Good Essay About The American Experience Of The Great Depression

The onset of the Great Depression in the United States was 1929 in October. It was characterized by severe economic downturn that saw the supply of the nation’s money fail. The situation affected companies where majority of the citizens worked. Employees would be laid off in large numbers leading to a very high rate of unemployment. The American stock market that had previously been performing very well crashed leading to massive losses by investors. After the great depression, the Americans had lost hope in the revival of their economy until 1932 when President F. D. Roosevelt was elected. He became a symbol of hope in America and won the confidence of many. He came to office when the economy of the United States was not doing well, but he was confident that it would get back to normal.
His dynamic leadership skills and the political skills helped in his contribution o the New Deal. These were a series of programs aimed at improving the country’s economy between 1933 and 1938. This was in response to the downturn in the economy that had been caused by The Great Depression. The major aims of the New Deal included getting the country out of the economic depression, reforming the economic systems and ensuring relief for the victims of the depression. The dominant role of the New Deal during the first years of Roosevelt’s administration was to aid the victims and ensures economic recovery.
Among the various programs of the New Deal was the fiscal policy that was supported by the Economic Act (Kennedy 138). The program was meant to strike a balance in the regular federal budget. In order to achieve this, the salaries that were paid to the government employees were reduced, and the pension paid to the veterans was cut by fifty percent (Kennedy 138). The Economy Act also comprised of the emergency budget that was viewed as a necessary tool in defeating the depression. The other program was the banking reform. There was a need to change the banking sector since it had been greatly affected by the Great Depression. The credit crunches following the great depression affected the banks negatively thus the need for revival. There were high incidences of bank runs where a large number of clients would get their money from the banks instead of saving it (Kennedy 162).
The bank runs affected the banks so badly that some banks were on the verge of collapsing due to bankruptcy. The Emergency banking act was enacted in 1933. It was aimed at effecting the reopening of banks that had been previously closed. The Act required that all banks had to be supervised by the Treasury. In addition, the Treasury was mandated with issuance of federal loans to the banks when necessary. The transactions involving commercial bank securities were partly to blame for the great depression. To this end, the GlassSteagall Act was enacted to regulate the securities.
The other program was the monetary reform that executed an expansionary monetary policy to inject money into the economy, thus fighting the deflation. The program saw an end to the gold standard, and there was a ban on the import of gold except through the Treasury. This helped in keeping the economy balanced. Gold was not taken a legal tender anymore. The dollar traded freely in the money markets, but there was no guaranteed value for gold. The Gold Reserve Act became operational in 1934 where the price of gold was increased. The result was a rise in the number of sales in gold, thus increasing the money in the economy (Gordon 130). Consequently, this raised the aggregate demand for products leading a rapid increase in production. The high rate of unemployment that persisted was put under control (“American Experience. WGBH | PBS").
The New Deal also led to the formation of the Public Works Administration that provided funds for government infrastructure initiatives. Roosevelt did not lose sight of the need to develop the rural areas. This led to the development of the Farm and Rural Programs that helped revive the agricultural sector. The major programs included the Rural Electrification Administration and Resettlement Administration. The housing sector was also included in the New Deal with an aim of stimulating construction of private homes and home ownership. His resulted in the implementation of Homeowners’ loan corporation housing agency. The major goal of the agency was to ensure ease with which the citizens accessed mortgages. The other housing agency under this program was the federal housing administration that ensured standardized home construction requirements.
The New Deal impacted the lives of American positively. Through the various programs, the economic welfare of the society was uplifted. The banking reform for example reduced the bank runs because people regained the confidence back. The cash that had previously been taken from the banks was returned, and the economy progressed. Furthermore, the performance of the financial institutions was boosted by the federal loans that they were offered through the Federal Reserve System. The fiscal policy was also beneficial to the economy since it injected more money into the system. The welfare of the Americans was further boosted by the increase in social amenities such as hospitals and schools. This was as a result of the public works administration program that funded the constructions. Before the New Deal, majority of the citizens who resided in the rural areas lived in severe poverty ("President Woodrow Wilson defends the League of Nations."). Through the farm and rural areas programs, the welfare of the citizens was improved leading to reduced poverty. The programs also saw a rise in employment of the citizens since they provided labor in the various projects. With time, more Americans were able to own homes or lived in better housing. This was possible due to the programs in the housing sector.
President Roosevelt would not have been able to see the New Deal work without the support of Americans. While some people were involved in advising him on the possible effects of the programs, others helped in implementing the programs (William 504). The president gave hope to the people who worked hard to see that the economic depression ended.
Conclusively, the economic depression almost made the Americans lose hope in the nation’s economy. The hope was restored in 1932 when they elected Roosevelt into office. He ensured that the economy got back to where it was through various programs in the New Deal. He discharged his duties faithfully and ensured that the economy was revived (Kennedy 380). The results were not disappointing because the economic welfare of the citizens was restored. The high rate of unemployment was reduced, schools and hospitals were built and there was sanity in the financial sector.

Works Cited

"American Experience . WGBH | PBS." American Experience. N.p., 1999. Web. 21 Mar. 2015. <www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/.
Gordon, Collin, and Thomas Paterson.2010. Major Problems in American History, 1920-1945:2nd ed.Wadsworth Publishing.
Kennedy, David M. Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929- 1945. N.p., 1999. Print.
"President Woodrow Wilson defends the League of Nations." U.S Senate Congress. Indianapolis. 14 Sept. 1919. Speech.
William, Starr. "Radio Address on Lincoln's Birthday." The State Papers and other Public Writings of Herbert Hoover 1 (1931): 503-505.