FDR New Deal ~ Roosevelt and The Great Depression

In 1932, in his acceptance speech as the Democratic party’s nominee, Franklin D. Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people.”

Click here for facts about how FDR’s New Deal programs helped farmers affected by the Dust Bowl.

Roosevelt won the office of President of the United States of America in November 1932, by a landslide over incumbent Herbert Hoover. When he took office in March 1933, he wasted no time in following through on his campaign promises.

FDR’s “First Hundred Days” saw a whirlwind of activity as Roosevelt worked tirelessly, then and throughout his three terms, to pull America out of the Great Depression.

President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs were designed to tackle the economic crisis on many levels:
•federal assistance for people who had lost their jobs, houses, savings, and livelihoods
•job creation for the unemployed through massive public works projects
•agricultural assistance for troubled farmers
•manufacturing assistance for troubled industries
•stricter banking regulations to prevent bank failures
•creation of the FDIC to protect bank customers’ deposits
•investment in the banking system to free up credit

While FDR’s New Deal efforts might have helped keep the Great Depression from becoming even worse than it was, only World War II finally healed the economy. War-related exports, as well as America’s own preparation with munitions and ammunition, fired up the factories again and effectively ended the Great Depression, almost twelve years after it began in 1929.