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Essay / The influence of the “New Deal” on the lives of Americans
Elected in 1933 during the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt led America during the country's greatest crises. His term, which lasted twelve years, focused on protecting the country against totalitarian states and stabilizing the country's economy. After the crash of 1929, FDR came to power as the country was mired in a horrific and debilitating recession that not only sapped its material wealth and spiritual strength, but also cast a pall over its future. FDR's solution was the New Deal – an experimental series of programs, financial regulations, and socio-economic policies adopted during the first six years of Roosevelt's term aimed at relieving, reforming, and recovering the United States. In response to the Great Depression, FDR implemented various policies and programs as part of his New Deal that would forever change the role of the federal government in the United States. The New Deal, by reforming government involvement, restored people's confidence in the economy and brought relief to the poor. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayAfter the stock market crash, Franklin D. Roosevelt took unprecedented steps to involve the government in the economy. His policies aimed not only to stabilize the economy in the short term, but also to avoid future recessions by implementing stricter regulations. During his first and second terms as president, FDR created numerous programs, work projects, and administrations focused on reducing unemployment and stabilizing the economy. Roosevelt believed that economic recovery depended on cooperation at the expense of competition, and therefore he created the NIRA, specifically designed to limit competition while allowing both prices and wages to rise. Unfortunately for the president, this controversial administration was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 and represents one of FDR's many failed initiatives. Although not all of Roosevelt's policies were successful, his experimental approach to politics bore fruit with the introduction of supreme regulatory administrations. and laws. Indeed, FDR wanted not only to fix the current economy, but also to establish a permanent preventative solution to avoid future recessions. One notable action was the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which created both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to monitor the stock market and control illegal practices. During the 1920s, around 20 million shareholders took advantage of the post-war prosperity and decided to make their fortune in the stock market. Research concluded that of the $50 billion in securities offered during this period, half became worthless. Based on this discovery, Congress passed the Securities Act of 1933. This act, along with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, aimed to restore investor confidence in the stock market by providing capitalists with more reliable information and clear guidelines for honesty. For example, companies offering a share of their business in exchange for money must now tell the public the truth about their business and the potential risks of investing. People who sold and traded stocks with investors' money also had to treat their customers fairly and justly, putting the investors' interests ahead of their own. FDR's policiesshaped the United States and have proven useful even today: in recent history, JP Morgan Chase had to pay a $13 billion fine to the SEC. The bank is responsible for paying fines and penalties due to the illegal sale of mortgages and deception of financial institutions during the 2008 financial crisis. The Glass-Steagall Act as well as the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation served insurance for the people, its goal was to eliminate uncertainty regarding banks by insuring $2,500 per person in the event of a bank failure. Consumers were therefore protected by the American financial system. This act led people to reinvest their money in banks, as they were now insured in case the bank failed. Since the Crash, people had been withdrawing large amounts of money from banks, and this act saved many of them from bankruptcy. Today, the FDIC insures deposits of up to $250,000 and was instrumental in helping consumers during the financial crash of 2008. The Banking Act of 1933 also placed a cap on interest rates banks to avoid debt and separated commercial banks from investment banks. At the time, the involvement of commercial banks in stock market investments was seen as the main culprit for the financial crash, as they took too many risks with depositors' money. An effective way to simultaneously improve a country's morale and economy is to create jobs. Knowing this, FDR introduced over four different programs just for this purpose, including the CWA, the CCC, and the WPA. Making unprecedented progress in federal involvement, some of FDR's proposals were doomed to abandonment. The CWA was an employment effort that lasted only a year before disbanding. During that time, 12 million feet of sewer pipes, 255,000 miles of roads, 40,000 schools, 3,700 playgrounds, and nearly 1,000 airports were built or improved; a surprisingly productive but expensive feat that still makes itself useful today. While some of FDR's policies would fail, be declared unconstitutional, or simply too costly, Roosevelt persevered and continued to support new initiatives to resolve the crisis. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work relief program that gave millions of young men jobs on environmental projects during the Great Depression. Considered by many to be one of Roosevelt's most successful New Deal programs, the CCC was also environmentally friendly, planting more than three billion trees and providing trails and shelters in more than 800 parks across the country. The CCC not only improved morale and the economy, but also shaped national parks through the construction of nature refuges, fish farming facilities, water reservoirs, and animal shelters. Like the CCC, the WPA was instrumental in creating jobs and building infrastructure; it created federal construction jobs across the country, affecting millions of previously unemployed people. He created bridges, post offices, schools and highways and even gave work to artists and musicians. Roosevelt's New Deal, while aiming for economic prosperity, also focused on helping the poor. During FDR's tenure, citizens saw government be more present in people's lives than ever before. Before his election terms, intellectuals debated whether government should be directly involved in people's lives, and after them, they questioned to what extent government should.