New Deal

Running Head : The New Deal

Franklin D . Roosevelt and the New Deal

[Author 's Name]

[Institution 's Name] In 1932 , a former New York governor with a moderate reputation for social reforms was nominated by the Democratic Party as its candidate for the United States Presidency . Franklin Delano Roosevelt was vying for the position of leadership over a nation that was stinging badly from the effects of an economic downturn known as The Great Depression In the period between 1929 , the year of the stock market crash known as Black

Tuesday , and 1933 , unemployment had risen from an admirable 4 to a staggering 25 and outputs from the manufacturing sectors dwindled by a third and deflation was rampant

These developments were not lost on Roosevelt and his staff , who soon realized that they were effectively charged with the responsibility of nationwide economic reform and social relief . This realization was reflected as far back as his nomination speech , where Roosevelt addressed those concerns by pledging a new deal for the American people ' Given the amount of controversy and debate which continues to persist over The New Deal 's successes or failures , it is often contended whether this pledge was little more than a byline by which to expedite ascension to office , despite the fervor attended to New Deal-oriented policy changes

Following inauguration , Roosevelt and his people worked quickly to address the crisis plaguing financial institutions , which was deemed necessary to stabilizing public sentiment and the restoration of economic confidence . A four day banking holiday was declared , in to buy the necessary time to develop a recovery plan . Volpe observes that with banks closed , American people could rest easy over the security of their finances . The bottom had been hit , and there was no need to fear further losses ' However , beyond the security of banking assets , it was necessary to restore banks ' ability to operate on solvent terms , but without resorting to measures that could possibly result in currency devaluation

Some pundits argued in favor of radical change in the form of the nationalization of banks , but members of the Brain Trust , a collection of legal professors serving in an advisory capacity to Roosevelt and his staff , suggested the salvation of the existing system instead . A restored structure would create the kind of national optimism that nationalization could not . Roosevelt argued that while the provision of financial security was important , government intervention should not result in the compromise of American values (Degler , 421 ) To this end a piece of legislation known as the Emergency Banking Act was passed with momentum so swift , it went from introduction to signature in less than a day . It called for an evaluation of banking assets and the issuance of Federal Reserve notes based on the results as well as giving power to the Treasury Secretary to prevent the hoarding of gold reserves and freeze currencies and gold bullion in exchange for (Schlesinger , 7

Volpe inferred that between a receptive Congress and the great momentum...