Origins of the Great Depression
The post WWI agrarian crisis has thrown many farmers into debt and poverty. The American economy was overheating. An isolationist policy such as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, raising tariffs and decreasing American exports.
The 1929 stock market crash precipitates the crisis and led to mass unemployment and bank runs. The climate event known as the “Dust Bowl” starting in 1930 further creates difficulty for farmers.
Election of FDR
President Herbert Hoover’s action is perceived as insufficient and too limited.
He orders the repression of a protest of WWI veterans in 1932 which helped turn public opinion against him.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt ran as a Democrat and is elected in a landslide.
The New Deal
The New Deal is a series of policies that vastly expanded the role of the federal government.
Banking reform: the Emergency Banking Act with the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC) The Glass-Steagall act, the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate markets and the suspension of the gold standard.
Governmental subsidies and quotas for agriculture through the Agricultural Adjustment Authority (AAA).
Direct employment through the Public Works Administration.
Creation of Social Security as a safety net to the elderly.
Creation of a Wealth Tax.
Regulation of labor through the Wagner Act and introduction of federal safety regulations.
Opposition to the New deal
The Supreme Court invalidates key measures of the New Deal like NIRA or AAA.
Huey Long of Louisana criticizes the New Deal as not being radical enough.
Conservatives criticize the New Deal as being Socialism in disguise.
Contemporary critics of the New Deal argue that not enough is done in favor of minorities, especially African-Americans who are often excluded from welfare. Some economists argue that New deal measures prolonged the Depression.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times as president of the United States, more than any other president in history.
