Greg Garner
Period 1
4/14/10
FDR DBQ
During the time period of 1928-1941 the U.S. was going through a rough time. The U.S.
was going through the great depression. The main problems were over production of goods
unemployment, poverty, business failures and bank failures. At the time FDR was president and
him and his administration attempted to come up with solutions to all of the problems. Over all
the solutions worked to a small degree but in the long run they didn’t solve the problems.
One of the problems was over production. Farmers were producing too many crops and
businesses were producing too many goods. FDR and his administration came out with the
Agricultural Adjustment Act. This was financial aid for the farmers other than financial Aid it
made farmers cut back on their crops but the government would pay them. This was affective on
cutting back production but the farmers were just throwing away the crops when the crops could
of gone to the poor families. Referring to document D. This shoes that the reforms are just
spending government money but not truly helping.
The next problem is unemployment. During the great depression millions of Americans
lost there jobs. To help those who had lost their jobs FDR came out with the Tennessee Valley
Authority, Civilian conservation core, public works administration, The Wagner Act and social
security. Though there are many policies and acts they all weren’t effective. A few of them gave
men jobs (Tennessee Valley Authority) and made them give it to their family. They gave people
opportunities for jobs and to make a living but unemployment was so high these didn’t matter
and these only focused mainly on men. Refer to document G + A.
The next major problem is poverty. Due to all of the unemployment many Americans
became poor. FDR came out with policies such as Civilian Conservation Corps, Fair Labors
Standards Act, and Resettlement Act. The acts fame money to families and set up minimum
wage also work hours. Though these seemed effective the poverty level was so high it didn’t
help much. In document F, and B it shows the public disagreement with the Fair Labors
Standards Act so though slightly effective in the long run not effective.
The last major problems were business and bank failures. During the depression since
poverty was high and also unemployment many business weren’t working enough money and
didn’t have enough workers. Also many banks were closing because they were giving out to
many loans and didn’t have enough money to pay the U.S. citizens back. FDR saw these troubles
and put into effect the Emergency Banking Relief Act, The Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, and The Federal Housing Administration. These many plans and corporations were
the most effective. They helped people recover their faith in the banks and also helped business
get up and running, for example The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation made it so that
however much money you put in the back, you were guaranteed 5,000 dollars if something were
to happen to the bank. In Document G it shows how well these acts are working.
All of FDR’s policies in the long run weren’t very effective. They all helped a little but in
the long run they didn’t. They depression hit extremely hard, Even thought the depression was
bad it did help expand the power of the federal government. After the near end of the depression
the U.S. got involved World War II, so that made it even harder to recover.
