The ‘New Deal’ - the start of Franklin D Roosevelt’s presidency - The Great Depression - AQA - GCSE History Revision - AQA

The ‘New Deal’ - the start of Franklin D Roosevelt’s presidency

Franklin D Roosevelt became president in March 1933. He used his first major speech to begin to restore the confidence of Americans in the economy and government. At his as president, he told the American people, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” The first 100 days of his presidency signalled the end of the approach to helping the economy. The government began to lay out and set in action plans to aid the economy.

The New Deal

Roosevelt was proactive in dealing with the effects of the Great Depression. He came up with a new set of policies known as the

The main aim of the New Deal was to save American To do this, Roosevelt created a series of policies that saw the government intervene in the economy more than ever before.

The New Deal enabled to pass 15 major new bills addressing a range of problems. The first acts of Roosevelt’s presidency were as follows:

Problem	Measure	Action	Impact
Americans had lost confidence in the banking system.	1933 Emergency Banking Act	Roosevelt temporarily closed all banks to inspect them, and only the well-managed and stable banks were allowed to reopen.	People’s confidence in the banking system was restored. People began putting their money back in banks. Banks could lend money to businesses again.
The government needed money to fund the New Deal.	1933 Economy Act	All government employees’ pay was cut by 15 per cent.	Almost $1 billion was saved.
Prohibition was unpopular and fuelling organised crime.	1933 Beer and Wine Revenue Act	Prohibition was ended.	Organised crime began to decline. Selling alcohol meant it could be taxed to raise money.

Problem	Americans had lost confidence in the banking system.
Measure	1933 Emergency Banking Act
Action	Roosevelt temporarily closed all banks to inspect them, and only the well-managed and stable banks were allowed to reopen.
Impact	People’s confidence in the banking system was restored. People began putting their money back in banks. Banks could lend money to businesses again.

Problem	The government needed money to fund the New Deal.
Measure	1933 Economy Act
Action	All government employees’ pay was cut by 15 per cent.
Impact	Almost $1 billion was saved.

Problem	Prohibition was unpopular and fuelling organised crime.
Measure	1933 Beer and Wine Revenue Act
Action	Prohibition was ended.
Impact	Organised crime began to decline. Selling alcohol meant it could be taxed to raise money.

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The Great Depression - AQAThe ‘New Deal’ - the start of Franklin D Roosevelt’s presidency