FREE ESSAY ON FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal programs for relief and works projects were
beneficial to America's economic collapse while helping the nation as a whole. Before
these programs, however, the nation was in a most needy state. On October 24th 1929 a day
known as Black Thursday came. The stock market crashed and so did the economy.
Unemployment ran rapid through the country whereas millions of Americans were out of work
and money. The nation succumbed to one of the fiercest events in history- the Great
Depression. Roosevelt, the governor of New York at the time, was well aware of the need
for action and swept the election of 1932. In his inaugural speech he spoke of a New Deal
for America and thus the New Deal was born. As soon as Roosevelt took office, help was on
the way as he created many programs to take the nation out of hard times. The most
important ones were FERA, or Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the CWA, or Civil
Works Administration, and the WPA, or Works Progress Administration. Each one of these
programs had an impact on the nation that aided in helping the people and the badly
scarred economy. They also lifted the spirits and morals of the people. In addition, the
lasting effects of the New Deal programs are still felt today, which proves that the
relief and works progress programs were of outmost benefit to America.
Roosevelt was determined to directly relieve the suffering of the American people. In his
inaugural speech he said, I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American
people. He meant that, as president, he promises a new America that will help the people
and preserve their morale. Roosevelt was committed to helping the nation out of the
economic crisis and directly helping the people. The New Deal was made up of numerous
programs to help the nation surpass the depression. Roosevelt had long been a supporter
of direct government assistance. He believed the government should provide for the
welfare of the people. Because of his strong belief in governmental aid, he carried the
nation through the depression. The first of his relief works projects was designed to be
a quick jumpstart to help families receive money. This was called FERA. 
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration, commonly known as FERA, was established as a
temporary program that would run on direct governmental aid to give the states large
grants that were passed on as direct cash payments for needy families. Roosevelt, along
with Harry Hopkins, was allotted $500 million for direct relief of the people. FERA was
the first major effort made to cope with the problems the nation was facing. It was
short-lived because it stressed the importance of immediate relief rather than long-term
recovery. The goal of this program was to bring the unemployed to a higher financial
level so that the working class could survive in order to become self-sufficient. FDR
placed Harry Hopkins in charge of FERA. Hopkins recognized need for speedy distribution
of funds. He disbursed FERA grants widely and rapidly. The pressure of the emergency
created by the Great Depression was so intense and the power of Roosevelt's voice was so
persuasive that Congress did just about anything he wished. This opportunity gave
Roosevelt the lead in emergency legislation where Congress would have, instead, seized
the initiative and done the job rather badly. Because of this Roosevelt had the ability
to create these imperative programs. This was only the beginning of the New Deal. FERA
was a temporary program that would not revive the economy and the people. Americans felt
humiliated and had a loss of pride. This was so because getting handed money from the
government tends to be shameful and having a job shows self-worth and responsibility.
Aside from that, Roosevelt didn't want to kill the spirit of the country so that the free
enterprise would get a chance to work effectively again. FERA was an early form of
welfare; Roosevelt knew this and thus began to devise another program aimed at conquering
the economic collapse and improving the face of the nation.
In the fall of 1933 the Civil Works Administration, or CWA, was formed as a temporary
measure to provide work. It was designed to give jobs for up to 4 million people at a
given time. Jobs were necessary because they get money circulating through the economy
and through the treasury. The CWA allowed for men to work and receive money while also
improving the nation. Some men who were put to work through the CWA had money in their
pockets for the first time in over a year. The kinds of jobs the CWA workers held were
designed to give money to the employees while also giving back to the nation. Many people
had jobs in the fields of construction, teaching, social work, and medicine. All of these
jobs gave back to the nation and the community. The CWA basically helped people help
themselves. The country improved from this work by gaining 240,000 miles of roads, 30,000
schools, 3,700 playgrounds, 5,000 public buildings, and 800 small airports. Because of
all these great advantages, people were becoming educated and had the luxury of traveling
and commuting. The CWA was praised by many including Governor Landon of Kansas who wrote
that the civil-works program is one of the soundest, most constructive policies. Not only
did the CWA help the people receive money indirectly, but it also stimulated the economy
by giving people money to spend, which is what Roosevelt desired for the nation. 
The CWA was a temporary measure, yet it was an astounding success. It's impacts are still
seen today. The major accomplishment of the CWA was that it gave a billion dollars to the
economy within just a few months. Employees received $15 each week, which allowed for
minimum living standards. Already the economy was uplifting. The CWA system of
distributing cash through work was preferred against just handing out checks like
welfare. The former promoting self-worth and preserving skills and not harming one's
pride. It was through this program that the economy started moving again. 
The CWA was adequate as a short-term solution, but many argued that a larger works
project program was needed for a full recovery from the depression. The Works Progress
Administration was then formed out of the CWA. It also was the most successful of all the
New Deal programs, as it pulled over $10 billion into the economy within only three
years, (1935-1938). There was a heavy emphasis on spending money on wages rather than
machinery or materials- the use of human labor was valued. Roosevelt favored this program
because it had an emphasis on creating jobs as a way of maintaining morale by
de-emphasizing welfare-like payments. President Roosevelt declared to Congress that they
must preserve not only the actual bodies of the unemployed from destruction, but also
their self-respect, self-alliance, courage and determination. This is what would bring
the economy out of the inferno of depression. 
The WPA was an active program that, like the CWA, supplied people with jobs.
Three-fourths of all the WPA projects involved construction. Many public buildings were
built such as museums, hospitals, and zoos- all of which did the public good. Workers
improved 572,000 miles of rural roads, built 40,000 new public buildings, repaired 85,000
existing buildings, and built 78,000 new bridges and 24,000 miles of sidewalks. Indeed,
the WPA improved society as a whole. All the projects promoted involvement in the
community and gave the citizens money. Other WPA projects included: stuffing mattresses,
canning peaches, surveying property boundaries, sealing mines, and creating books in
Braille. All of these efforts benefited the entire nation. Safety was now a growing
concept and the WPA served everyone as to promote safety. The WPA provided a work ethic-
workers not just getting handed money, but actually working to be paid and, at the same
time, America was drastically improved. 
The WPA had produced many positive results. The Grand Coulee Dam, a WPA project, was
created through the efforts of the workers during the depression. Its construction, often
called the eighth wonder of the world, provided a tremendous boost to the regional
economy during the depression years. The dam provided power for irrigation and it brought
thousands of jobs and billions of federal dollars to the region. It served as an emblem
of the New Deal's impact on the region as a whole. The WPA put up money to support a vast
variety of public projects such as post-offices, libraries, schools, airports, and
highways. All of these are still in use today, demonstrating that the WPA had a powerful
and lasting impact on the nation. The WPA also encouraged tourism. It allowed for workers
to create and improve large scale building projects such as dining lodges in Missouri
state parks. The WPA made important contributions that benefited both the state and the
nation. The 342 designated historic sites in the Ozarks bear witness to the profound role
played by the New Deal that continues to enrich the lives of millions of visitors. 
Roosevelt also made a significant step concerning the values of the WPA. He signed an
executive order forbidding discrimination in WPA projects. This was one of the strongest
actions, in his time, in support of equality for African Americans and other minorities.
African Americans, who accounted for less than 10% of the American population,
particularly benefited from the WPA making up 15-20% of its 8.5 million employees. At
this point, Roosevelt was bettering the nation and making things possible that didn't
seem at all possible in the past. Although the Great Depression is viewed as an era of
hard times and widespread misery, it proved to be a golden age to all the improvements by
the WPA. 
When Franklin Roosevelt became president in 1933 the nation was in the depths of the
worst depression it had ever experienced. Roosevelt took an optimistic view of the
situation and worked to achieve economic stability. After Roosevelt took office there
were millions unemployed and the country was in a downward spiral. The nation listened to
him through the radio as he brought hope to the stricken country. To put through his New
Deal, Roosevelt put down conservative businessmen, reactionary senators, and even
recalcitrant Supreme Court justices. It was through this that he strove for the once good
economy that millions of Americans longed for. In a years time Roosevelt, through the New
Deal, had enacted more significant social and economic legislation than had been passed
in all of America's history. He got things done, as he pledged, for the people and the
nation. Although each one of the programs for relief and works projects was costly, the
high morale of the workers was well worth the money spent. In just a few years all the
money spent to revive the nation will have been reacquired. The WPA was the final product
of the New Deal which was the combination of the FERA, the CWA and the efforts of
Roosevelt and his cabinet. The FERA was started as a preliminary measure to help
jumpstart the economy and allow for some money to be given to the people. It then evolved
into the CWA, which was an experiment that proved successful. The nation gained so much
from the efforts of the workers. The nation was not out of the depression yet and there
was persistence pushing for another program and so the WPA was created. It remains today
as one of the highest regarded measures taken to relieve the nation of economic hardship.
More importantly, the WPA served a crucial function in convincing Americans that the
government could respond to their needs. The effects of the New Deal are still seen
today. High schools were built that serve the people in providing education, thus
promoting intellectualism for many future generations. Dams such as the Grand Coulee and
the Hoover Dam are still active today in providing the surrounding area with power.
Indeed, the accomplishments of the New Deal created a lasting impression. When the New
Deal came to a close the downward spiral had been reversed- by the end of 1938 the
nation's economy was picking up speed and well on it's way to becoming prosperous again.
Despite its doubters, the New Deal's programs for relief and works projects created a
lasting impression on the nation along with people and landscapes of America thus
providing a foundation for future growth. 
David Whitney, The American Presidents (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1975)
p. 287
Adam Woog, Roosevelt and the New Deal (San Diego: Lucent Books, 1998) p. 50
John Gunther, Roosevelt in Retrospect (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1950) p. 285
Ibid., p. 279
William Leuchtenburg, New Deal and War (Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1964) p.
32
Woog, p. 52
Leuchtenburg, p. 32
Ibid., p. 32
Ibid., p. 33
Woog, p. 52
Ibid., p. 62
Ibid., p. 63
Colorado State Archives. 11 Sept. 2000. 19 Oct. 2000.
http://www.archives.state.co.us/wpa/home.htm
Woog, p. 64
Out from Under: A 'New Deal'. 19 Oct. 2000. 19 Oct. 2000.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/centennial/may/newdeal.html
Ibid.
Denny, James. OzarksWatch. 19 Oct. 2000. 19 Oct. 2000.
http://198.209.8.166/ozarkswatch/ow703e.htm
Works Progress Administration. 19 Oct. 2000. 19 Oct. 2000.
http://www.africana.com/tt_117.htm
Ibid.
Merle Curti, Rise of the American Nation (New York: Haircourt, Brace & World, 1961) p.
710
Whitney, p. 284
Leuchtenburg, p. 15
Bibliography
sorry- I lost them!