Once in office, FDR set to work immediately. His "New Deal," it turned out, involved regulation and reform of the banking system, massive government spending to "prime the pump" by restarting the economy and putting people back to work, and the creation of a social services network to support those who had fallen on hard times.
Between 8 March and 16 June, in what later became known as the "First Hundred Days," Congress followed Roosevelt's lead by passing an incredible fifteen separate bills which, together, formed the basis of the New Deal. Several of the programs created during those three and a half months are still around in the federal government today. Some of Roosevelt's most notable actions during the Hundred Days were:
<span><span>A national bank holiday: The day after his inauguration, FDR declared a "bank holiday," closing all banks in the country to prevent a collapse of the banking system. With the banks closed, Roosevelt took measures to restore the public's confidence in the financial systems; when the banks reopened a week later, the panic was over.22</span><span>Ending the gold standard: To avoid deflation, FDR quickly suspended the gold standard.23 This meant that U.S. dollars no longer had to be backed up by gold reserves, which also meant that the government could print—and spend—more money to "prime the pump" of the economy.</span><span>Glass-Steagall Act: The Glass-Steagall Act imposed regulations on the banking industry that guided it for over fifty years, until it was repealed in 1999.24 The law separated commercial from investment banking, forced banks to get out of the business of financial investment, banned the use of bank deposits in speculation.25 It also created the FDIC[link to "FDIC" passage below]. The effect of the law was to give greater stability to the banking system.</span><span>FDIC: The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission backed all bank deposits up to $2500, meaning that most bank customers no longer had to worry that a bank failure would wipe out their life savings.26The agency continues to insure American deposits today.</span></span>
Proclamation of 1763, proclamation declared by the British crown at the end of the French and Indian War in North America, mainly intended to conciliate the Native Americans by checking the encroachment of settlers on their lands.
When interest rates are increased, borrowing money becomes more expensive. This translates into both individuals and buisnesses having to slow down their enconomic growth, because financing their activities or production also becomes more expensive.
The Federal Reserve has the <u>double-task</u> of keeping prices manageable in a flourishing economy while keeping unemployment as low as possible. When there's inflation, it's been proven that slowing down the economy by increasing interest rates, tends to reduce inflation. That's why it's a good option. We have to keep in mind, however, that this will raise unemployment as a collateral effect.
As you can see, there's no easy answer when it comes to balancing all factors at the same time.
Hope this helps!
By 1600 England had two clusters of colonies.
