Roosevelts New Deal Essays

Roosevelts New Deal Essays Roosevelts New Deal Essay Roosevelts New Deal Essay In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt won the presidential election with 57% of the vote. His predecessor was Herbert Hoover, a Republican who believed in the policies of rugged individualism and laissez-faire. This election took place during the Great Depression. Although Hoover during his presidential period tried to introduce policies that would improve the standard of life of those struck by unemployment and poverty as a result of the Depression, the situation barely improved. After the lame duck period from November 1932 to March 1933, President Roosevelt came into power. He intended to bring America out of Depression by restoring hope and faith into the people, and by direct aid through relief (handouts to relieve poverty and stop people from losing homes or farms), through recovery (revive the economy and help unemployment rates) and through reform (introduce aid measures such as social security and pensions for people in the USA). Roosevelt achieved the latter through a series of agencies and policies to relieve the Depression, which collectively became known as the New Deal. Some examples of these policies which related to relief were the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. These policies involved direct government aid and initiative, and therefore were seen as a change to society from Hoovers laissez-faire ideals. Recovery was initiated in acts such as the National Industry Recovery Act and the Tennessee Valley Authority. As the government had previously not been involved heavily in the business sector, this was a drastic change. With the Bank Holiday of 1933, Roosevelt closed down all banks, so that the government could reorganize them, which it did with the Emergency Banking Relief Act (authorized government to monitor the banks finances to determine its condition) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) of 1933 (provided an insurance of deposits in banks to a maximum of $100,000 per depositor, which meant that if the banks crashed, the government would compensate for the individuals deposited money). This boosted the publics confidence and bank deposits, which restored the banks ability to invest in other businesses with its new monetary source. With the banks investment, many new businesses formed and developed while old ones reopened and began to recover from the Great Depression. Not only that, the Home Owners Loan Corporation and the Farm Credit Administration, by providing refinancing, low interests, and mortgages, the two encouraged people to borrow money from the banks, which increased the source of income for the banks to flourish and invest in other businesses. In addition, the Securities Act of 1933, which created the Securities and Exchange Commission, ensured the soundness of stocks and bonds by forbidding the speculative business practices (for example, stock-watering) that led to the Wall Streets crash, further hindering the possibility of another crash of businesses. Finally, the National Recovery Administration guaranteed profits to businesses by setting minimum prices on certain goods. Indeed, Roosevelts first New Deal was composed of numerous legislatives that helped businesses revive. Of course, that didnt mean that the first New Deal was completely unfavorable to labor. The National Recovery Administration gave workers the rights to organize into a union and bargain as a union with its employers. Also, it established provisions for guaranteeing fair wages and hours for labor by setting standards for wages, labor hours, and expected production levels. Not only that, it provided millions with desperately needed jobs. However, despite the aid given to the laborers, the first New Deal stopped short at providing jobs and few laborer rights, while the significant right to unionize was declared unconstitutional in the case of Schecter v US. Thus, the first New Deal benefited the businesses more significantly than it did to labor. Roosevelts second New Deal, by contrast, favored labor by improving the laborers conditions with new numerous legislatives. It provided a significant number of jobs to the unemployed. For example, the Works Progressive Administration of 1935 employed 3.4 million men and women in its first year of constructing public works, and 9 million over a period of 8 years. Secondly, it provided desperately demanded reforms regarding laborers rights. For example with the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the laborers were granted the right to organize into unions and to bargain as a union with their employers, and this was not declared unconstitutional, unlike the NRA of Roosevelts first New Deal. Also, this outlawed business practices that were deemed unfair to laborers, and the National Labor Relations Board was established in order to enforce those aforementioned rights. The acts success in benefiting the cause of labor was reflected by the creation of the Congress of Industrial Organizat ions, which was a significant and successful union of the unskilled laborers. In addition, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 further favored the laborers by setting the maximum limit of working hours to 40 hours per week, and established minimum wages of 40 cents per hour. Furthermore, the act prohibited the employment of those under the age of 16, which was a demand by pro-laborers in the past. Finally, the second New Deal guaranteed financial assistance to the laborers. The Social Security Act of 1935 provided federal insurance, or simply monthly federal payments, to retired laborers over the age of 65, unemployed, physically disabled, dependent children and their mothers. Also, the Resettlement Administration was established under Roosevelt with the goal of resettling landless farmers to lands of better quality, providing loans to sharecroppers, tenants, and small farmers, and establishing numerous federal camps, in which destitute migrant workers could be housed in decent conditions. Overall, it could be observed that Roosevelts second New Deal granted the laborers new rights, which further improved their conditions, thus favoring labor. It is not a surprise that Roosevelt was able to gain extreme popularity with his New Deal program because he benefited both labor and business under the common objective of relieving the nation after the Great Depression: he revived the crashed businesses and granted new rights to the laborers, which improved their conditions.