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Unlock This CourseThe New Deal was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's programme of laws and agencies from 1933 to fight the Great Depression. By 1941 you can measure it against three aims: relief for the suffering, recovery of the economy and reform of the system.
Key terms:
Millions of Americans worked on New Deal schemes. The Civilian Conservation Corps, the Public Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) gave wages to people who had none. Unemployment fell from about a quarter of workers in 1933 to about one in seven by 1937.
The bank holiday and Emergency Banking Act of March 1933 reopened sound banks. The FDIC then insured deposits, so savers stopped fearing for their money. Bank failures fell sharply.
Roosevelt's calm radio 'fireside chats' and his promise of action gave Americans hope. Many working people saw him as a President who cared. He won the elections of 1936, 1940 and 1944.
Several reforms outlived the crisis. The Banking Act of 1935 gave the Federal Reserve Board more control and made deposit insurance permanent. Social Security (1935) gave pensions and unemployment insurance. The Wagner Act (1935) protected the right to join a trade union. The Tennessee Valley Authority brought cheap electricity, flood control and jobs to a poor region, and the Rural Electrification Administration spread power to farms.
Historians weigh the New Deal against its own aims. On relief it succeeded, because millions were fed and employed. On reform it succeeded, because Social Security and union rights lasted. On recovery it was only partly successful, because the Depression did not truly end until war orders arrived. A balanced answer says which of these matters most and why.
This is a Paper 2 Section A (c) question. Use Extract C, Sources A and B and your own knowledge. Give evidence that supports the view and evidence that challenges it, then reach a judgement.
Source A: From a fireside chat by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 30 September 1934.
The emergency purpose of the N.R.A. was to put men to work and since its creation more than four million persons have been reemployed ... There is no magic formula, no economic panacea, which could simply revive overnight the heavy industries and the trades dependent upon them. Nevertheless the gains of trade and industry, as a whole, have been substantial.
Source B: From the second inaugural address of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 20 January 1937.
I see millions denied education, recreation, and the opportunity to better their lot and the lot of their children. ... I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. It is not in despair that I paint you that picture.
Extract C (a practice extract written for this lesson, in the style of a modern history book)
By 1941 the New Deal had transformed America. Banks were safe, millions had work, and Social Security and trade-union rights became part of national life. Roosevelt restored confidence in a nation that had lost it. Some groups gained less, but the New Deal's achievements far outweighed its failures.
Study Extract C. Extract C suggests that the New Deal was a great success. How far do you agree with this interpretation? Use Extract C, Sources A and B and your own knowledge to explain your answer. [16 marks]
Extract C says the New Deal's achievements far outweighed its failures, and there is a good deal of support. Source A, a fireside chat of 1934, claims that 'more than four million persons have been reemployed' under the N.R.A. and that 'the gains of trade and industry, as a whole, have been substantial'. Own knowledge agrees on jobs, because the CCC, PWA and WPA employed millions and unemployment fell from about a quarter of workers in 1933 to about one in seven by 1937. The extract is also right about banks. The Emergency Banking Act reopened sound banks in 1933, and the FDIC insured savings. It is right about lasting reforms too, since Social Security and the Wagner Act remained part of American life.
However, the claim of a 'transformed' nation is too strong. Source B, from Roosevelt's own inaugural address of 1937, says he sees 'one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished' and 'millions denied education, recreation, and the opportunity to better their lot'. This is evidence from the President himself that poverty remained widespread after four years. Source A must also be treated with care, because Roosevelt was defending his own policy to voters. Own knowledge adds more. Unemployment was still over 14 per cent in 1940 and fell fast only when war orders grew. After Roosevelt cut spending in 1937, the recession pushed unemployment up to nearly one in five in 1938, which shows that recovery was fragile.
The extract admits that 'some groups gained less', but it understates how much less. Black Americans were often paid less under NRA codes, were kept in separate CCC camps and were left out of Social Security as farm workers and domestic servants. Roosevelt would not support an anti-lynching law. Many sharecroppers lost their homes when AAA payments went to landowners, and women usually received lower wages under NRA codes.
Overall I agree only in part. Banks, relief and reforms were real successes, and Source A and the extract are right to stress them. But Source B and the facts on unemployment and the 1937 recession show that the New Deal did not end the Depression. Judged by its aims of relief and reform it was a success, but judged by recovery and by fairness it was limited, so 'far outweighed' goes too far.
What lifts this to the top level: it tests the extract against both sources, notes the limits of Source A, adds precise own knowledge on both sides, brings in groups the extract plays down, and judges the extent of agreement against the New Deal's aims.
When Extract C claims success, find a source that shows what was still wrong, then use your own knowledge to say how big the problem was.