amazing, thanks. heres the essay. im sorry if it's really lengthy. any feedback is appreciated.
During one of the most difficult times in the economy of the United States, many Americans were faced with the question of whether the government is doing what is necessary to fix the economy. The first half of the 19th century marked the desire for political reform and emphasized how important the role of government plays in society. Franklin Roosevelt's speech on October 31, 1936 stressed an emphasis on his New Deal program and advocated a change from what he implied was a do-nothing government to a hands-on government. Huey Long in his "Share Our Wealth" speech in April 1935 advocated for reform in the government, a step that a new legislation must take in the place of Roosevelt's New Deal program. Herbert Hoover in "The Confused State of the Union," informed the public about the confusion of the 'promises' made by Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal. These speeches were presented in an era where turmoil was heightened to a level never before seen. Society was being torn apart by the depression: the country was facing problems of poor working conditions, slow and ineffective politics and a dying economy. It became evident that the role of government became more important because society depended on the government to solve the lasting problems of the economy, in politics, and social reforms. Franklin D. Roosevelt was confident that the New Deal program would fix these issues but many Americans including Herbert Hoover and Huey Long questioned the role of government and offered their own conjecture about the New Deal.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, upon becoming president, enacted the New Deal, a program though 1933 to 1939 best described to provide relief, recovery, and reform. The role of government is to enact efficient legislations. In 1933 the role of the government was to impose regulations that will fix the crisis, the crisis being the dying economy. The New Deal was aimed to stimulate the industrial recovery, to assist the victims of the Depression, to raise the quality of life standards and further to prevent future economic crises. Franklin D. Roosevelt stressed that the role of government is important in society because millions of Americans could not simply support themselves financially; they depend on the economy to live. That being said, they depend on the government for that reason. Americans suffered enough following the depressing economy and the stock market crash in 1929. The road to recovery during the Great Depression to the late 1930s was a long journey, but one that could be achieved through the decisions of the government. Franklin D. Roosevelt imposed a set of programs in the New Deal that extended through the periods 1933 to 1936. Still, the extent of recovery could be argued, for it had both positive and negative effects on society.
In Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 speech, He advocated that the government had been changed for the better since his inauguration as President in 1933. Let's remember that this speech was in close proximity to his second term. This address was primarily aimed at the citizens of the United States, to tell the people that they are fighting to improve conditions. His arguments in his speech dismissed the employers and politicians who was not approving of his New Deal program. The speech stressed Roosevelt's desire to strive to continue to change the poor working conditions, low wages, and high levels of unemployment among other issues all the while maintaining this idea of "peace." Roosevelt wanted the public to know that the government would reform, to destroy monopolies, destroy class antagonism and to destroy stock speculation. He wanted the people to know the government's goals were to rebuild democracy, to save the economy, improve living standards and most importantly, to protect individual rights in society. Roosevelt's solution was the New Deal enactment, but was the New Deal effective? Was his speech full of fluff?
Franklin Roosevelt welcomed the hatred of those businesses that oppose him. He loudly attacked the employers and politicians for concealing the fact that fired employees receive another insurance policy yet it is unknown to them. To identify the notion of this speech, it is important to identify the New Deal programs of which he enacted and passed. What is especially important to consider is the National Recovery Administration (NRA), created in June 1933. Purposefully, it permitted businesses that complied with these codes of conduct the immunity from the antitrust laws. The NRA asked businesses to regulate prices, wages, working conditions and credit. Was it not Roosevelt's goal to destroy monopolies and trusts? Yet it seemed that he was supporting these trusts. The role of government brought about an oscillating level of fear and trust in the American people. The role of government is important in society, primarily when the nation is facing turmoil because of the millions of Americans who depend on the economy to continue with their daily lives, and ultimately depend on the president's role in the government to accomplish reforms ranging from the economy, society, and politics on a national level. It is necessary to note that the NRA guaranteed the President the power to regulate interstate commerce. While the NRA was effective, it was certainly bringing America closer to the socialism in which the country long opposed, by granting the President unconstitutional powers.
Another New Deal program was the Public Works Administration (WPA), whose primary goal was to provide federal funds to stimulate the United States industrial recovery. The WPA spent billions to employ American citizens to work. Essentially speaking, the New Deal program forced the nation to spend a vast amount of federal funds. Not to mention introduction of the Social Security that provided a system of old age pensions. It is safe to say that the government possessed a huge power. The public noticed this power and pondered about the role of government in society. Whether the reform FDR strongly advocated was a success was relative to whom it was targeting. The Agriculture Adjustment Administration was formed in 1933 with the purpose of trying to raise farm prices by paying farmers not to raise certain crops and animals. These farmers killed off certain animals and crops that they were told not to raise by the AAA. American citizens could not believe the way FDR and his New Deal program handled such a situation where the entire nation was starving and yet they were killing off these animals. Perhaps it was necessary for the role of government to take a bigger role in the lives of Americans, to step on levels of new powers that previous presidents never held the power to do so. Unconstitutional as it is, the safeguarding of the citizen's well being was first, thus the role of government had to be emphasized in the era of the century. It was seemingly effective to a certain extent for it did provide aid to Americans in the form of employment, food and shelter. But this did not benefit the nation at large. The poor become poorer and the rich became richer.
It was Roosevelt's ruins, as Huey Long had said. Huey Long in his "Share Our Wealth" speech in April of 1935 advocated his own program, one that completely opposed that of Franklin D. Roosevelt's. Long says that albeit Roosevelt's goals were to continue to cut down the rich man's fortune, it only caused them to become richer while the poor became poorer. To a certain extent, he was correct. The rich did in fact become richer, and the poor became poorer because many groups of people were not getting the benefit of the programs, such as the African Americans, and Mexican Americans. The federal debt also increased exponentially to an all-time high of $14 billion, up from $1.25 billion during Hoover's administration. Long advocated the cutting of the rich people's fortune, primarily cutting it down to only the maximum of a few million and with that few million that they make, a large tax would be imposed. He maintained that this tax goes to federal spending, allowing the government to distribute the wealth, hence "share our wealth," to the less unfortunate. Through processes of giving food, clothing, employment, education expenses, and pensions to old age citizens, Long believed it would destroy the class warfare, battle the riches and big business. These were plans that Franklin D. Roosevelt longed to do so. One problematic concern about Long's program is that it was irrational for the millionaires who were millionaires long before Huey Long even advocated his program, to follow this sort of program because it was unfair. Long even recommended that this program could be sorted out in three months. It would generate havoc in society. In reasonable circumstances, it would not work. It is unreasonable for millionaires who became millionaires through generations of business to readily give up their fortune. What benefit would that give to them? Still, it could be argued that the New Deal programs only placed a sense of optimism in the American people. Herbert Hoover believed in these confusions in the role of government, the New Deal, and in particular, Franklin D. Roosevelt's plans.
Herbert Hoover addressed the public's concern in his speech, "The Confused State of the Union," in February 12, 1936. Hoover genuinely did not believe the effectiveness of the New Deal programs. This confusion that Hoover spoke of was with Roosevelt and his plans for the future. Hoover pondered in which the direction the government was going in to fix the economy. Hoover cited that the New Deal was a "fountain of fear", which paved way to the bank panic of March 4th. Those moneychangers that Roosevelt said he got rid off only came back once again. This confusion that Hoover states, should take no place in the role of government. The role of government is to improve upon the structure of the nation. Hoover says Roosevelt's idea of democracy is dictatorship, because with the power he gained through the New Deal program, it became a politically "planned" economy. This guaranteed power in the possession of the President was unconstitutional, similar to what Long had mentioned in his speech. Perhaps this confusion, that Hoover mentions is correct. The New Deal was confusing in a sense that it spent billions on budget deficits, debts, and currency that did not have an astonishing effect on the recovery of the economy. The New Deal caused a lot of confusion by imposing policies that generated inflation and devaluated goods, which made the cost of living, rise exponentially during an economic crisis. It could be argued that the biggest confusion in the New Deal was its tendency to experiment, to experiment with the New Deal programs of Roosevelt that was never before introduced to society. This goes to show that the role of government in an economic crisis possesses a reckless power, which stirred confusion and fears into the American people.
Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal program's "success" made many individuals like Huey Long and Herbert Hoover ponder about the role of government and the level of reform that the program reached during the depression. Americans during the 1930s were faced with the question of whether the government was reaching their goals. The role of government playing in society became something they were confused. Franklin D. Roosevelt in his speech tried to reach the American people by emphasizing the successes he had with the New Deal and continued plans to follow in his second term. His New Deal programs were meant to alleviate the economy but were confusing to some individuals like Hoover and Long. Herbert Hoover analyzed in his "The Confused State of the Union," that the New Deal used a huge amount of government expenditure at the expense of the American citizens. The New Deal was a failure, Huey Long, who spoke in his "Share Our Wealth" speech in 1935. Long thought the government needed a completely new legislation in handling the depression. It is evidential to note that the role of government played a huge part in the economy and American public, primarily because it was in a state of recession where citizens looked to the government for help and reform. Thus, the role of government is essential to safeguard the American citizens, assisting in the daily problems of society on a regular basis and providing the needs for a healthy economy to run the nation.
