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Roosevelt PolicyEssay Preview: Roosevelt PolicyReport this essayWhen Roosevelt became president, on March 4, 1933, the Great Depression was at its worst. Sixteen million or more people were unemployed, and many had been out of work for a year or even longer. The American banking system had collapsed. Whether Americans would be satisfied with the new leadership depended on Roosevelts success in bringing aid to those in distress and in achieving some measure of economic improvement. Franklin D. Roosevelts administration was able to create many laws that benefited the people, however the people complained that they were not created fast enough, even though they were effective and had a lasting impact on the federal government.

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Gentlemen, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to the various people who have brought your organization, Mr. Roosevelt to an end. You have allowed us to reach our goal—the highest accomplishment of yours—and a better future for our people. You have made it clear that you believe we can, and must, work together. There is no better example of how this would be done than Franklin Roosevelt, who has the greatest impact in America. In this way, we have brought about the most efficient political system, not just in this country but beyond. We must act now to help Americans who are struggling to get by and will not become depressed. There are many things that we do in the United States that will help save the future of our people, and we will do them, for example, by providing the tools to give your people some income, even as they seek to pursue college, start a family and start an honest business and build a well-paying world without their children and their care. There is much work that is needed to address our shortcomings, and the United States Government continues to make excellent progress in every single area. However, there is always the question of when each of these will come to fruition, and when those that do seek it most need it most. I pray that you understand, as my father did for Franklin, that you will never find those times when your greatness can be measured against that of the people who had the courage and energy to put it all on the line in this country. It is time for your service in this effort, but in no way can I give you specifics. You have been one of our most efficient, most efficient, most accomplished federal staff, and I ask both of you, my God, to make this much more difficult from the perspective of the most efficient government we have had in the modern history of history. I ask you this, also, that you give all of us the right kind of speech, and it would be our thanks if you would take a lot of time talking with me on Tuesday. I have said I hope you will find some courage to stand up for yourselves and my country. I am sure you know this, and I am trying not to put my faith in you, but if you can be one of our greatest and most courageous Americans, we will be proud.

RNC Policy: A Report of R.J.’s Leadership Summit, Washington, DC, July 6, 1937

When Roosevelt became president, he immediately called a special session of Congress to deal with the depression rather than wait for the regular session in December. The legislation passed by Congress and signed by Roosevelt in the spring of 1933 was remarkable. The time period was called the Hundred Days. The special session had been called to deal with the banking crisis, economy in government, and changes to the liquor law. Congress quickly responded to the crises. The Emergency Banking Act was created, passed, and signed by the president during a single day and it gave the federal government sweeping power to deal with the banking crisis. The Beer Act made it possible to sell beer, which had been illegal under the 18th Amendment. The Economy Act reduced government salaries and pensions to meet Roosevelts campaign pledge. The basic New Deal legislation was passed in slightly more than five years, from 1933 to 1938. Solutions were found for the problem of the unemployment. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) gave large amounts of money to the states. The subdivision to the FERA was the Civil Works Administration (CWA), which provided work relief for a large number of men during the winter of 1933 and 1934. In 1935 a new organization, the WPA was set up by executive order and the FERA was abolished. The WPA built roads, streets, schools, libraries, and other public buildings. Congress designed two relief operations specifically for young men, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the National Youth Administration (NYA). The most spectacular agency designed to promote general economic improvement was the National Recovery Administration (NRA), an organization set up NIRA, which was passed by Congress in June 1933. The NRA was designed to help business help itself by eliminating unfair competition through the establishment of codes of fair competition. Unfortunately, the NRA did not work as its supporters had hoped, and the NRA was unanimously declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1935. However one of the New Deal reforms that did work was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The TVA built a series of dams for power production, flood control, navigation improvement, and cheap fertilizers. It distributed its own water-generated, or hydroelectric, power to many who never before had enjoyed the benefits of electricity. As a result, the standard of living of the people in its area steadily improved. The reform that did the most good was the Social Security Act of 1935. The act gave unemployment insurance, old-age pension, child care and benefits for the blind however; the act did not cover health insurance. It was paid for by employers, employees, and the federal government. It is still in use today. Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act to replace the National Industrial Recovery Act, which now guaranteed to workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set a minimum wage and a limit to the hours worked.

Solutions to the Great Depression had different responses and impacts on the federal government. One of the solutions that Franklin Roosevelt set up was a Public Works Administration (PWA) and he put it under the jurisdiction of Secretary of the Interior (a new position) Harold L. Ickes. The PWA built huge public buildings, great dams, and irrigation and flood-control projects. A special recovery agency for one major segment of the economy was developed called the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA). It was set up in the Department of Agriculture and supervised by Secretary Henry A. Wallace. The AAA sought to eliminate overproduction of basic crops and thus to bring prices back to the average prices of the period from 1909 to 1914, a time of agricultural prosperity. The AAA was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1936. Congress established a voluntary system in 1936 for the same purposes

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