Answer:
As the Great Depression cascaded across the US economy, millions lost their jobs. Due to racism in the South, most African Americans were forced to leave their jobs and become unemployed. Those who managed to keep their jobs received pay cuts of a third or more. People who were out of work took to the streets to sell apples and beg for food and money. More than a third of the nation’s banks also failed which led to citizens losing their life savings. For farmers, on top of falling prices for crops, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas received droughts and series of “Dust Bowls”. The financial crisis was not limited to the United States spreading to Europe increasing Hitler’s power in Germany.
Roosevelt’s New Deal program had three major goals and those were relief, recovery, and reform. The platform aimed to relive the mass consequences of the Great Depression through addressing key issues such as deflation, unemployment, and poverty. In his efforts, to address the issue of poverty, Roosevelt introduced policies such as social security and unemployment benefits. He also created the monetary policies that helped the alleviate the crisis which went often undiscussed. Tighter government regulations were constructed intending to prevent any further economic disasters.
In April of 1995, Roosevelt created the WPA (Works Progress Administration) to provide jobs for the unemployed. More women also entered the workforce. Post offices, bridges, schools, highways, and parks were built for the public. The WPA also gave work to writers, artists, and musicians. Roosevelt signed a Social Security Act which guaranteed pensions to millions of Americans, set up a system of unemployment insurance, and stipulated that the federal government would help care for dependent children and the disabled. He also created a political coalition that included white working people, African Americans, and left-wing intellectuals.
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