The New Deal 1932-1940 - Essay Example

It was the extreme poverty that afflicted certain sections of the society, in the backdrop of the economic recession that became the immediate provocation for a vision about a new deal. This essay is to suggest that though it was the New Deal that removed the stark social disparities that existed in the US society and paved way for the emergence of the US as a nation of equal opportunities, it cannot be called a totally fair deal when it comes to the long term welfare of social minorities and deprived groups.

Background New Deal envisaged to deal with the socio-economic threats faced by American society as during that period, the unemployment rate in US was 25%, production output was drastically decreasing, deflation was at its worse, and all major industrial sectors were under the peril of economic depression Edsforth, 22-23; 153). Relief, recovery and reform were the “3Rs” of New Deal (Edsforth, 54). The concept underlying the motto, ‘relief’, was to bring relief to the poor and unemployed sections of the society (Edsforth, 52). . ts two stages of implementation, included many people-friendly legislations including the Works Progress Administration Relief Program, which gave relief to migrant laborers who were mostly Mexicans and Black people (Edsforth, 220, 231).

The Social Security Act of this era was also an all-encompassing legislation, which provided relief to American women, Indians, and racial minorities (Edsforth, 213) . Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) was another new law that ensured minimum wages for all categories of workers and also laid down the maximum working hours (Edsforth, 277). The limits of change When the Great Depression came, Americans were unwarily celebrating the “New Era Prosperity” (Edsforth, 20). Edsforth has described this scenario by calling it “the new American dreamscape of universal mass consumption” (Edsforth, 21).

But soon the stock markets crashed, construction and automobile sectors which were having a boom declined suddenly, and these changes “indicated that the practical limits of those able to buy into the new American Dream were fast being approached” (Edsforth, 21). The wealth distribution was greatly tilted towards a small group of rich people and “nearly 80 of all families had no savings whatsoever in 1929” (Edsforth, 22). It was in this context that New Deal became an empathetic pat on the shoulder for the deprived groups.

The New Deal and American Women The most important New Deal program that could be considered, pro-woman, was the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which was introduced in 1935 (Edsforth, 288). It opened up new job opportunities for single women, widows, and women who had physically handicapped husband or whose husbands had even temporarily abandoned them. Most of these women were given jobs in sewing, cloth