Dbq New Deal

“DBQ”

In 1929, the United States Stock Market crashed, heralding the tumble into world-wide depression. President Hoover tried to pacify the people by telling them it was temporary and would pass over. But a new figure rose out of the people, promising he would do anything and everything he could to restore their lives. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency, and his new policies would soon sweep over the country. Roosevelt’s responses to the problems of the Great Depression were successful in strengthening the power of the federal government and instilling hope in the public, yet were unsuccessful in that they did not help him achieve his intended goal: the restoration of the economy. His responses were, however, radical in the way they made use of the power of the federal government.

Roosevelt’s New Deal involved the institution of many programs to bring about his three R’s: relief, recovery, and reform. Document C shows us how at the root of the many programs was Roosevelt’s cabinet. It was known as his “brain trust” because he appointed some of the most intelligent people of his time, unlike his predecessors who used the spoils system to employ their associates. This helped strengthen his position by giving him a good foundation on which to build his administration. Congress also showed much approval of him by passing many of his new programs. The fact that the Executive and Legislative Branches worked well together as a cohesive whole added great strength to his presidency. The Judiciary Branch, however, wasn’t quite as cooperative. As shown in Document F, the Supreme Court declared the NRA unconstitutional. The NRA was an administration passed by Congress that allowed the government to regulate business practices to ensure that they respected the workers while holding policies conducive to the growth of the economy. The Supreme Court decided that the President did not have the authority to impose on private business. The Supreme Court was an obstacle to the New Deal. Also declared unconstitutional was the AAA. The AAA granted subsidies to farmers who would burn their crops in order to stimulate crop prices. However, the money for this was obtained from taxes on the processing industry. The Supreme Court deemed this an abuse of taxation power. The Court was the weak link in his administration. So, Roosevelt came up with a plan to make the court more favorable to his plans. He proposed that for every justice over seventy years of age, a new justice would be appointed, reasoning that the older justices were not in tune with the times. Congress believed the President was going too far and it didn’t get through. Fortunately for Roosevelt, a few of the justices either died or retired, so he was able to appoint more favorable justices and therefore strengthen his power. Document H shows the approval that the people had for his plans. They praised his method of revitalizing the government and rejuvenating the court. For the most part, his plans were accepted as progress, and this also helped to strengthen his power, because he had the support of the people. Their faith in his work gave him much more credibility and power.

Overall, the people were very happy with President Roosevelt and he commanded their faith. One of the first actions he took to claim their faith was to declare a bank holiday. The government would shut down all banks and inspect them, only allowing those practicing sound banking practices to reopen. This restored the people’s faith in the U. S. currency and gave them faith in their government. As seen in Document E, one of the techniques he used was Social Security. This plan was originally proposed by Dr. Townsend, who saw that more money needed to circulate in the economy, and proposed that all senior citizens receive $200 from the government per month with the stipulation that it must be spent that month. Roosevelt adopted the idea, and the people, who were facing hard economic times, welcomed the cash support. Roosevelt couldn’t please everyone however, as seen in Documents I and A, which concern the treatment of women and African-Americans in the New Deal. President Roosevelt made a great effort to include the African-Americans in the New Deal. However, he did fail them a few times, as seen in the editorial from The Crisis. In reality though, this was the first time the government took an active role in providing for the African-Americans. Previous governments ignored them, turning a blind eye to the violence and racial segregation that prevailed most noticeably in the South. African-Americans lived in fear of being lynched. They could not use the same facilities as