The New Deal

FDR began The New Deal with an ambitious set of programs during his first 100 days in office. The New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great Depression to restore prosperity to Americans. Never had so much transformative legislation been passed by congress in so little time. Fifteen major bills brought about significant reform in banking, real estate, public works, and the job market. The program perhaps most dear to FDR was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC rovided jobs for young, unemployed men during the Great Depression. Over its 9-year lifespan, the CCC employed about 3 million men nationwide.

The Second New Deal is the term used to describe the second stage, 1935–1936, of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's economic revitalization programs. FDR continued to champion new programs to put people back to work and improve everyday life. Programs of this second wave included the National Youth Administation, the Rural Electrification Administration, and the Works Progress Administration.

Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to win a third term in office. In 1941, during the first State of the Union address of his third term, FDR described the kind of unified world he hoped would emerge after World War II — a neighborhood of nations helping one another. In 1941, FDR introduced the Lend Lease Program to help Britain stock up on supplies for the War when resources became low. The move was both a demonstration of the neighborly approach FDR had described in this address and also a move to bring The U.S. closer to entering WWII.

In 1933, the U.S. was in the midst of the Great Depression. Five thousand banks had failed and nine million savings accounts had evaporated. Just a week after his inauguration, Franklin D. Roosevelt turned to radio to speak to the American public. This was the first of FDR’s fireside chats. Throughought the twelve years of his presidency, FDR used radio strategically to avoid becoming frequent enough to be written-off or ignored. Sixty million Americans tuned in to this first address, and listened to their president explain how banks worked, why they had failed, and what he planned to do to lead the U.S. back to prosperity.