“This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.” These words were spoken by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his first inauguration speech, which was given on March 4, 1933. This attitude of telling the truth and being bold in doing so continued to hold fast whenever Roosevelt proceeded from that day to lead the country out of the depression and to better days. The Great Depression began on October 29, 1929. This day, known as Black Tuesday, was the day that the stock market crashed and plunged thousands of Americans into financial ruin. Many lost their homes, farms, and jobs in just a few days. For the next 10 years, this event took a tremendous amount of effort from many to be conquered and ended. Franklin…show more content… Critics of Roosevelt point out that he had a dictator like attitude, his policies favored a few monopolies, and that the jobs created by his policies were not real jobs. Whenever the supreme court was especially critical of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, he attempted to pass a bill, appropriately nicknamed the “court-packing bill”. The gist of the document was to allow himself the power to chose six new supreme court justices; likely his justices would be very agreeable to the New Deal. He received much backlash over this failed attempt, and many claimed that he had the qualities of a dictator (Danzer et al 669). The policies outlined in the New Deal also worked to exempt large companies from antitrust prosecution. Relief, however, only came when the Department of Justice made the decision to step up their enforcement of these antitrust cases (Sullivan). Roosevelt's core beliefs about economy were that competition was bad, and that it was what led to the Great Depression. To fix this he…show more content… The PWA was created under the supervision of Roosevelt and served to create jobs. The jobs consisted mainly of construction and manual labor, and employees built many structures from schools to community buildings. Another similar program called the CWA is reported to have kept millions off the streets. For people who had lost other jobs or were not able to do the manual labor, FERA provided opportunities. FERA gave grants to states that were used to organize projects that would provide employment opportunities. The hope was that by providing a variety of projects and jobs, citizens could get a job that was similar to their previous job and salary set. This organization benefited many people with various experience (Rudersdorf and Gore). Not only did Roosevelt's programs provide immediate relief for the unemployed, but there are lasting benefits that resulted from these diverse projects. The legend of the New Deal can be seen today in transportation systems and national parks. American landscape that can be seen today was greatly molded and influenced by the employees of programs like the WPA, REA, TVA, and CCC (Rudersdorf and Gore). Roosevelt’s various programs and organizations helped to provide jobs and infrastructure in America, but they also gave the American people hope and a sense of dignity during the depression. People felt much
