The United States of America was going through economic turmoil during the Great Depression. The stock market had crashed and unemployment was sky-high. One thing that helped the United States get out of this economic crisis was president Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. This is explained in chapter 4 “Reflation and Relief” written by by Eric Rauchways. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was able to slowly rebuild the United States economy and create new jobs for citizens.
One way the New Deal was able to rebuild the economy was by creating new jobs. The United States during this time began to give out direct aid to help people that were poor and unemployed, however Roosevelt believed in the idea of work relief. Roosevelt and many other congressmen believed that if young men remained unemployed and unable to provide for their families, they would eventually abandoned them. In the chapter “Reflation and Relief” it says “The spring of 1935 brought a new Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, giving the president nearly $5 billion for relief projects including highways, conservation, irrigation, electrification, housing”(Rauchways). This quote shows how many projects were opened up by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act. These projects opened up several job opportunities for unemployed workers. Other things such as the CCC also played a big impact in reducing unemployment rates. Young unemployed men would be able to provide for their families by going to camps run by the United States war department. Work relief also added a sense of pride in the workers that direct relief would not have done. In the chapter “Reflation and Relief” it says “Between the immediate effects of relief, which gave Americans not just something to spend, but the ability to regard themselves again as decent and productive citizens”(Rauchways). This quote shows the pride that Americans feel when they are given work and not just handed money.
Another way the Roosevelt was able to fix the economy was to help the banks. He did this by passing the emergency banking act. This act allowed the Federal Reserve System more control over the currency. the main goal of this act was to allow more money to be available. Another thing Roosevelt did to fix the economy was to decrease inflation. One way Roosevelt was able to do this was increase interest rates and moving away from the gold standard.
In conclusion Franklin D. Roosevelt and his policies helped the United States get out of the Great Depression. Roosevelt was able to fix the banks by giving more power to the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve System was able to regulate the money that was coming into the economy. The New Deal was also able to drop unemployment by opening up several new jobs. In the chapter “Reflation and Relief” it says “But its policymakers wanted to accomplish something further and different than the mere conclusion of the crisis: they wanted to make sure the Depression could not happen again. To do so, they expected to change the American political economy forever”(Rauchways). This quote shows how big of a role the New Deal has played in the history of the United States.
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