New Deal - Fdr

The amazing leadership and controversial ideas of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Maynard Keyes was instrumental in why America was finally able to rise up from the Great Depression, some of their ideas and radical thinking faced opposition, and the "New Deal" was no exception. Although it was a long road that FDR and JMK had, with strong conviction and faith these two men pretty much single handily were able to save America. Their ideas and beliefs went against everything that had ever been done before, and they were not afraid to take on the powerhouses of America. FDR did what he thought was right, he did not forget about the average joe, infact he worked for him.

The late 1920's was a hard time for America. Farmers were struggling with their profession and many relocated to cities for factory work. The economy was in a downward tailspin with declining crop prices, and high inflation. On October 24, 1929, the unthinkable happened, the New York Stock Exchange crashed, with a loss of over 5 billion dollars (http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html) .Investors lost faith in the economy and they pulled their funding. The result of little to no capital in the economy caused The Great Depression. Many businesses and banks were not able to survive, even with President Hoover's financial assistance. President Hoover believed that if the businesses survived that the rest of society would correct itself, so he did not help the average person.

Franklin D Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, and he had a different way of thinking than Hoover. He believed the only way to get America out of the Great Depression was not to ignore the poor, but to help them. In March of 1933, he began a program that gave the poor financial assistance, while working on a plan that would bring life back to America's economy, which he called the New Deal (http://www.fdrheritage.org/fdrbio.htm). In order to achieve this FDR encircled himself with trusted economists and very bright individuals. This selected group was commonly referred to as the Brain Trust.

His first 100 days in office led to the reselling of alcohol, ending Prohibition. He implemented the Emergency Banking Act which only allowed stable banks to be open and closed unstable ones. FDR believed it was crucial to have laws for the NYC Stock Exchange, so he created the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC watched the purchases within the NYC Stock Exchange and made sure there was no fraud involved. FDR also knew the importance of helping those struggling, so he implemented the Federal Housing Administration. The FTC was designed to pay the house payment for those struggling. He also set aside 5 million in emergency funding for the poor and created jobs. FDR made all these radical changes, and many more, the majority of the public embraced them. In order to continue gaining support for the New Deal, FDR had fireside chats