Did the New Deal end the great depression? Or just make a small dent?
2007-03-14 19:02:10 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
No, the New Deal did not end the Great Depression. But it probably did head off major changes in the country. With some relief programs and some make work things FDR took care of some short term problems. But it could have led to some kind of revolution, capitalism was on its knees. The wealthy, the group from whence FDR came, hated him, the could not even speak his name. They referred to him as "That man in the White House". But he might very well have saved their butts.
He was a master at communication and took to the airwaves to talk to the country in strong and confident terms. Things were not much better but people thought they were. His phrase "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" was a master stroke
The outbreak of war in Europe on September 3rd, 1939 ended the economic problem in America. The U.S. has been making war materials for England for some time and sped up after the war began. The unemployed were mostly back to work by the end of 1940.
2007-03-14 19:04:50 · answer #1 · answered by bigjohn B 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In terms of its real economic impact before the US got into WW2, there was a small dent. The new Deal's real strength was that it gave people hope and confidence that government was aware of their plight and was doing something about it.
Had there not been the hope provided by the New Deal the attack on Pearl Harbor of dec 7 1941 would have had a much more demoralizing effect. Without the New Deal the war would have lasted another 5 years with hundreds of thousands more Americans dead.
2007-03-15 02:10:17 · answer #2 · answered by fredrick z 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
By the outbreak of WW2, the new deal had pushed the US to the level that it was nearly out of the depression. Using employment levels, GNP, and investment levels the US economy was seriously on the mend. A "small dent" would be a bad chracterization.
The New Deal's main benifits were not just infusing confidence, but insuring another Great Depression would never happen again. In the public and business mind, regulation had a proper place to keep the economy healthy. Only recently have arch conservatives resurrected thee philosophy of "de-regulation" to squeak more profit (often at the public's expense).
2007-03-15 02:36:07 · answer #3 · answered by adphllps 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
New Deal labor and industrial policies did not lift the economy out of the Depression as President Roosevelt and his economic planners had hoped. The great depression was prolonged by the impact of New Deal programs." Without Social Security, work relief, unemployment insurance, and especially without the labor unions, business would have hired more workers and the unemployment rate during the New Deal years would have been lower.
2007-03-15 02:11:13 · answer #4 · answered by dexart 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It didn't end the depression but it did ease some of the suffering.
2007-03-15 02:19:13 · answer #5 · answered by stezus 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋