History - Essay Example

History The new deal was American domestic programs enacted majorly in the period of 1933 – 1938 and with a few coming later. These series of programs included laws passed by the American congress as well as those brought in by the executive orders of the president of the US, then referred to as Franklin Roosevelt (Taylor, n.d). The programs were America’s response to the severe depression that apparently had hit the country and the entire world. As such, it focused on recovery, relief and reforms. Relief targeted unemployment and poverty, recovery on the other end focused on the economy while reforms had to do with the state’s financial systems to provide protection from a repeat of such severe depression. This series of programs changed the role of the federal government in American life.
Firstly, the new deal fundamentally redefined the relationship between the federal government and the citizens. The government took the responsibility to care for people unlike in the past. Initially, the federal government was detached from the common man and as such their financial security or propensity was not much their concern. After enactment of the new deal, the federal government financed the public service jobs which solved the problem of unemployment. The new deal created programs that targeted to keep the citizens secure like the FDIC and social security. The federal government became peoples’ prosperity and economic security provider when things would go bad coming to their rescue (Taylor, n.d).
Secondly, the role of government towards its citizens was redefined. The new deal made the government take the roles of recovery, relief as well as reform. Roosevelt’s ideologies made the government’s role more expansive unlike was the ordinary. Thus, governments took to intervene on issues that affected the public. The federal government became the source for solution of Americans problems. The reforms that targeted the banking sector and stock market brought about recovery. The federal government protected home mortgages and thus made it recover from the depression (Taylor, n.d). These efforts pioneered by Roosevelt in under the new deal programs set a precedence that was to become the role of the federal government in the lives of the American people.
Further, Reliefs initially were provided by charity organizations and local governments. This was redefined by Roosevelt under the new deal programs. The new deal brought federal reliefs to millions of Americans during the recession. Thousands of men were able to be sent to work in the parks to engage I tree planting in a work relief program that targeted to provide temporary jobs funded by the government as a way of relief. Additionally, the government became the principle employer of the citizens through creation of permanent jobs in the administration.
Finally, social crisis was not the role of the federal to address. This was emphasized by the Roosevelt’s predecessor when the citizens lacked food and were often in the garbage cans scavenging for food as a result of the depression and the federal government was not concerned when people moved to live in makeshifts in shantytowns (Taylor, n.d). However, the new deal redefined the role of the federal government. An expansive role that made the services of the government take a quantum leap to providing food and shelter through the relief programs.
Works Cited
Taylor, N. (n.d.). A Short History of the Great Depression. Retrieved May 21, 2015, from : http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/great_depression_1930s/index.html Read More