History Coursework
“We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work… I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started… And an enormous debt to boot!” May 6, 1939. Henry Morgenthau, U.S. Secretary of Treasury.
The New Deal, a policy containing a series of domestic programs projected towards re-establishing the USA’s economic strength after the catastrophic Wall Street Crash, was installed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933, and is to this day one of the most controversial arguments of pre-World War II America. However, as debated as it might be, I believe the New Deal clearly does not deserve the glory with which it is entitled, and is in fact, in my view, an evidently …show more content…
It is often argued that although the New Deal’s actions did not drag the American population out of the Great Depression, it marked a revolutionary “step” out of the extremist policies of rugged individualism, turning America into a more “passionate” and caring society, caused by the preposterous amounts of money invested into providing welfare for the poor. This was also considered as a political suicide survived by Roosevelt in terms of ideology that was often correlated to the one of communism, making him lose massive amounts of votes. These actions led Roosevelt and his New Deal to be considered as the “saviours” of the minorities, but I believe this title is false. Not only did Roosevelt fail to address all of the weak individuals in society, but in fact, he went far from it. The New Deal and its policies excluded more than 12% of the American population: Black Americans. Almost 12 million African Americans were ignored by the New Deal’s aids to minorities, and in some cases, even oppressed. Some Alphabet Agencies even worked against Black Americans, such as the AAA, otherwise known as Agricultural Adjustment Agency, or even the “Blue Eagle”, the National Recovery Administration, which outrageously allowed Black American workers to be paid sometimes half as much as the white ones—for the same jobs. This policy was in fact implemented by the agency’s leader, Hugh S. Johnson, who was later ironically nominated “Man Of The Year” by F.D. Roosevelt himself. However Black American segregation under the New Deal does not end here. In 1934 and 1937 two Anti-Lynching bills were introduced into Congress—both declined because of Roosevelt disregarding them. New Deal agricultural policies provided aids based on a farmer's land and production, which meant they mainly helped big farmers with the most property and output. The New Deal displaced poor sharecroppers and tenant farmers, a large number of
“We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work… I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started… And an enormous debt to boot!” May 6, 1939. Henry Morgenthau, U.S. Secretary of Treasury.
The New Deal, a policy containing a series of domestic programs projected towards re-establishing the USA’s economic strength after the catastrophic Wall Street Crash, was installed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933, and is to this day one of the most controversial arguments of pre-World War II America. However, as debated as it might be, I believe the New Deal clearly does not deserve the glory with which it is entitled, and is in fact, in my view, an evidently …show more content…
It is often argued that although the New Deal’s actions did not drag the American population out of the Great Depression, it marked a revolutionary “step” out of the extremist policies of rugged individualism, turning America into a more “passionate” and caring society, caused by the preposterous amounts of money invested into providing welfare for the poor. This was also considered as a political suicide survived by Roosevelt in terms of ideology that was often correlated to the one of communism, making him lose massive amounts of votes. These actions led Roosevelt and his New Deal to be considered as the “saviours” of the minorities, but I believe this title is false. Not only did Roosevelt fail to address all of the weak individuals in society, but in fact, he went far from it. The New Deal and its policies excluded more than 12% of the American population: Black Americans. Almost 12 million African Americans were ignored by the New Deal’s aids to minorities, and in some cases, even oppressed. Some Alphabet Agencies even worked against Black Americans, such as the AAA, otherwise known as Agricultural Adjustment Agency, or even the “Blue Eagle”, the National Recovery Administration, which outrageously allowed Black American workers to be paid sometimes half as much as the white ones—for the same jobs. This policy was in fact implemented by the agency’s leader, Hugh S. Johnson, who was later ironically nominated “Man Of The Year” by F.D. Roosevelt himself. However Black American segregation under the New Deal does not end here. In 1934 and 1937 two Anti-Lynching bills were introduced into Congress—both declined because of Roosevelt disregarding them. New Deal agricultural policies provided aids based on a farmer's land and production, which meant they mainly helped big farmers with the most property and output. The New Deal displaced poor sharecroppers and tenant farmers, a large number of