The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting Recovery of the economy during the Great Depression.

The Great Depression had devastated the nation by the time Roosevelt took office in 1933. Every bank in the nation had closed its doors and no one could cash a check or get at their savings. The unemployment rate was 25% and higher in major industrial and mining centers. Farm prices had fallen by 50%. Thousands of mortgages closed down.

Historians distinguish a "First New Deal" (1933) and a "Second New Deal" (1934-36). Some programs were declared unconstitutional, and others were repealed during World War II; in early 1937 almost no new programs were initiated because of the opposition of the new Conservative Coalition.

The "First New Deal" (March 4, 1933) dealt with groups; from banking and railroads to industry and farming.

A "Second New Deal" in 1934-35 included the Wagner Act to promote labor unions, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief program, the Social Security Act, and new programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers. The Supreme Court ruled several programs unconstitutional; however, most were soon replaced, with the exception of the NRA. After 1936, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was the only major legislation; it set maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers.

The WPA, CCC and other relief programs were shut down during World War II by the Conservative Coalition (i.e., the opponents of the New Deal in Congress); they argued the return of full employment made them superfluous. Many regulations were ended during the wave of deregulation from 1975 to 1989. Several New Deal programs remain active, with some still operating under the original names, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The largest programs still in existence today are the Social Security System, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Fannie Mae.

The New Deal was the name President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to the series of programs between 1933–1937 with the goal of relief, recovery and reform of the United States economy during the Great Depression.

Sourced

• I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt, accepting the Democratic nomination for President - July 2, 1932.

• Fascism was really the basis for the New Deal. It was Mussolini's success in Italy, with his government-directed economy, that led the early New Dealers to say "But Mussolini keeps the trains running on time."
  • Ronald Reagan in May 17, 1976 Time Magazine.

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• The New Deal is plainly an attempt to achieve a working socialism and avert a social collapse in America; it is extraordinarily parallel to the successive 'policies' and 'Plans' of the Russian experiment. Americans shirk the word 'socialism', but what else can one call it?
  • H.G. Wells

• My decision on this matter is as certain and final as death and the staggering New Deal taxes.
  • Thomas E. Dewey

• Instead of the administration being so eager to dismantle the New Deal, we should be working together to offer the American people a New New Deal.
  • Ron Kind

• There is some evidence that some New Deal programs in some of the states discriminated against blacks. But I have been sort of - I've been impressed overall with the relatively fair treatment that blacks received during the New Deal.
  • William Julius Wilson

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Sun May 3 23:04:28 2009