The New Deal

The New Deal was a series of domestic programs enacted by the United States between 1933 and 1936. These were programs put in place by Congress and President Roosevelt, for the alleviation of the Great Depression. The programs were modeled after Roosevelt's 3 R's: Relief (for the unemployed and poor), Recovery (of the economy to normal levels), and Reform (of the financial system to prevent another depression). It was a political realignment that made the Democrats the majority. From this, the republicans were split, and the Conservatives entirely opposed the New Deal, for they thought of it as an enemy of business and growth, while liberals somewhat accepted it as they wanted to make revisions to make it more efficient. From this, the New Deal Coalition was formed.

Upon the Democratic nomination for president in 1932, Franklin Roosevelt promised a new deal to the American people, and said:

"Throughout the nation men and women, forgotten in the political philosophy of the Government, look to us here for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth... I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people. This is more than a political campaign. It is a call to arms."

 He wants to greatly improve upon the American economy, obviously because they are in the midst of the Great Depression. He says he wants to share the national wealth in this New Deal.

The New Deal faced some vocal conservative opposition. The first organized opposition in 1934 came from the American Liberty League, which was led by conservative Democrats such as John W. Davis and Al Smith (presidential candidates). There was also a large but loosely affiliated group of New Deal opponents, who were commonly known as the Old Right. This group consisted of politicians, intellectuals, writers, and newspaper editors of various philosophical persuasions such as classical liberals and conservatives, both Democrats and Republicans.

 The New Deal represented a significant shift in politics and domestic policy. It mainly led to greatly increased federal regulation of the economy. It was also the beginning of many complex social programs and the growing power of labor unions. The effects of the New Deal has many viewpoints and angles to argue, in my opinion, I think the New Deal was a major stepping stone for America to get back on track during this horrid time period.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal