These sources indicate the importance of action in New Deal programs. The piece about the Dust Bowl shows us the sense of desperation in those that have not moved forward. The Oklahoma and pandhandle of Texas suffered so much from environmental destruction that many people found it necessary to leave the region entirely.
The New Deal programs demonstrate that not only is it important for people to get back to work, but also to utilize natural resources in a more efficient and productive manner. FDR stresses that rebuilding the country also means improving it for the future and ensuring that it would continue to grow. In addition to the Hoover dam, the Chrystler building, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller center and Mount Rushmore (to name a few) were all completed in the midst of the Great Depression. Clearly these were all very expensive projects, and they all epitomize America today. The old adage, "you have to spend money to make money" resonates with me as I imagine the country in crisis continuing to build rather than recoil in fear.
What, in your mind, did these New Deal programs accomplish? What impact did they have on how the United States imagined itself?
After I read the reading, I felt these New Deal programs accomplished much more than economic revenue. It accomplished the task of bringing Americans together out of this tough time. For example, in creating the Hoover Dam, engineers, environmentalists, and designers teamed up with thousands of hard workers to accomplish one great task. Stepping back and looking at the finished product gives them a sense that they just did that and can accomplish anything in the future. Not only did the New Deal programs give confidence to workers in the present, but more importantly, it inspired and laid the foundation for hard work in the future of the United States.
ReplyDeleteThe New Deal consisted of many different programs that were designed to help specific problems within our country. Some of the New Deal programs were created to make more jobs for people. These programs also gave Americans a chance to come together and work on something great even if there was very little or no pay. The New Deal programs not only helped Americans but it gave them hope, and they learned that even though they had just been put in a very bad position that they could strive through it together. It also showed other countries that we could represent our country positively even though they had just been through rough times. Many of these projects such as the Hoover Dam, the Chrystler building, and the Empire State Building required invidivuals to come together, this created a new atmosphere for America.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the New Deal programs tried to accomplish putting men back to work. Programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which, “provided more than much needed income to Depression pinched-young men and their families.” Unfortunately, Hoover does not do much. Hoover's depression plan consisted of Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which funds big business, Federal Reserve Policies, which encourages less spending, and the Hawley-Smoot Tariff which was met with international tariffs. I think that the overall idea for the New Deal programs was to provide much needed assistance in the job industry in order for the United States to dig itself out of the Great Depression. The New Deal impacted how the United States imagined itself because the people began to realize that they were resilient. The people started to believe that there was a light at the end of the dark tunnel.
ReplyDeleteI see the Great Depression as a different form of the 1400's Dark Ages. I see this because, like you said, the Hoover dam, the Chrysler building, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller center and Mount Rushmore were completed in the midst of the Great Depression like the Renaissance did the Dark Ages. These deals took America at its worst and sought to band everyone together to bring each other out of the Depression. This ties into the placebo affect from yesterday's blog post about how with this new re imagined view the US had of it self helped greatly bring the people to spend more money and have more confidence in themselves not just domestically but internationally.
ReplyDeleteI think that these New Deal programs provided more chances and jobs for people who didn't have a job. The CCC definitely gave young people more chances to work, and Roosevelt himself also emphasized the importance of the connections between people, sources and nature, for example, building a new dam, which put more man back to work and also build the nation's structure. These New Deals helped the United States imagined itself as a country that was going through a hard time and would finally got rid of depression, as more people got to work and more money was putting back to where they should stay (for the country), people would walk out of the shadow of depression in a few years.
ReplyDeleteThe young men helped by CCC seemed to have appreciated the activity and improvement of self esteem by doing work rather than the income. This was interesting and shows that a financial depression affects people on all fronts, especially emotional, so a varied approach is needed to combat it. I was also impressed by Roosevelt's approach to conservation, it seems very pragmatic and he recognized the need for planning. The biggest shock was the dust bowl. At first, the scene is set up as a destitute land, foreign to anything we could ever imagine, with house caked in dust, even inside. But then, the girl goes to the movies…. It was a complete shock what a change of pace that was. It was like being survival mode and then suddenly indulging yourself a little luxury.
ReplyDeleteThe New Deal was to help the country get out of the recession. It tried to open up job opportunities for people who didn't. The CCC helped young people work because the incomes of families were low, young people had to go to work. Roosevelt was interesting in deciding how he would handle the dust bowl. Trying to survive in dust but then be treated nicely in a movie or nice shelter can help someone's will to keep moving on. As more people started working, the faster america moved out of recession mode.
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