History Brief: The New Deal

Summary

Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal after winning the 1932 presidential election, promising to respond to the economic crisis of the Great Depression. Its goals were known as the three R’s:

• Relief: Help people who were poor or unemployed.
• Recovery: Restore the economy to normal levels.
• Reform: Change the financial system to reduce the chance of another depression.

Between 1933 and 1938, the federal government created programs to pursue these goals. Some were approved by Congress, while others were established through executive orders.

The New Deal is commonly divided into two periods:

• First New Deal (1933–1934): Focused mainly on restructuring the economy and providing relief to the banking industry.
• Second New Deal (1935–1938): Focused on using national resources, aiding farmers, and creating government work programs.

Examples of New Deal programs and agencies included:

• Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): Put unemployed people to work.
• Social Security Act: Provided financial support for the elderly.
• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): Brought electricity to rural areas in the South.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): Insured bank deposits, addressing fears that people would lose their money if a bank closed. The FDIC remains in operation.
• Other agencies still in existence include the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The New Deal was controversial. Critics argued that it moved the country toward socialism or wasted money and resources. Some economists and historians have also argued that Roosevelt’s policies prolonged the Great Depression.

The video balances those criticisms against the programs’ employment and construction achievements: they put millions to work and helped build roads, schools, parks, hospitals, and other facilities.

Speakers or Sources Featured

• A single narrator provides the historical overview. No other speakers or sources are identified in the subtitles.