The New Deal is treated more as an era in history, being a campaign term and a number of policies, rather than an actual event. Thus, categorization of New Deal policy must occur so that it may be studied properly.
Many policies overlap, but in general the New Deal was a three pronged attack known as the Three Rs. They were Relief, Reform and Recovery.
Relief programs were short term, they focused on things like preventing the people from starving. They mostly took the form of public works programs designed to create temporary jobs. The Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, and the Works Progress Administration built many public works, and the Federal Emergency Relief Association gave direct help to those who needed it, mostly in the form of food. The National Housing Act, and Resettlement Administration focused on housing, creating in some cases whole towns.
Recovery Programs nearly always overlapped with Relief, as per the idea that assistance to the destitute will allow them to become active once again the economy, and facilitate recovery. However, other Recovery organization include the emergency Banking Relief Act, abandonment of the gold standard, and other programs designed to end the Depression in a kind of economic damage control. Many relief acts are also recovery acts.
Lastly, reform acts have lasting impact today. They have lessened the impact of future downturns and created what has been called a "government safety net". Welfare and Social Security are acts of reform that serve to prevent extreme poverty. Many reform initiatives were in support of labor, most notably the Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulated wages and hours for industrial workers.
Overlooked in the realm of reform is banking, notably Glass-Steagall. This legislation drew the line between commercial and investment banking, ensuring that individuals would not lose savings accounts among other things, to investment on the part of the bank. If banks did fail, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would insure deposits up to a certain point, so that people would not be left penniless if a bank did fail.
In addition to the obvious, many reform actions focused upon a feeling of security. Insecure consumers won't spend and will stagnate an economy. Roosevelt needed people to once again feel safe depositing their money in banks, and taking out loans, and for the most part banking reform succeeded in this.
Many policies overlap, but in general the New Deal was a three pronged attack known as the Three Rs. They were Relief, Reform and Recovery.
Relief programs were short term, they focused on things like preventing the people from starving. They mostly took the form of public works programs designed to create temporary jobs. The Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, and the Works Progress Administration built many public works, and the Federal Emergency Relief Association gave direct help to those who needed it, mostly in the form of food. The National Housing Act, and Resettlement Administration focused on housing, creating in some cases whole towns.
Recovery Programs nearly always overlapped with Relief, as per the idea that assistance to the destitute will allow them to become active once again the economy, and facilitate recovery. However, other Recovery organization include the emergency Banking Relief Act, abandonment of the gold standard, and other programs designed to end the Depression in a kind of economic damage control. Many relief acts are also recovery acts.
Lastly, reform acts have lasting impact today. They have lessened the impact of future downturns and created what has been called a "government safety net". Welfare and Social Security are acts of reform that serve to prevent extreme poverty. Many reform initiatives were in support of labor, most notably the Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulated wages and hours for industrial workers.
Overlooked in the realm of reform is banking, notably Glass-Steagall. This legislation drew the line between commercial and investment banking, ensuring that individuals would not lose savings accounts among other things, to investment on the part of the bank. If banks did fail, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would insure deposits up to a certain point, so that people would not be left penniless if a bank did fail.
In addition to the obvious, many reform actions focused upon a feeling of security. Insecure consumers won't spend and will stagnate an economy. Roosevelt needed people to once again feel safe depositing their money in banks, and taking out loans, and for the most part banking reform succeeded in this.