When it was time to elect a new president in 1932, Americans were ready for change and eager to embrace a new leader who could help them (Bryant, 1998). The election meant a lot to Americans and to the rest of the world, as national and global economies were in a state of chaos. America elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his soothing personality slowly inspired confidence and hope.

By the time Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in March of 1933, the banking system was in despair (PBS, 2008). Americans had seen $140 billion disappear when their banks failed. Businesses could not get credit for inventory. Checks could not be used for payments because no one trusted that the checks were good.

Roosevelt's New Deal began with the simple idea to try something new (Bryant, 1998). He was open to any and all suggestions. Some laws were passed that he did not like, but he signed them to prevent laws he disliked even more, or to avoid holding up other legislation. He felt that action was better than lack of action.

The New Deal had three goals: recovery from the depression, relief for its victims, and reform of the economic system. Much of the legislation reflected all three of these goals. For example, Roosevelt closed all the banks in the United States for three days and then re-opened them with strict limits on withdrawals.

Eventually, confidence returned to the system and banks were able to function again (PBS, 2008). To prevent this disaster from occurring in the future, the federal government created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which eliminated the rationale for bank "runs" - to get one's money before the bank "runs out." Backed by the FDIC, the bank could close, but then the government would reimburse depositors. Banks were also banned from investing depositors' money in stocks.

Many laws under the New Deal aimed to help the people recover (Bryant, 1998). One law set up a program that provided jobs to hundreds of thousands of young men. Another set up an agency that gave money to states to help the poor. There were also laws that were to aide economic recovery. For example, the National Recovery administration...

However, it was not successful. It favored large businesses over small ones, and many businesses failed to follow the rules.
While the New Deal was not entirely successful, it did improve conditions for some Americans after 1933(Bryant, 1998). Unemployment dropped by two million by 1935. However, over nine million remained unemployed. The president implemented a new series of New Deal Laws during 1935. One law put millions of people to work around the country, building and repairing roads, hospitals, schools, airports and playgrounds. He also enacted the Social Security Act of 1935, which provided pensions to retired Americans and set up a system of unemployment insurance.

Unfortunately, the New Deal's laws and programs could not end the depression. From 1937 to 1938, the depression grew worse and lasted until the beginning of World War II. The huge amounts of government spending on the war effort finally boosted the economy.

While many people try to compare the Great Depression, which resulted from the 1929 stock market crash, with today's economic situation, it is unlikely that we suffer a similar outcome. The Great Depression resulted from a series of economic and financial disaster, similar to today's, but mostly from neglect and incompetence on the part of the nation's leaders. Today's policymakers have the benefit of learning from the past. If the federal government reacts quickly and responsibly, as it is trying to do, the current situation will be easier to resolve than that of the 1930s.

Bibliography

Bryant, Joyce. (1998). The Great Depression and the New Deal. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

Kennedy, David. (1999). Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War. Oxford University Press.

MSN Encarta. (2008). Great Depression in the United States. Retrieved from the Internet at http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761584403.

PBS (2008). Stock Market Crash. Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.pbs.org/fmc/timeline/estockmktcrash.htm.