The most active First Hundred Days was under president Franklin Delano Roosevelts first term. In a desperate attempt to solving the woes of the American population, FDR and his Congress passed more bills than any other president-congressional combination as ever done in their first impression time period. FDRs domestic policy, known more widely as the New Deal, was intended to be a group of innovative measures to counteract the effects of the Great Depression. Roosevelt and the U.
S. Congress, trying to reduce unemployment, restore prosperity and return a sense of morale to American citizens, endorsed a wide variety of bills creating new federal programs and agencies. These agencies were known as alphabet agencies due to their titles that included many different letters (i. e. , WPA, FERA, TVA). Although the New Deal was initiated to return prosperity to the American economy, in the long run, the New Deal was probably the worst policy ever started.
Though providing quick relief to some areas of depression, the New Deal was overall a very socialist, perhaps even communist plan. Controlling prices, giving out jobs, commanding water flow, were just some of the many practices engaged in by the government tat went against capitalistic American point of views. Some agencies did do good, however. The New Deals dealing with the banks was performed very well.
It returned trust in leaving money in the banks with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This act insured investors deposits in banks tat were members of the FDIC. Also, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which set guidelines for the stock market to prevent speculation like that that led to the Great Depression. Despite those agencies mentioned above, the other creations of the New Deal led to nothing but trouble in the long run.
Agencies such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Public Works Act (PWA) created jobs for none other than young white men, excluding women and blacks to a large degree. These agencies provided so-called jobs to men, though they were not considered jobs to critics of the program, who called them boondoggling jobs. Some people were required to dig a trench, then fill it in again just so they could get a salary and say they had a job. Conservatives condemned this as a waste of government funds. The Tennessee Valley Authority, or the TVA, was created mainly to set standards for electric rates, but also for jobs, reforestation and flood control.
In the program, Congress measured the cost of providing electricity to this region and determined standard rates. Conservatives declared that Congress was pouring socialism in concrete. This meant that by building the dams, the government gained the ability to control prices, a socialist concept. Also accursed as socialist was the National Recovery Administration, or NRA, which set up standard competitive codes for each industry, again giving government control of industry. Programs were also set up that supported organized labor, possibly a reason why Americans today are considered lazy in the work place. Organized labor provided job security which limited productivity and created a sense of security in workers but also made them slack off a little bit.
Government also set maximum hours and minimum wage with the Fair Labor Standards Act, another attempt at a socialist principle. Perhaps the most-felt part of the New Deal today was the Social Security Act. This program tipped-off the development of the $5 trillion debt this country faces today. It provided a retirement fund, unemployment insurance, and welfare grants.
This act flung many low class Americans into welfare and many have stayed their for generations. It created welfare state at the time and provided too many handouts to Americans. Another program creating a significant debt for this country was the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). It controlled produce prices by paying subsidies to farmers for not growing their crops. In order to retain jobs for farmers, government raised prices for farm products so competition couldnt be a factor. Another attempt at socialism which was not well appreciated by the right hand side of government.
FDRs New Deal did little to solve the problems of the country. It did more damage than good in the long run. After FDRs first term, the recession was still ongoing and nothing brought the country out of it until World War II. WWII would have brought the country out of the depression regardless of any policy Congress took towards it. The government over-taxed the rich and spent amounts of money greater than what they had coming in. If the New Deal succeeded in one thing, it was leading this country to the $5 trillion debt it faces today.
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