Essay/Term paper: Evaluation of the new deal

Essay, term paper, research paper:  American History

Franklin D. Roosevelt brought the new deal into American life in the early thirties. Its purpose was to overcome the depression. Following the depression there were many programs and acts to help the nation recover from the depression. The "forgotten Americans" were the citizens who needed the new deal to benefit their poverty-stricken way of life. These people were the blacks, women, immigrants, and the many people who suffered from the lack of monetary supplement.

Unemployment was one of the biggest issues to strike the "forgotten Americans."

The new deal provided helping programs such as the Social securities act, WPA, and the federal Emergency Relief Act to lower unemployment and to help those who couldn't work. Checks could be received by those who were poor because of the Social Securities Act. The WPA, led by Harry Hopkins, was built to help artists and musicians obtain a steady form of employment that would help lift the nations" spirit. The federal Emergency Relief Act provided relief money for a limited time to those workers who had been laid off. For the black workers, the NAACP was created; it was one of the most important groups fighting for the rights of blacks and is still involved in the black community today. Minorities were still unchanged in the labors. Even under the new deal, blacks were treated unfair. Women were also treated very poorly when it came to the labor situation. They were given the so-called women's jobs, such as teachers, clerks, typists, nurses, and textile workers. Unions for blacks and women were rare until John Lewis formed the CIO, a union anyone could join, no matter what race they were. The CIO was one of the top unions in the nation. The new deal had again failed with the creation of the AF of L. The AF of L was a division of many craft unions, sanctioned by the teamsters that had great political influence in during the depression.

Government jobs and political rights were a goal for the new deal to let more Americans have access to the pleasures that any white man could have. The Shocking "grand father" laws were passed and forced Americans to take tests for the eligibility to vote. For certain minority groups, the tests would be made especially hard and a black person would almost never pass these tests. FDR spoke out against blacks being segregated from government jobs. "Black cabinets" or "black brain trust" became advisors of the president. William Hastie and Mary Leod Bethune were of the top names in this group of African Americans. They helped thousands to stay in school and learn new trades. With the help of Eleanor Roosevelt, many women took jobs at the White House. In 1936 the democratic convention declared that every platform should have an alternate of the opposite sex. The WPA hosted top jobs for women who worked in government. The most important of the women was Francis Perkins who became the first female cabinet member in the position of secretary of labor, and Florence Allen who was a judge of the circuit court of appeals.

Farmers were down to nothing after the depression. The AAA helped keep the farmers balanced by "plowing under" crops. The Farm Credit Act allowed farmers to refinance mortgages at the lowest rates. The overall outlook started to get better for the Farmers until the Dust bowl destroyed much of what the Midwest farmers had. They needed desperate help, quickly. No law could give farmers what they needed. In 1933 the government stepped in and created the soil erosion services; farmers were also taught ways of farming that would compensate for the drought. The soil conservation act aimed to promote and reduce surplus soil conservation.

The new deal had actually helped many of the problems the nation was suffering following the depression. The most dedicated person who helped the "forgotten people" was none other than Eleanor Roosevelt. Even while FDR was injured she traveled preaching the opportunities that were made by the new deal. When Farmers needed a hand overcoming the great drought known as the dust bowl, the new deal once again came to the rescue.