HIS FPX 1150 Assessment 3 Lesson From History

Capella University

HIS FPX 1150 History

Prof. Name

November, 2024

Lessons from History 

History gives direction to deal with today’s challenges and tomorrow’s comes from learning history. It inspired the human spirit, overcoming obstacles for a meaningful change. Among the lessons learned from U.S. history, is the importance of resilience and adaptability when crisis strikes-like in the Great Depression and the New Deal. Indeed, the country had to grapple with an economic crash, mass unemployment, and poverty in the 1930s (Alam et al., 2020). President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal addressed this by introducing reforms in policies concerning recovery, relief for distressed families and individuals, and reform to avoid further calamities. Perhaps the stage just went further to emphasize government intervention, infrastructure establishment, and the social welfare structure. So, once reminded by such new directions that through some kind of joint effort and long-term investments, the American people can solve these problems in the future with the same strength and teamwork that has emerged so far.

Chosen Issue and Primary Research Question 

The problem that I am going to work on is the Great Depression and the aftermath of a New Deal, the economic as well as social struggle of the United States in the 1930s (Campani et al., 2022). The Great Depression manifested itself in the form of a catastrophic financial crisis combined with mass unemployment and poverty at alarming levels which forced a critical reassessment of the role of government in responding to economic disasters. Thus, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal responded with its programs aimed at giving relief and recovery while attempting to reform the economic system as well. The guiding research question in this study is: What impact did New Deal policies have on the recovery of the U.S. economy and, in turn, inform future government moves to issues of economic downturn? This would mean taking into consideration how effective the interventions by the New Deal were and its long-term impact on U.S. economic policy regarding government responsibility during moments of financial instability.

Sub Questions

Some of the sub-questions, which could be useful to help define, elaborate, and even answer the primary research question regarding the Great Depression and the New Deal are the following:

1. What were some of the key programs and policies of the New Deal and how did they directly affect the economic challenges posed by the Great Depression?
2. To what extent were unemployment and poverty reduced during the 1930s in the United States of America through the New Deal?
3. In what ways did the New Deal recast the role of the federal government in managing the economy and providing social welfare?
4. What were the short-term and long-term effects of the New Deal on American society and labor markets?
5. How has the New Deal framed or structured post-New Deal responses by the government to crises?
6. What were some of the New Deal’s criticisms, and how did these criticisms shape subsequent economic policy and reform?

Overview 

It was the period of one of the most brutal economic disasters in U.S. history, marked by sweeping unemployment and poverty, with financial instability everywhere  (Daumas, 2023). Franklin D. Roosevelt came out with a New Deal- a series of government programs and reforms designed to provide relief to the unemployed, stimulate economic recovery, and prevent future financial collapses. The New Deal was replete with programs: Social Security, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and large-scale public works. While the New Deal was practically stabilizing the economy, it also gave short-term relief, but in the long term, it transformed the role of the federal government to regulate the economy and social welfare. This signaled the start of a trend wherein the economic policies of the U.S. started becoming a direction as the basis for future government intervention into economic crises.

Credibility of Resources

For the Great Depression and the New Deal, among credible resources there are, but not limited to, academic journals, official governmental websites, and historical organizations. Here are a few of the ones used in this essay, to consider for further research:

1. Library of Congress

The Library of Congress provides sources and primary materials on the histories of the United States, the Great Depression, and the New Deal, all with expert research. This is a governmental institution known for its scholarly collections.  URL:  https://www.loc.gov/

2. National Archives

The National Archives offers access to historical records, and core documents of the New Deal era, and is a great source for primary documents, policies, and executive orders from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Link: https://www.archives.gov/

3. JSTOR

It’s an academic database comprising peer-reviewed, journal articles, books, and primary sources on a subject-by-subject basis across over 50 disciplines and history. Here you will find scholarly articles discussing the economic, social, and political implications of the New Deal.

Link: https://www.jstor.org/

4. American Historical Association (AHA)

The AHA is a trusted resource for historical scholarship, with research, articles, and discussions on the U.S. history of the Great Depression and the New Deal.

Link: https://www.historians.org/

5. Federal Reserve History

The website of the Federal Reserve provides a thorough analysis and a historical perspective regarding the economic events of the Great Depression and the economic reforms enacted through the New Deal.

Link: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/

Causes and Long-term Impacts 

A combination of factors created a perfect storm of economic collapse that was the major cause of the Great Depression (Dennis et al., 2021). It began with the stock market crash in 1929. One of the major causes of this was the overextension of credit during the 1920s, which made the rise in stock prices unsustainable. The assets lost were so massive when the market crashed that individuals and businesses lost a huge amount of their investments and wealth. Agricultural and industrial overproduction resulted in an oversupply of goods, while consumer purchasing power was in short supply. The problem translated into falling prices and layoffs, which worsened the economic situation. Moreover, bank failures, due to bad loans and lack of adequate financial safeguards, wiped out the savings of millions of Americans. International effects of World War I, for example, trade restrictions, and global financial instability also played a very pivotal role in spreading the depression effects worldwide.

The Long-term impacts of the Great Depression proved to be transformative both for the U.S. economy and for its government (Boyle et al., 2021). The most profound impact was that the federal government became much more active in the economy through New Deal programs of relief, recovery, and reform. The New Deal reforms included Social Security, unemployment insurance, and the FDIC, among others, which created a safety net for citizens and stabilized the financial system. These programs fundamentally changed the dynamic between the government and its people, giving rise to the principles of a welfare state. The Great Depression also heightened the shift in economic policy where the U.S. took up the Keynesian economic principles intending to have the government intervene in the economy to stimulate demand and prevent another future collapse of the economy. Although the direct impacts of the Depression dissipated with World War II’s conclusion, its influence in the forms of economic regulation, social welfare programs, and supervision by the government remained the cornerstone of American economic policy for many decades.