By the early 1930s, each American had no choice but to bow down to the seemingly dictatorial aspects of poverty, disaster, and the vortex of hopelessness. The election of 1932 was a turning point in the history of the United States, as it brought a promise of an end to suffering as well as a bright hope for the future. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, widely known as one of America’s most influential presidents, played a large role in lifting the American people out of the abyss of the Great Depression. We find that, although previous presidents have assumed a more or less “laissez-faire” policy during their respective presidencies, FDR had a very active role during his terms, but that role is particularly obvious during his first term where he established the New Deal program. I believe that the three most important New Deal actions were the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the “fireside chats,” and the Emergency Banking Act.

Firstly, on May 6 1935, Roosevelt founded the Works Progress Administration, more commonly known as the WPA; which is still existent among us today. This program was mainly aimed towards lowering unemployment rates as it provided employment for nearly 20% of the American workforce. However, it also built several institutions across the country, including over 2,500 hospitals and 5,000 schools. Finally, it created programs such as the Federal One Project and the National Youth Administration. These programs were also aimed towards increasing national employment rates. The short-term goals of the WPA were to persuade Americans to pursue more jobs, instead of surrendering to unemployment and to help end the Great Depression. The WPA met immediate success as far as its short term aims. On the other hand, it is yet to be seen whether or not the WPA’s long term goals were successful. I believe that the major long-term aim of the WPA was to instill in Americans the resiliently dominant need for change, confidence of their ability to reform the American economy and achieve the American Dream. Roosevelt realized that the most effective solution to permanently re-instill in the American workforce the dominant need for an increase in the country’s production was to provide the jobs and solutions to the problem of unemployment. Unlike many of his predecessors who preached the need for unity, justice, and so forth, Roosevelt sought immediate change and he correctly realized that, should he not be the one to offer these opportunities for change, no one will assume responsibility to take such a critical step in the country’s advancement.

Secondly, throughout the 1930s, FDR communicated with the American people through a largely unprecedented mode of communication. Through his “fireside chats,” Roosevelt captured the attention of the American citizens, particularly the industrial workers through honesty and, a term I coin as “plain talk.” To the industrial worker who is used to all presidential proclamations being mostly speeches as well as saturated with political terms, which most citizens do not fully comprehend, I believe Roosevelt’s fireside chats must have been highly appreciated. In those talks, FDR sought to not only connect to his audience but also to explain to the American workforce, in details, how his New Deal program would eventually lead to the end of the Depression. As a result, FDR won a special place in the hearts of many Americans, perhaps leading to his re-election as president in 1936. Furthermore, I believe FDR’s long-term goals were not only to prove to the American people that a president is , quite frankly, “human” and that he or she is, in most cases, compassionate with the Americans of the lower classes, but he also sought to convince future presidents and leaders that perhaps the closest way to gather supporters is through honesty instead of lengthy speeches which explain the destination only, without specifying the mode of travel.

Thirdly, in 1933, as part of his New Deal Relief program, President Roosevelt passed the Emergency Banking Act. This act was aimed at giving all banks across the nation a four day “holiday.” It also created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which insured all bank deposits up to $5000. I believe that FDR’s short-term goals were to ultimately put an end to runs on the banks or sudden massive withdrawals, and to ensure that an economic disaster such as the one during the Great Depression could, in part, be prevented. I believe that Roosevelt’s long-term goal was to restore the people’s confidence in America’s banking systems. Roosevelt once said that, “all we have to fear is fear itself.” I believe that this quote provides a very precise summary to FDR’s long-term goal. He hoped to impress upon the American people the necessity of unrelenting, but not reckless as was the case in the 1920s, confidence in their country’s economy. He believed that to always live in fear of what is yet to come would mean that we will never truly experience life, or progress neither now nor in the future.

Finally, I believe that FDR’s New Deal was highly successful at ending the Great Depression in 1933. However, ninety years later, it still provides us with the universal truth that we will never be able to guarantee that tomorrow will be better, but it could always be better, should we choose to make it so. 

– Ayah Gouda