Essay on Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt

1929 was mark of a evolution in the United States history. It marked the crash of the Stock Market and the start of the Great Depression but a beginning of the role of the government. President Hoover, being in his first year in office, believed in “Rugged Individualism” where he believed that America was built off of industry and self-reliance, inclining that an individual should be totally self-reliant and there should be no government involvement in the welfare of the country. He soon realized it was a mistake, which brought in Franklin Roosevelt into office in 1932. FDR, sharing progressive ideas and more government involvement, passed the New Deal Act, which embraced the ideas of unemployment, labor wages, healthcare benefits, and more importantly, re-regulating the economy. These brought out the ideas of “modern american liberalism” which presented political and economic freedom but brought the government in more actively being involved in the welfare of the people.

FDR believed in the three R’s: Relief, Recovery, and Reform. He also believed that government involvement in managing the economy could help the welfare of the people and prevent mass hunger and starvation. Implementing these ideas, FDR passed the New Deal in 1933, which consisted of acts such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Industrial Recovery Act, which helped regulate fair wages and prices to stimulate the economy and encouraged people to enlist in jobs to bring home wages. Seeing how the role of the government is slowly changing, a letter to Senator Wagner in 1934 showed some concern regarding the New Deal Act. The cause of fair wages in labors increased the effects on businesses, as the point of view showed that the government showed no focus on businesses, which were the main cause of employment. The letter showed the purpose of viewing how the higher wages  would cause for more businesses to shutdown, therefore increasing the unemployment rate. It also showed that due to the issues caused by this act, it would extend government involvement, eventually leading to a low employment rate and crash of classes. As a result of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the employment rate decreased. But acts such as the Tennessee Valley Authority act and the Civilian Conservation Corps act, increased propaganda for labor and issued jobs such as to build dams in Tennessee, which helped with housing and improved more than 2.5 millions lives. While controlling the employment rate, the government issued more control over banks and agriculture. FDR passed the Glass-Steagall Act, which formed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The purpose was to repeal the over-regulating issue in the banking industry and insurance people’s money in banks up to $5,000. This helped take the fear of people losing their money in the banks. By issuing this act first, FDR got the banks running to start the stock market back up, the first step to regulating the economy again. Step two at regulating the economy was by the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which offered farmers subsidies to stop the overproduction of goods, so prices can increase, causing the economy to start back up. Another Act passed to secure the Stock Market stocks was the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress passed the Federal Securities Act, which served as a watchdog over the numbers in the stock market and urged companies to give an honest report of their financial numbers. A watchdog over the stock market showed the role of the government being more involved with the economy than in the past.

In FDR’s inauguration speech, he promised recovery with the “New Deal”. The Second New Deal showed evolution, including union labor protections, social security, and aid to farmers. The Evening Star shared a political comic mimicking FDR saying “This is an evolution, not a revolution.” with the tree in the background representing his promises to the American people in forms of different acts. The point of view demonstrated in this cartoon was of the promise fulfilled by the FDR and the belief that the Second New Deal would bring in more of his promises. The Second New Deal focused more on evolving the promised he made and improve the security of the people and improve the aid for labor unions and farmers. FDR passed the Work Progress Administration, controlled by the government who hired people to build bridges and paint pictures to increase more need for jobs. The changed a role of the government by having a direct effect on the economy, likewise as businesses and companies. FDR also formed another act known as the National Labor Relations Act, which helped labor unions. It engaged labors to form a self-organization and to bargain by appointing representatives to represent them of their own choice. An issue was seen by Vharles Hughes in 1935 during the court case of Schechter v. United States, where Hughes offered a view point of a concern of the government being too involved in labor and local businesses. Hughes' purpose was to show how by regulating wages and hours, local businesses are most affected by them. He also focuses how the wages earned by the employee has no focus on interstate commerce, but a huge effect on the local businesses instead. But a positive affect by these labor laws was the Fair Lavor Standards acts, which created the right to minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor standards. Another promise made by FDR was the issue of how the government should be involved in the welfare, including health, of the people. In 1935, FDR signed the Social Security Act into a bill, which established a system to benefit the old-age, victims in industrial accidents, unemployment insurance, handicapped, and aid for dependent mothers and children. The library of Congress issued a flyer, educating the public and encouraging them to sign up for their social security. The purpose was to bring awareness to the social security act and inform its citizens the benefits, who is eligible, and how to apply for one. Some people, mostly conservatives, saw this as the government ‘spoon finding’ its citizens by giving them money to remain stable after retirement. This act also benefited the African American community. A newspaper company known The Crisis, issues an article talking about how Roosevelt's administration’s effect on the African American community. The context talks about how some acts, such as the Boulder Dam affected by the TVA, restricted any African American from living in Boulder City, counting a shameful policy and not including the African Americans as a part of their policies. But one of the important effects the Roosevelt Administration did have was the effect of Social Security on African Americans. The article went on to describe how other acts, inclsuing social security and acts regarding discrimination at work, included the African American community as a oart of the New Deal acts. The purpose was to show how the progessive ideas implemented by the FDR administration, for the first time, were taken in consideration of the African American race. FDR’s responses to the great depression brought back the employment of non-farmers and lowered unemployment,  but not totally. Document 7 represented the unemployment of non-farm workers, showing the numbers going down in 1933, due the pass of the New Deal, and a decline after 1935, due to the second new deal. The unemployment numbers went really down during 1943 and 1944, due to the US involvement with World War 2, issuing more jobs. 

The Great Depression marked the start of the government being more involved in the people’s lives and health through FDR’s administration’s responses caused by the New Deal and the Second New Deal. Both of these consisted of acts that followed the progressive ideas implemented by Roosevelt and the idea of ‘modern american liberalism’ where the government should be involved in the welfare of the people. Through the acts of ‘modern american liberalism’, FDR promised the American people jobs and healthcare by re-regulating the economy and controlling the stock market. These acts proved as an evolution more than a revolution in the government’s role and involvement.