Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected after President Herbert Hoover in 1932. FDR believed that he could save the country from the Depression, and held philosophies that were very different from Hoover's. Hoover had a philosophy that the government should not be involved in business or economic activity in the United States, and should not give any financial assistance to citizens who needed it. During the Great Depression, his negligence for the help Americans so desperately needed made the recession much more severe. Franklin D. Roosevelt thought much differently: he believed that the economy would improve if the government helped Americans get back on their feet by establishing new laws, programs, and reforms. Roosevelt knew that during an economic crisis, the government and Americans had to work together to improve things, and not let Americans fend for themselves. He promised Americans he would wage "war" against the great depression and use these new programs as his weaponry. His "New Deal", starting in 1933 with the second "New Deal" in 1935, did just that, and it helped slowly recover the United States from the Great Depression.
"The First 100 Days"The first 100 days of Roosevelt's presidency were devoted to putting America back on track after taking a hefty beating from the Great Depression. Americans were suffering from homelessness, unemployment, hunger and sickness, but FDR's "New Deal" was aimed at ending these problems and improving the quality of life for the people of the United States.
The "New Deal" included new programs and reforms that would help to eliminate the hardships Americans were facing through the three R's: relief, recovery, and reform. Relief programs gave federal loans to families so they could afford food, clothing, and shelter. Recovery plans were meant to jump-start the economy and get it running smoothly again by starting new works projects that would employ millions of jobless people. Reforms were designed to prevent the causes of the Great Depression from happening again, including the FDIC to protect citizens from losing their savings if banks failed. |
Quotations from Franklin D. Roosevelt"In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up or else all go down as one people."
Roosevelt strongly believed that the government should be more involved in business and the economy. This quote emphasizes this belief that progress is not possible without help from the government, otherwise the country would come to a downward spiral. He recognizes that people are independent at heart, but still need some assistance, in this case, from the government. "Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now." Former President Herbert Hoover believed in rugged individualism, and during the Great Depression, this philosophy was not improving the economy by any means. Roosevelt promised Americans he would improve the economy by letting the government get more involved in business and economic activity and actually working towards the progress of recovering from the Depression. "Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources." Franklin Roosevelt promised he would help end the Great Depression by establishing new programs including the "New Deal." These projects would help get Americans get back to work, as well as give them federal loans to help them get back on their feet. This quote refers to the Works Projects Administration and projects like it that employed millions of people who lost their jobs. Projects like these stimulated the economy and helped to improve the quality of the environment across the country. |