Few would argue that the Great Depression was an economic catastrophe. Americans had never experienced such an extensive series of economic setbacks. Immediately after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) attempted to calm the citizens, reestablish, and revitalize …show more content…
At the same time, he called for a 4 day banking holiday in order to get control of the banking crisis. FDR spoke to the American public via a radio address, during which time he explained the banking situation and when banks would begin reopen. He informed them that not all banks would open at the same time. Providing one more reassurance FDR told the public that their money was now safer in a bank than in their homes. Banks began to reopen on March 13, and gold began to flow into the banks, FDR was a hero, and his radio broadcasts now referred to as “fireside chats” had proven to be a successful medium for FDR to communicate with his …show more content…
Over production of wheat and other produce had dropped market prices so low that farmers were unable to maintain upkeep on their farms and afford their mortgages and taxes. FDR understood the important the nations farmers were to the national economy, and he realized he had to stabilize farm prices and limit quantities. However, complicating his effort were a series of severe droughts that gripped the Great Plains states. The climatic condition, the lack of rain, combined with hot, arid winds moving from West to East culminated in the formation of the “Dust Bowl.” This man-made and natural disaster would be the ruin for many Midwestern farmers. FDR had to do something to help the farmers. Sixty percent of American workers had direct ties to farming or farm products. The federal government relied heavily on the farming industry’s tax revenues. Regretfully, due to the state of the economy, the federal government was limited financially in how it could respond to the farmer’s plight. In an effort to help the farming industry and the economy, FDR authorized and pushed through Congress the Agricultural Adjustment Act