Effects Of Franklin D Roosevelt First Inaugural Address
The only thing we fear is usually the fear itself, are the famous words uttered by Franklin D. Roosevelt, or more popularly known as FDR. He was perhaps the only U.S President who was equally hated and loved for his words, ideologies and actions. |
He assumed office as the 32nd President of the United States of America on March 4, 1933. The time was turbulent then, thanks to the Great Depression that saw almost a quarter of the population unemployed and nowhere to turn to as many banks had closed down.
As he proposed the New Deal program during his much publicized inaugural address on the day he assumed office, FDR enacted in his first "hundred days" some effective programs to help recover every facet of the economy including business, agriculture, besides providing relief to the unemployed and to those on the verge of losing their farms and homes.
Two years later, in 1935, the U.S economy was somewhat healing. The impact of the New Deal program was enormous. Take for instance the FDIC, the Emergency Banking Act/Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that empowered the government to inspect all banks and insure deposits up to $5000. The immediate impact was that American’s faith in banks was restored. At the conclusion of the inspections, two-thirds of the closed banks were allowed to open. Soon after, the number of deposits increased and exceeded the withdrawals.
Another part of the New Deal program was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) that funded many deteriorating local relief agencies. Within 2 hours of the inauguration of FERA, around $5 million was distributed to relief agencies. This move saw the revitalization of relief agencies.
The Civil Words Administration (CWA) gave the unemployed 4 million workers the construction or repair works of roads, parks, airports etc. The CWA program was a psychological and monetary boost to the large number of unemployed youths during that time.
Another act called the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 helped the Native Americans to get back their ownership of the unallocated land besides ending the sale of tribal lands.
The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 provided the falling industrial prices the much needed boost and helped rewrite the laws governing the minimum wages, working conditions, production and prices of industries.
Other acts in the New Deal program included the Federal Securities Act of May 1933/ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that required transparency in the information of all stocks sold and gave the SEC and the Federal Reserve system more teeth to control the stock markets. The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) enabled home owners to keep their homes by arranging refinances for mortgaged homes and for middle income group home owners.
Perhaps one of the most controversial parts of the New Deal Program which was later scrapped as unconstitutional was the Agriculture Adjustment Administration (AAA) that was proposed to raise farm prices by paying farmers who would intentionally reduce the production of certain plants and avoid raising certain animals. This would mean reduced production, which, in turn, would increase prices. The AAA created a ruckus at those times and was repealed.
During 1943, the Tennessee Valley was perhaps the least modernized areas in the U.S. and to help create jobs here, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was formed to reactivate the hydro-electric power to provide cheap electricity, control floods and create recreational activities for the community settled there.
Besides these, the New Deal Program also included Works Progress Administration (WPA) that provided 8 million jobs between 1935 and 1943. The Farm Security Administration, or the FSA, provided $1 billion for farmers. There was also the law that banned child labor.
The Social Security Act was floated to grant old-age pensions for workers, benefits to the surviving families of victims of industrial accidents, and insurance benefits to the unemployed. Besides these, dependent mothers and children and the blind and physically challenged were included to receive aid. The Act did not cover farm and domestic workers yet the Act brought a sense of security among Americans.
The New Deal Program was not a complete success but it managed to create the seeds for a welfare state in the U.S. in the years that came.
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