Evaluation of President Roosevelt's New Deal

President Roosevelts New Deal was a success. Workers, farmers, and customers all had more protection than they ever had before. Roosevelt received many negative reactions through his acts, however, the long-term effect of them made for a positive outcome in society.

The New Deal worked to fix many issues in different industries. One of the first action of the New Deal was to eliminate child labor, set a maximum number of hours in a work week, and establish a minimum wage for workers. Roosevelt continued to work in various businesses by establishing the Tennessee Valley Act. This allowed for damns to be built in order to make and sell electricity to surrounding areas at reasonable price. This promoted growth in farming, reforestation, and local businesses. Flooding was no longer an issues and electricity was readily available to people who had never experienced it before. Roosevelt continued into to make improvements in the financial industry by creating the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. This gave banks cash grants to help penniless banks. This still was not enough, so the Civil Works Administration was created to put four million people to work. This helped to give people jobs and improve the economy. Roosevelt did not stop there. He went on to create the Civilian Conservation Corps that gave urban young men the opportunity to work in a military-like outdoor camp that focused on nature and agriculture. Michael Holmes states in ‘The New Deal and Georgia’s Black Youth’ that “The CCC was by far the most popular New Deal agency in Georgia” (Holmes 443). The New Deal improved problems in all these areas bringing society together in a more successful way.

The Federal government helped to provide electricity to cities that had never been able to access it. Reformers were wanting the great dam at Muscle Shoals to be completed after being abandoned in world war 1. The dam would improve many aspects of their lives and the surrounding cities. Citizens urged for this so much that legislation and supported by Roosevelt and enacted by congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority. Congress created Federal Housing Administration to ensure mortgages for new builds and repairs. During this time mortgage relief was going on. The New Deal was attempting to aid farm and homeowners with their mortgages but still around one fourth of landowners lost their property. Many people were scrambling at the time, but with the help from the government, society was able to get back on its feet.

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Americans were very negative and hateful towards Roosevelt after the creation of the New Deal. People would ignore him and even say rude names as he walked by.  In the book The Unfinished Nation, Alan Brinkley states “The most frequent criticisms of the New Deal involved its failure to revive or reform the American Economy” (Brinkley 608). His critics did not like the new taxes even though they only effected a small amount of rich people. Rumors started stating that Roosevelt was mentally insane and addicted to drugs. Other critics were calmer simply stating that Roosevelt had become more obsessed with communism that independence. Americans were not very pleased with the New Deal and it was extremely evident by the backlash Roosevelt was getting.

Conservatives were Roosevelts biggest enemy. They created a group called Liberty League. The main purpose of the league was to get towns rallied up about the New Deal. The Liberty League felt the New Deal was attacking free enterprise. The group grew tremendously in two years. They considered themselves as a league to defend the constitution and protect its rights and liberties. The main purpose was to teach the respect of right for a person and their property. They wanted to teach the duty of government and protect individual enterprise. Although the group caused a scene, it did not make a change in the New Deal.

The New Deal created a shocking event in woman’s history. Roosevelt hired the first female member of the cabinet. He also gave over one hundred other women job positions in lower levels of the federal bureaucracy. Although the New Deal was not a gender equality mission, it helped to accept women in the workplace as a cultural norm. The New Deal also helped to promote economic growth, created many relief programs, and had a major effect on the integrity of American Politics. The New York Times states “The New Deal’s experiment with Federal Relief stands out as the most important and most controversial issue in the whole field of the New Deal policy, It is named as ‘the greatest accomplishment of the Roosevelt administration…’” (New York Times).  The main legacy the New Deal gave was a sense of possibility through our country. The New Deal exemplified the significance of the government in providing protections from the unpredictable economy

The New Deal didn’t end the great depression but did help improve the lives of the people effected by the poverty. The purpose of the new deal was to relieve the stress of unemployment and poverty. Roosevelt tried to reform the economy and prevent disaster, essentially wanting to bring the Great Depression to an end. However, only some of those efforts worked.  Unemployment and poverty levels were high through the entire New Deal. Although there were changes made in the economy, it did not drastically change to be the reason the great depression ended. The New Deal did help the Great Depression from getting worse and some of the programs helped the citizens suffering but other Americans were able to come up with more effective economic ideas to protect the future.

In conclusion, Roosevelts New Deal was successful. There were many negative comments and unsuccessful outcomes with the trial and error that comes with reformation, but overall the positive lasting effects outweigh the setbacks leading to a successful program.

Works Cited

• Brinkley, Alan. “The New Deal.” An Unfinished Nation, McGraw Hill, 2018, www.mhlearnsmart.com/flow/smartbook.html?role=S&assignmentDueDate=2020-03-09%2B03%3A59%3A00&isbn=1259283704&isEbookAccess=true§ionId=117682167&externalProductId=A9L0144977&assignmentId=233204535&userId=32461305&key=0c2c4470da24ce437877403a5447485c&instructorId=1296657&ts=1582073044630§ionName=SPC2112-P01%2B%5BSPRING%2B2020%5D&lastName=Watts&firstName=Stephanie&isBlackBoardUrl=false&isLMSRequest=false&timeZone=-5.0§ionURL=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.mheducation.com%2Fconnect%2FhmStudentSectionHomePortal.do%3FsectionId%3D117682167&ebookLinkUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.mheducation.com%2Fconnect%2FhmEBook.do&email=.
• Holmes, Michael S. “The New Deal and Georgia’s Black Youth.” Valdosta State University Online Courses, 1933, vsu.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/dropbox/2003749/1890438/DownloadAttachment?fid=35917083.
• “Relief Top Issue.” Valdosta State University Online Courses, New York Times, 1939, vsu.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/dropbox/2003749/1890438/DownloadAttachment?fid=35917084.