Transcript Slide 1

Assessing the New Deal
New Deal Programs…
• Promised that the government would care for the
weak in society
• Gave the government greater control over the
economy
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Banks
Businesses
Farms
Etc.
• Was this a good thing or a bad thing for our
country?
– There is NOT agreement on this point
• More humane
•No homeless old people
•No starvation, etc.
•Built up infrastructure
•Roads, bridges, dams, etc.
•Eased pain of Great Depression
•Unemployment dropped
•Millions got jobs
•Businesses recovered
•Trust in banks recovered
•Supported the Ideas of Keynesian economics
Gov should cut
spending
Gov should deficit
spent
•Conservative Critics
•some felt that the New Deal gave the Federal Government
too much power
•This harmed business
• increased federal deficit
• The Supreme Court declared some New Deal programs
unconstitutional (ex: NRA & AAA)
•Socialist (very liberal) Critics
•some felt the New Deal did not do enough
•should gov take over and run banks?
•Should all Americans be guaranteed jobs?
•In the New Deal, gov. held back farm production as people
starved.
•*** interesting economic discussion of how the price that
would allow farmers to break even can be too high for
the poor… how to deal with that?
•New Deal did not end Great Depression – WWII did