In 1932, the Great Depression entered its third winter. One in four Americans was unemployed, marking the highest unemployment rate in the country’s history. Tens of thousands had lost their homes and life savings, and there was very little confidence that Republican President Herbert Hoover could turn things around. So when the election came, voters flocked to his Democratic competitor. Franklin D. Roosevelt promised a New Deal for Americans— a comprehensive set of legislation to support struggling citizens and put the country back to work.
The massive federal intervention Roosevelt proposed was a radical challenge to the individualist ideals that governed many Americans’ lives. But due to the extreme circumstances, he began his presidency with public and political support. With the help of his advisers, Roosevelt’s first hundred days in office were perhaps the most eventful of any US president. In just over three months, he pushed over 15 bills through Congress and created an “alphabet soup” of government agencies to help farmers, workers, and businesses.
The New Deal’s first priority was stabilizing the banks. Over the previous three years, many Americans had withdrawn their savings out of fear the bank would lose their money in bad investments. So to regain the public's confidence, FDR increased federal oversight of commercial banks, and created bank insurance to guarantee that any deposited funds would always be available.
Next, he established the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. FERA cataloged each state’s need for relief and provided funds to help citizens afford groceries, rent, clothing, coal, and other necessities. Meanwhile, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration subsidized farmers and educated them in improving planting techniques.
These policies fed and housed thousands, but they didn’t significantly address the New Deal’s biggest promise: reducing unemployment. So the Civilian Conservation Corps was established to employ over 250,000 young men for projects like tree planting, irrigation, and fire prevention. The CCC offered onsite work camps that provided food, shelter, and education to those employed; mostly young, single men with families in need of relief. Subsequent programs like the Works Progress Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority added projects building roads, bridges, and hydroelectric dams. The WPA also funded art, writing, and theater programs. These initiatives cut civilian unemployment in half. And they did so alongside labor acts that abolished child labor, granted unions the right to collective bargaining, and set the first national minimum wage. Benefits were also created to help those unable to work. The Social Security Act established an old-age pension system in addition to unemployment insurance, disability benefits, and welfare assistance.
But despite these sweeping policies, the New Deal helped some groups more than others. Black Americans were hit hardest by the economic downturn, and the New Deal’s impact on Black communities varied widely. In northern cities like Chicago, Black citizens received a large share of jobs, vocational training, and education, with New Deal programs teaching more than one million Black Americans to read. Northern Black communities also received an influx of public housing, though it was heavily segregated. In the South, results were less positive. Roosevelt relied heavily on the support of Southern Democrats, who welcomed economic development but fought to preserve white supremacy. They ensured that new labor laws excluded domestic servants and agricultural workers, occupations held by many Black Americans. These politicians and many others also undermined Eleanor Roosevelt’s attempts to push her husband toward supporting a federal anti-lynching law. As a result, the New Deal has often been called a “raw deal” for Black communities. And many modern inequities in housing, employment, and financial stability are partially due to New Deal programs prioritizing white Americans.
In these ways and more, the New Deal didn’t fully live up to its promises. Despite employing over 8 million Americans, unemployment never went lower than 14%. And the US economy wouldn’t fully recover until the country’s mobilization for World War II. But this bold campaign of progressive policies did empower unions to start their own revolution. In the coming decades, northern liberals, Black Americans, and other working minorities, united to fight discriminatory hiring. In the process, they reshaped the Democratic Party; challenging its racist leadership, and laying the groundwork for an emerging civil rights coalition.
