As America headed into the era known as the Great Depression, which is often thought of as commencing with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 and ending with AmericaÆs entry into World War II in 1941, hopes for revitalization were pinned on then-President Herbert Hoover. HooverÆs response, in line with his economic conservative leanings, was to allow municipal governments and businesses to work towards revitalizing the economy. This approach, which might possibly have been effective in less dire circumstances, did little to correct the economic downslide in the United States and abroad that was rooted in years of over-speculative investing and rampant industrial and agricultural production that overshot consumer spending.
By the time President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) took office in 1932, his pledge from his Democratic nomination speech of ô...a new deal for the American peopleö was a ray of hope for the many Americans hanging on to the edge of survival under harsh economic times. The first one hundred days of his administration proved to be a whirlwind of novel resolutions and programs that would help keep America afloat and, possibly, prevent massive social upheaval until industrial activities of World War II would re-stimulate the United States economy.
In contrast to the former President HooverÆs top-down economic policy, FDR backed programs that gave jobs and money directly to the workers and families in need of support. The Works Progress Administration provided jobs for over 3.5 million Americans building roads, dams, and public facilities. The Civilian Conservation Corps employed 2.5 million young men in projects that improved public wildlands. The HomeownerÆs Loan Act helped families on verge of losing their homes to refinance. Early on, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was set up to insure banks. These and other programs gave the common American a sense of hope and restored a semblance o...