The Great Depression - Essay Example

At The dawn of the 30s, foreign policy was not a hot issue for the average American as the stock market. Each month was a struggle to survive and brought greater and greater hardships.  The progressive movement mark the initiation of “big government” involvement in which reform became a critical aspect to address these sorts of issues. Social and economic change was not only necessary but vital towards the success of America itself. The effort to improve society was a major push that was new to the nation as key issues such as reforming working conditions and assisting the mentally ill people challenged the whole notion of old traditions.

Progressivism at its best aimed to remove corruption by imposing child labor laws, addressing lynching based on racism, and removing politicians that were involved in illegal business practices. At the local level, progressivism continued to display brilliant signs of reform as the construction of schools was pushed, political machines were dissolved, and politics was addressed in an efficient manner.  Roosevelt’s New Deal was considered of two phases that were planned to recovery and relief.

The first phase concentrated on to heal society from Great Depression through different channel. Acts such as the Agricultural Adjust Administration clearly boosted agriculture reform and built civil infrastructure. Bank reform occurred in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which installed a limit and tightened finance regulations. The second phase of the New Deal 1935 and 1941 concentrated on recovery measures. The implementation of the social security system tremendously secured the economic security and the individual warfare.

The Fair Labor Standards Act that was passed in 1938 again emphasized as minimum living standards for workers that were associated with commerce.  The minimum wage was raised from $0.25 to $0.40 along with 44 hours limit and established pay for overtime. The Department of Labor spearheaded this effort as the standards were raised. ReferencesLeuchtenburg, W. E. (1963). Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940 ([1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.