What were the goals and achievements of the first New Deal?

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Figure false: Eleanor Roosevelt Serving Unemployed Women. A tireless ambassador of the New Deal, Eleanor Roosevelt used her status as First Lady to highlight New Dealers’ sympathy for the plight of the poor, unemployed, and neglected working people. Said one North Carolina woman, “One of my great pleasures was meeting Mrs. Roosevelt ... she was so free of prejudice ... she was always willing to take a stand.” © Bettmann/Corbis.

CHRONOLOGY

1933

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes president.
  • Roosevelt’s “Hundred Days” launches the New Deal.
  • Roosevelt declares a four-day “bank holiday.”
  • Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) is created.

1934

  • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is created.

AT NOON ON MARCH 4, 1933, Americans gathered around their radios to hear the inaugural address of the newly elected president. Roosevelt began by asserting his “firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” He promised “direct, vigorous action,” and the first months of his administration, termed “the Hundred Days,” fulfilled that promise in a whirlwind of government initiatives that launched the New Deal.

Roosevelt and his advisers had three interrelated objectives: relief, recovery, and reform. The New Deal never fully achieved these goals. But by aiming for them, Roosevelt’s experimental programs enormously expanded government’s role in the nation’s economy and society.

CHAPTER LOCATOR

How did Franklin D. Roosevelt win the 1932 election?

What were the goals and achievements of the first New Deal?

Who opposed the New Deal and why?

How did the second phase of the New Deal differ from the first?

What major political trends changed during the late 1930s?

Conclusion: What were the achievements and limitations of the New Deal?

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Goals of the New Deal

> Goals of the New Deal

Relief Provide help to the millions of poor and unemployed Americans victimized by the depression.
Recovery Foster economic recovery of farms and businesses, thereby creating jobs and reducing the need for relief.
Reform Reshape government and the economy to protect citizens against future economic downturns.