managed to survive the shock of seeing all the banks closed, and then seeing the banks open, with their protected money, there began to be trust. The good times were coming. Roosevelt also established a number of government agencies designed to give the American people much-needed help and support. They were soon known by their initials and therefore called alphabet agencies. These included FCA, AAA, CCC, CWA, PWA, FERA, NRA and TVARoosevelt and the Brain Trust set up agencies to help the farmer and get agriculture back on its feet: the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) made loans at one fifth of all farmers so that they would not lose their farms. The Agricultural Adjustment Agency (AAA) paid farmers to produce less food. They did this by taking land out of production or reducing their livestock. Less production meant that prices rose and farmers' income increased. Between 1933 and 1939 farmers' income doubled. The AAA also helped farmers modernize their farming methods. They introduced new ones that would conserve and protect the soil. In extreme cases, farmers have also received help for their mortgages. Although the AAA helped many farmers, modernization resulted in farm workers losing their jobs. Roosevelt also established agencies to reduce unemployment: the Civilian Conservation Corps was aimed particularly at unemployed youth. They could sign up for 6-month periods, renewable if they still couldn't find work. Most of the work done by the CCC involved environmental projects in national parks. Most of the money earned went back to the men's families. This project has helped approximately 2.5 million young people. The Civilian Works Administration (CWA) aimed to employ as many people as possible in a short period. Some useful work was done, such as road building, but many jobs simply gave people something to do. It gave them a sense of purpose. The Public Works Administration(PWA), aimed to create long-term jobs. $7 billion has been spent employing skilled men to build things like dams, bridges, and houses. Between 1933 and 1939, the PWA built 70 percent of America's schools and 35 percent of America's hospitals. Roosevelt's policies on paternalistic government were very different from Hoover's laissez-faire attitude, and here we can see government paternalism in action. Roosevelt established the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). They were given $500 million to help thousands of Americans who were homeless, penniless and on the brink of starvation. Most of the money was used to increase the number of soup kitchens and to provide clothing, schools and employment programs. One of Roosevelt's goals was to get the industry back on its feet and he tried to do so by establishing the National Recovery Administration (NRA). The NRA's goals were to raise workers' wages (so they would have more to spend on goods), raise the prices of factory goods (to help factory owners make more profits and thus employ more men), and give workers workers a fair agreement in the workplace (i.e. better working conditions and shorter hours). Companies that joined the NRA were allowed to use the NRA sign: the Blue Eagle. Large advertising campaigns encouraged the public to purchase goods from program members. You can see an example of the advertisement from the source below: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was established to develop the Tennessee Valley, a vast area spanning seven states. It was poverty stricken and had soil erosion and flooding. The TVA organized the construction of 33 dams to control the Tennessee River. The quality of the soil was improved so that it could be cultivated again and new forests were planted. TVA built power plants at the dams to provide cheap electricity to farmers, and TVA became the largest electricity producer in America. The TVA was one of the most impressive projects of the New Deal, as it combined the effort to revive agriculture and industry into a single program. Thousands of jobs were created and it gave an entire region a chance to recover from the worst effects of the Depression. Roosevelt's famous inauguration speech; The only thing we have to fear is fear itself, it was one of the turning points in America's plight because, as historian Hugh Brogan points out; In a few minutes, Roosevelt did what had eluded Hoover for four years: he restored his countrymen's hope and energy. By the end of the week, half a million thank you letters had arrived at the White House. What Roosevelt did gave Americans hope, self-esteem, and self-confidence. He realized how important it was to win the trust of the American people. Then, he gave radio broadcasts, they became known as fireside chats. He explained his actions simply and directly and asked the Americans to work with him. These broadcasts were surprisingly successful. Roosevelt ended Prohibition in 1933. Beer bars were legalized again, and Americans could enjoy a drink without fear of arrest. This made many Americans much happier. Of course we cannot worship Roosevelt as a hero. It was not the only factor in the improved standard of living in America. The outbreak of the Second World War certainly contributed to solving unemployment. Although the New Deal helped gradually reduce unemployment, it was not entirely responsible for it. When war broke out in Europe in 1939, unemployment data in theUnited States declined rapidly. When America entered the war in 1941, the number of unemployed was halved within a year. Americans themselves contributed much to the standard of living in America. The typical rugged, individualistic approach to life still existed for many Americans, and their determination to succeed in life helped improve their quality of life. Many people did not support Roosevelt's New Deal. Many wealthy Americans resented having to pay higher taxes to finance the work of the new deal's agencies. They were bitter that Roosevelt's policies had taken away some of their power. They believed he was a traitor to his class. Business leaders and Republicans also did not support the New Deal. Republicans because they thought Roosevelt was acting like a dictator, some even compared him to Hitler and Stalin. They thought that Americans had lost self-confidence because they believed that the Social Security Act would undermine the American way of life by making people lazy and dependent on government help. Business leaders did not like government interference in their affairs. They were angry at Roosevelt's support for unions and the campaign to raise wages. Of course everyone who worked for the government agencies set up for the alphabet benefited because they took a lot of money from the government and took a lot from the profits of the programs they created. The natural trade cycle made the end of the depression inevitable. Of course we must consider the fact that not all Americans have benefited. One group that hasn't is black people. They remained second-class citizens, and racism and discrimination were still widespread. In the new agreement, segregation in education, transportation, and public places continued. Blacks were placed in segregated CCC camps, and when the new town of Norris was built in the Tennessee Valley, blacks were not allowed to live there. Blacks found it very difficult to find work. Most jobs were given to white males; the jobs left to blacks were the humble ones. Roosevelt failed to pass civil rights laws, especially anti-lynching laws. He argued that he needed the support of Southern Democratic lawmakers to advance the New Deal, and they were adamantly opposed to civil rights for blacks. Although they did not benefit as much as whites from the New Deal, thousands received far more relief than ever before and were given responsible positions in the New Deal administration. Women did not benefit much from the New Deal. Most New Deal programs were aimed at manual and construction labor, traditionally male work. The number of women employed increased during the 1930s, but this was largely due to the fact that they were cheap labor. Their average salary was half that of men. A number of states have attempted to avoid paying the government money provided to women and their dependent children by introducing other conditions such as no payments to women with illegitimate children. Once again, however, some women were assigned positions of responsibility within the same agencies. So, how responsible was Roosevelt? Well, let's take a look at the success of the new deal to help make that decision. The new agreement was quite successful: it prevented the depression from getting worse. It helped farmers and homeowners stay on their property with government help: But far more significant was the simple fact that the New Deal gave hope to millions of men and women, providing them with jobs or saving their lives. house. (CPHill, 1966) Introduced a better.