During the beginning of his first term, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued many programs and passed many laws to fix the economy. This helped the economy get through the Great Depression that hit the country in 1929 and remained for the following decade. After his first set of programs and laws, he would go on to issue even more under the Second New Deal.
In 1933, FDR started the First New Deal to help the economy and the American people turn around their circumstances. He changed the way banks and the stock market worked, created thousands of job opportunities, and repealed prohibition to reduce the crime rates. Despite all of these efforts, the Great Depression continued and it seemed as if things would never get better!
The Second New Deal
FDR was the leader of the nation during these hard times and he never gave up. He decided to issue more programs and laws in an attempt to make things better. The laws passed during this time were referred to as the Second New Deal. The Second New Deal did not have huge results right away, but it certainly helped the economy in the following years when the Great Depression started to end. Many of those programs still help millions of Americans throughout their lives to this day.
The Social Security program
One of the most recognized programs to this day that FDR put into place during the Second New Deal was the Social Security Act. It still helps many American citizens today. This program was created to ensure that elderly people could retire comfortably. From retired elderly people to disabled people, the Social Security program provided a pension to help them live on their own.
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was considered to be an extension or a second part of the Public Works Administration. The purpose of the Work Progress Administration was to create more job opportunities for the large number of unemployed citizens. The WPA hired these people to work on public projects like building schools, hospitals, airports, national parks, and so on.
National Labor Relations
The National Labor Relations Act was passed by Congress in 1935. This law was created to guarantee fair rights and fair wages for all workers. Although this law protected the workers right to fair pay, it did not cover how many hours they were supposed to work. This is why, in 1938, Congress had to pass another act. This act was called the Fair Labor Standards Act and it limited the working hours to a maximum of 44 hours a week. The Fair Labor Standards Act also outlawed child labor.
Housing and Real Estate, again!
An agency by the name of the U.S. Housing Authority was created in 1937. This agency’s duty was to rebuild old abandoned houses into new, better ones for the homeless people to live in.
Final thoughts on the Second New Deal
Since the Second New Deal did not show booming results right away, many people considered it a failure. Although the Second New Deal did not end the Great Depression, it established many important programs and principles within the American economy. These programs and principles helped the economy recover and go on without any more major disasters like the Great Depression.
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