The New Deal
In 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected on a campaign promising a New Deal (新政)for the American people. Roosevelt worked quickly upon his election to carry out the New Deal, a great number of reforms dealing with the terrible effects of the Great Depression (大萧条).
Unlike the former president, Herbert Hoover, who felt that the public should support the government, Roosevelt felt it was the government's duty to help the American people go through these bad times. Working with a group of university scholars, Roosevelt was to find the best course of action for the struggling nation. The Congress was very cooperative and quickly passed his proposals in order to speed up the reforms.
During the first 100 days of his presidency, a series of bills were passed, to reduce poverty, lower unemployment, and speed economic recovery. His first act as president was to declare a four - day bank holiday during which time Congress passed the Emergency Banking Bill of 1933, which later improved the banking system and restored the public's faith in the banking industry by putting the government behind it. The Civil Conservation Corps was one of the New Deal's most successful programs. It dealt with the problem of unemployment by sending 3 million single men to the nations' forests to work. Living in camps in the forests, the men built reservoirs and planted trees. The men were paid $30 a month, with two thirds being sent home. The Works Progress Administration, Roosevelt's major work relief(救济)program, would employ more than 8.5 million people to build bridges, roads, public buildings, parks and airports. The National Industrial Recovery Act and the National Recovery Administration were designed to deal with unemployment by controlling the number of working hours per week and banning child labor. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration gave $3 billion to the states for work relief programs.
The New Deal's experimental programs did not end the Depression, but they helped the American people greatly by taking care of their basic needs and giving them work and hope.
【问题】Herbert Hoover said no to the New Deal.