The Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 up until 1941, defines the time period when there was a financial and industrial collapse in America, causing unemployment rates to skyrocket, as well as the amount of homeless people. Caused by the constant speculation and buying on margin that took place so frequently in the stock market, the Great Depression left America in just that state of mind: depressed. Republican Herbert Hoover was elected president of the United States in 1928 after a race against democrat Al Smith. Hoover believed in three concepts that would contribute to the initiation of the Great Depression: rugged individualism, the belief that citizens should not rely on the government but themselves in order to create a well-lived life, voluntary cooperation, the idea that all people, businesses, and the government should help each other out without any sort of forcing from the government, and lastly Hoover believed that the economy has cycles of highs and lows. With little government action and effort to keep the economy booming, Hoover’s beliefs consequently were a reason that the Great Depression prolonged. In 1932, Hoover ran against democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) in 1932, and lost against him. FDR created a system that he hoped would restore and stabilize the economy: the New Deal Plan. The New Deal consisted of what was called the “three R’s”: reform, correcting the defects in the system that would last from the present till the future, relief, short term money granted to those in need, and recovery, the stimulation of industrialization and the economy. FDR also believed in a “try anything approach,” unlike Hoover who essentially sat back and watched the financial crisis unravel. With a more effective plan and a motive to save the country’s continuously failing economy, FDR’s New Deal was a success as it restored and renourished America. Reform was the first essential move in reimposing the financial structure in America and many of FDR’s newly implemented programs helped boost the country back to it’s normal and stable state. Document 3 mentions the necessary action for the government to implement relief activities in order to advocate awareness of labor troubles, promote higher wages, shorter hours, and less profits for businesses. Programs such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) aided causes of the Great Depression, so in order to salvage the country, FDR started by fixing the issues with these systems by enacting these programs. By doing so, FDR created a stable foundation for America to get back on its feet. Document 4 portrays the massive amounts of different relief programs that FDR created,
…show more content…
Document 3 proves this as it depicts the growth of the total government debt over the course of twelve years. During Hoover’s presidency, the debt grew from $16.9 billion to $19.5 billion and once FDR took office, it only kept growing. Immediately, the expenditures, deficit, and overall debt were rapidly increasing, the total debt reaching an all-time high of $44 billion dollars. FDR’s programs only sunk the government further into debt, leaving behind yet another trail of stressors for the country to worry about. However, that just signified that he was putting in as much effort as he possibly could in order to renourish the nation. Document 4 also emphasizes the fact that the U.S was being thrown further into debt and that FDR’s programs were not quite doing the job. America was still in a record-breaking recession even with New Deal programs, so how much of a difference were they actually making? All of the job programs and changes to inefficient industries actually gave millions of Americans a place to start; those who found work were able to continue developing in a healthy way that would set up a stable foundation for their own life. Lastly, document 5 depicts the unemployment rates from 1933-1945 and that it took nearly a decade to bring the unemployment rate to under 5%. While it took that long to bring down the …show more content…
By creating a stable foundation, keeping an open mind, and sticking through with his plan to turn the country around, FDR’s response to the Great Depression exemplified the intent of the federal government much better than Hoover’s did. With more structure, effort, and optimism, FDR successfully restored the
Document 3 proves this as it depicts the growth of the total government debt over the course of twelve years. During Hoover’s presidency, the debt grew from $16.9 billion to $19.5 billion and once FDR took office, it only kept growing. Immediately, the expenditures, deficit, and overall debt were rapidly increasing, the total debt reaching an all-time high of $44 billion dollars. FDR’s programs only sunk the government further into debt, leaving behind yet another trail of stressors for the country to worry about. However, that just signified that he was putting in as much effort as he possibly could in order to renourish the nation. Document 4 also emphasizes the fact that the U.S was being thrown further into debt and that FDR’s programs were not quite doing the job. America was still in a record-breaking recession even with New Deal programs, so how much of a difference were they actually making? All of the job programs and changes to inefficient industries actually gave millions of Americans a place to start; those who found work were able to continue developing in a healthy way that would set up a stable foundation for their own life. Lastly, document 5 depicts the unemployment rates from 1933-1945 and that it took nearly a decade to bring the unemployment rate to under 5%. While it took that long to bring down the …show more content…
By creating a stable foundation, keeping an open mind, and sticking through with his plan to turn the country around, FDR’s response to the Great Depression exemplified the intent of the federal government much better than Hoover’s did. With more structure, effort, and optimism, FDR successfully restored the