Alex Melchior
APUSH
Mr.Caudle
2/18/2015
DBQ
Franklin D Roosevelt and his administration maximized their effectiveness & changed the role of the federal government through expansion and stimulation in response to the Great
Depression. A majority of republicans however had general negativity to Roosevelt's new deal in the beginning but over time respected the administration for its works and it's ability to carry out its mode of action. Not everyone was a part of the relief or reform however it saved the American economy and reshaped the scope of the federal government by raising the standard of what the president should be able to do in order to be placed in office.
The first thing the administration needed to do in response of to the Great Depression was expansion. It is important to understand that the beginning of this was not objectively perfect because it was an evolutionary process rather than a revolutionary process as depicted in document C. Franklin Roosevelt did not simply roll out of bed and have an exact answer to the nations crippling debt. Rather it was constantly being perfected as he served in his first term of the presidency. The NRA was a prime example of this. It's failure was due to the unconstitutional grounds ( as referred to in document f) it stood on in the Schecter v.
United States court case but it's fundamental ideals of labor rights were taken and scripted into the NLRA which guaranteed basic rights of private sector employees. This expanded government control on the economy in order to prevent another crash again. It would also set a role that the federal government needed to provide safety and stability building blocks for every initiative to be taken forever. This method is still used today in government programs.
Next step the administration took was stimulating the country. Generally, there was no circulation of wealth. No one trusted banks so the administration shut down all the banks to check its operations. This was the Emergency Banking Relief Act. A massive wave of auditors was sent out to approve or disapprove of banks. The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation) was created as well to insure the people's deposits of up to $2,500 dollars and gave the government the authority to curb irresponsible speculation. This began pumping money into the heart of the general public. The 21st amendment as well gave the people stimulation by repealing prohibition and taxing all sales of alcohol. General consumption made masses of people happy and created tax dollars for the government to spend. A stimulating program that would provide jobs was the PWA. This began employing people and created large scale public works projects. The administration was working full force to lift the country back on its feet while make generally appealing and necessary programs. Document E shows an advertisement for social security. It is a perfect example of what the administration was working on and was a success. Stimulation was needed for all of the people. All the way up until the Roosevelt Administration, the government had not " taken meaning and substance for the negro masses" as expressed in document I. They stimulated a completely untouched population while erasing a racial barrier and promoting an African American workforce.
The cons of what the administrations responses were to the Great Depression was that it received a lot of negativity during the