The Great Depression is the worst period in the American nation. Many Americans were so worried since the American dream almost died during that time. The worst situation was that The American nation was the only one suffering from the aspects and problems of the great depression. There was a global issue with the Great depression since most countries collapsed while the American nation absorbed the suffering (Romer 390). As much as the Great depression spread roots, everyone was struggling to sell their stock thus leading to extreme difficulties of selling abroad. It was seen that the Americans needed a leader to carry them through the problems of the Great Depression and who would change their lives to attain the American dream. This essay seeks to analyze how Franklin D. Roosevelt who was nominated for the presidency in 1932 by the Democrats saved the American nation from the effect of the Great Depression and how he helped the country to focus on attaining the American Dream.
After the Democrats nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt for the presidency in 1932, Herbert Hoover was his close competitor. However, Roosevelts pledge for the American nation was so powerful to the point that Herbert became irrelevant. For that matter, he said, I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people. Many people considered him since he proved to be concerned about the good of the American people and he promised better times for his nation. Franklin proved to be the solution for that problem of the Great Depression and offered hopes of embracing the American dream.
The history of Franklin Roosevelt was an impeccable one. Thus, he overshadowed Herbert from beating him in 1932 presidential election. For instance, Roosevelt was born at Hyde Park, New York in 1882 (Ward n.p.). He attended Harvard University and pursued a degree in Law. The degree and the social life that he passed through at Harvard University in Columbia was enough to let him lead the nation and assist in solving the problems that the Americans were passing experiencing. He married Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905 and was blessed with four children. Eleanor was supportive and made him become the Senator of New York in 1910 and happened to conquer many things. Despite the challenges of sickness as a result of poliomyelitis, Roosevelt did not give up in life. He still took part in politics in 1928 where he was with a significant margin against his competitor. He won 472 votes against 59 and a further 23million popular vote against 16 million.
As the president of America, Roosevelt first task was to reinforce the American Dream and to refurbish the American confidence and faith that had been lost. He made his passion for being known to people by empowering people of America towards making The American nation great. For instance, he said, Let me assert my firm beliefs that the only things we have to fear are fear itself (Watkins n.p.). This was an affirmation that the nation would be reformed and that people started investing and opening bank accounts hoping for the best and hoping that the Great Depression and all the previous threats would be made to end. Roosevelt made it possible for the formation of the Emergency Banking Act that gave the president the power over all banking sectors and foreign transactions and exchange. The creation of the Act was a confirmation that the US people would fear not about the Great Depression. For that matter, the president assured the people that all the banks that had been closed were to re-open and let people continue with the businesses that they were transacting with the banks. Franklin emphasized on the formation of the New Deal that aimed at unifying the program to end the depression. However, the New Deal just improvised the series of reforms and beliefs. According to Fishback (250), it was discovered that all the programs that Roosevelt introduced helped the country to reform thus ending the Great Depression. Additionally, the Civilian Conservation Corp and the Federal Relief Act also assisted in rebuilding the American nation and helped it to recover from the Great Depression.
Notwithstanding the fact that the programs that Roosevelt started helped the American people to recover from the effect of the Great Depression, many business people turned against Roosevelts New Deal Program thus derailing his efforts (Patterson n.p.). To respond to the resistance, Roosevelt decided to create a second program that he termed as Hundred Days. The goals of the new reform were to; provide security for all ages, illness, and unemployment, strengthening the national commitment to create jobs and lastly to improve housing conditions. According to tp Faragher et al. (700), the New Deal did more since it strengthened the presence of the national government among the lives of the American people.
Lastly, Roosevelt showed that he was indeed a great leader since he handled the situations in the American nation with confidence to the point of ending the Great Depression exceptionally well. He made it possible for expansion of the power of Federal government. Apart from coming up with the New Deal, he carried the country through several other reforms that no other president has to evert done for the Americans. Additionally, Fishback, Price, Ryan, and Kantor (720) outlined that Roosevelt made all his ideas concerning the nation through the Radio to make the Americans know and react to the reforms that he was preparing to avoid being a dictator. His achievements earned him points to be elected four times as the president of America in a row. His outstanding qualities made him serve America well thus helping him to restore the faith of the Americans and achieved the American dream to move forward.
Fishback, Price V., Ryan S. Johnson, and Shawn Kantor. "Striking at the roots of crime: The impact of welfare spending on crime during the great depression." The Journal of Law and Economics 53.4 (2010): 715-740.
Fishback, Price V. "New Deal." Banking Crises. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2016. 241-250.
Patterson, James T. Congressional conservatism, and the New Deal. University Press of Kentucky, 2015.
Romer, Christina D. "It takes a regime shift: recent developments in Japanese monetary policy through the lens of the Great Depression." NBER Macroeconomics Annual28.1 (2014): 383-400.
Ward, Geoffrey C. Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1905. Vintage, 2014.
Watkins, Tom H. The Great Depression: America in the 1930s. Back Bay Books/Little, Brown, 2009.
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