New Deal Reforms, Essay Example

The Great Depression, also known as “Black Tuesday” was an economic catastrophic event for America when it struck in 1929. It is categorized by the fall of the American stock market and sending the country into a crippling economic downturn (New Deal, n.d.). However, on the heels of the Great Depression, the New Deal and its reforms emerged for the American people. It was enacted in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and he spoke about it in his first inaugural address when he stated his famous quote “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” (New Deal, n.d., para. 2). According to Merriam-Webster Online, the New Deal was “the legislative and administrative program of President F. D. Roosevelt designed to promote economic recovery and social reform during the 1930s”. This program was actually a series of domestic programs intended to give Americans who were left poverty-stricken by the Depression some economic relief. According to Oxford Dictionaries, the New Deal put several economic measures into place to counteract the negative effects of the onslaught of the Great Depression, which involved a reformed public works program along with large-scale loans being granted to businesses and certain individuals. The New Deal was also instrumental in reducing unemployment in American during the time (New Deal-2, n.d.).

Who Received Assistance

Many Americans received assistance from the reforms generated by the New Deal; however, not all Americans benefited. The assistance was unequally distributed. Many remained outside the reach of New Deal assistance, and these people were mainly part of minority groups, especially Mexican Americans and African Americans. Many of the people in these minority groups actually lost out when it came to benefiting from New Deal reforms. For example, a significant gap between minority and white homeownership rates existed during this time, and individual states often inflicted discriminatory actions when administering programs. According to Kollmann & Fishback (2011), it was reported that the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) was an agency that discriminated against minorities by giving lower loan quality ratings for black, Hispanic and Asian dominated neighborhoods than for white neighborhoods. There were definitely limits to New Deal reforms for minority groups.

Politics and Reform Limits

The limits of New Deal reforms on the part of minorities had a political element to it, which was particularly evident in the treatment of African Americans and other minority groups. Many policies put into place left minority groups neglected or left out completely, specifically regarding matters pertaining to them being farm workers or domestic workers who did not own the land they lived on. In addition, African Americans and many poor white voters were disfranchised, based on a unique political geography in the United States during this time. This resulted in many social and labor movements not having much of a voice in most Southern states(Manza, 2000). The constituents in these states had little leverage to demand assistance and changes to unequal policies. According to Manza (2000), because of the biased political geography in the country, “Uncompetitive elections in most parts of the South meant that Southern political elites had few incentives to respond to whatever popular pressures did emerge” (p. 309). However, Southern politicians eventually began speaking up and opposing various types of social spending because they needed to protect their labor-intensive economy, which was threatened by strong racism.

Federal response to most of the demands of the Southern constituents continued to be met with inequality for minority Americans. This is evident in the fact that African-American workers, for the most part, were not included in protections afforded by the Social Security Act, the National Labor Relations Act or the Fair Labor Standards Act, which meant they could only seek help from local programs. Southern politicians strongly opposed any policy that was federally-controlled until after World War II (Manza, 2000).

President Roosevelt continued with efforts to confront political setbacks that often threatened New Deal policies, such as the Supreme Court labeling New Deal reforms as unconstitutional federal authoritative measures. In spite of the setbacks brought on by the New Deal and racial and political unrest, the New Deal was instrumental in adjusting interest rates, initiating farm and housing subsidies and creating work programs for many. In addition, it facilitated a new political coalition made up of both white and black working people, even though they did not normally share the same interests. However, they did all agree that an interventionist government was a good idea for the national economy (New Deal, n.d.).

The New Deal was meant to alleviate the problems brought on by the Great Depression, and it did in many respects for many people. However, many still were stuck in the balance because they did not benefit much or at all from the unequal reforms of New Deal policies, which was not surprising, considering the history of the nation regarding race relations up until the time of the New Deal.

References

Kollmann, T. M., & Fishback, P. V. (2011, May). The New Deal, Race, and Home Ownership in the 1920s and 1930s. American Economic Review, 3, 366-370.

Manza, J. (2000). Political Sociological Models of the U.S. New Deal. Annual Rev. Sociolo., 26(1), 297-322.

New Deal. (n.d.). Retrieved from History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/new-deal

New Deal-2. (n.d.). Retrieved from Oxford Dictionaries: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/New-Deal