Road to a Recovery
The Great Depression affected the American economy greatly. President Roosevelt knew that relief for people nationwide would help stimulate the economy, but much bigger actions would need to be taken in order for the United States' economy to be restored to the level it was before the Great Depression. These programs are some of the most effective programs which helped the economy's recovery.
The Emergency Banking Act
In the first week of his presidency, Roosevelt called an official bank holiday. This meant that every bank across America was to close for the following four days. "During that time, those banks that could be saved would be reorganized and reopened. Those banks that could not be saved would close their doors forever." (Fitzgerald 39) Also during the bank holiday, Roosevelt's administration and Congress worked to come up with a way to change the current banking system for the better, which was a major focus of the Emergency Banking Act. This Act was to ensure that a banking crisis would never happen again. It would change the government's role in the banking system; the government would have much stricter supervision of banks. The supervision would decrease bank failures that were due to unethical practices of the bank. These immoral practices included investing money in dishonest and unwise ways. The Emergency Banking Act also gave the U.S. Treasury more power. The Treasury could stop people from accumulating a great amount of gold, and issue more paper money for use. Americans had to have faith in the banking system once more.
The National Industrial Recovery Act and the National Recovery Administration
The "Blue Eagle" showed a business's support of the NRA
In June of his first year in office, Roosevelt introduced the
National Industrial Recovery Act, which he hoped would immensely recover the
economy from its current state. This Act helped set up the National Recovery
Administration, or the NRA. This program helped American workers and
businesses. The NRA strengthened and encouraged labor unions in the United
States. It encouraged business employers to negotiate with the unions of
workers rather than individual employees. The NRA also created minimum wage as
well as a maximum number of hours an employee can work. The program also set up
fixed pricing on merchandise. The government thought that by doing this, they
could prevent businesses from cutting prices to get business, which could
prevent some smaller businesses from going out of business. The NRA allowed
the government to control how much of a product a company could make. This idea
would keep more reasonable prices by preventing businesses from having an
abundance of a product in the market. The program also forbid companies from
attacking other companies and using false advertising propaganda. Arguably one of the most unusual and controversial part of the NRA was the prohibiting of any technological advance that could reduce the number of employees in a business.
This helped Americans keep their jobs, but the United States could be behind in terms of industrial standards in the world. The NRA did not end the Depression, and eventually was ruled unconstitutional, but it helped American businesses through rough times in the economy.
National Industrial Recovery Act, which he hoped would immensely recover the
economy from its current state. This Act helped set up the National Recovery
Administration, or the NRA. This program helped American workers and
businesses. The NRA strengthened and encouraged labor unions in the United
States. It encouraged business employers to negotiate with the unions of
workers rather than individual employees. The NRA also created minimum wage as
well as a maximum number of hours an employee can work. The program also set up
fixed pricing on merchandise. The government thought that by doing this, they
could prevent businesses from cutting prices to get business, which could
prevent some smaller businesses from going out of business. The NRA allowed
the government to control how much of a product a company could make. This idea
would keep more reasonable prices by preventing businesses from having an
abundance of a product in the market. The program also forbid companies from
attacking other companies and using false advertising propaganda. Arguably one of the most unusual and controversial part of the NRA was the prohibiting of any technological advance that could reduce the number of employees in a business.
This helped Americans keep their jobs, but the United States could be behind in terms of industrial standards in the world. The NRA did not end the Depression, and eventually was ruled unconstitutional, but it helped American businesses through rough times in the economy.