New Deal Programs

The 1930s is characterized by the most severe and prolonged economic recession ever
experienced within the developed western world. This downturn was triggered by multiple
factors, including banking failures and panic, a 4-day stock market crash, and the utilization of
the gold standard. The Great Depression led to considerable deterioration in wealth,
employment, gross domestic product (GDP), output, and many countries worldwide (Kibler par.
1). Helming the decade-long depression in the United States required President Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s pledge of a new deal for Americans before he ascended to power (Kibler par. 2). The
New Deal programs’ promise became the namesake of a sequence of financial reforms, social
programs, public work projects, and federal regulations enacted by the president between 1933
and 1939.

List of the Acronyms of the New Deal Programs

The first New Deals provided by President Roosevelt were mainly aimed to solve
America’s most urgent and immediate prerequisites by creating a system for generating jobs and
promoting the welfare of Americans (Kibler par. 3). Some of these programs include;

1. AAA
2. SSA
3. WPA
4. NHA

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5. SEA
6. PWA
7. NIRA
8. TRIVIA
9. CCC
10. C

Programs’ Full Names, Date Implemented, and Function

1. AAA
   AAA is an acronym for the Agricultural Adjustment Act implemented in 1933 (Henry
   15). This program is famous for favoring principles of overproduction or exchange value over
   use-value. The right for investment and ownership was preferred over the ordinary humankind’s
   right to subsistence (Henry 15). The AAA was enacted when the country experienced political
   establishment in the South, especially by the Communist Party and Southern Tenant Farmers
   Union (STFU), which organized tenant farmers and sharecroppers, both white and black.
2. SSA
   SSA is an acronym for the Social Security Act implemented in 1935 (Kibler par. 15).
   This groundbreaking act established the Social Security system currently used in the United
   States. The original act’s stipulation aimed to pay financial benefits to all the country’s retirees
   aged 65 years and above based on the contributions of lifetime payroll tax (Kibler par. 15). This
   program also equipped the unemployed and the disabled with financial assistance. Today,
   poverty in the United States has significantly reduced to below 10 percent because of the social
   security system (Kibler par. 15).

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3. WPA
   WPA represents the Work Progress Administration enacted in 1935 (Kibler par. 13). The
   establishment of the WPA is attributed to the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act passage. It
   became the largest among all the organizations recognized under the New Deal. This program
   enabled the American government to return millions of jobless populations to work mainly with
   building projects involving roads and new buildings (Kibler par. 13).
4. NHA
   NHA is an acronym for the National Housing Act established in 1934 (Kibler par. 11).
   This program is responsible for curbing increasing bank foreclosures, making housing
   affordable, and stimulating the private housing industry. This act is also associated with creating
   the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and the Federal Housing
   Administration (Kibler par. 11).
5. SEA
   This is an acronym for the Securities Exchange Act created in 1934 (Kibler par. 10). This
   legislation is responsible for regulating trading securities on the American subordinate market,
   including bonds, debentures, and stocks, and facilitated better circumvent fraud and financial
   transparency (Kibler par. 10). This act also created the Securities and Exchange Commission
   (SEC) to enforce the law.
6. PWA
   This acronym represents the Public Works Administration established in 1933 (Kibler
   par. 9). PWA was established by the unsuccessful National Industrial Recovery Act and devoted
   more than 3 billion dollars in many public works developments, including dams, bridges,

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hospitals, and schools, eventually creating employment and partly revitalizing the economy
(Kibler par. 9).

7. NIRA
   NIRI is an acronym for the National Industrial Recovery Act created in 1933 (Kibler par.
   8). The labor law remained envisioned to inspire economic reclamation by enabling President
   Roosevelt to control the prices and ranges for American industries to achieve fair competition.
   This program is also responsible for creating PWA to head the erection of large-scale
   infrastructure projects funded by the United States government (Kibler par. 8).
8. TRIVIA
   This acronym represents the Tennessee Valley Authority Act established in 1933 (Kibler
   par. 7). This act was mainly approved to provide relief and modernize assistance to the
   Tennessee valley, an American region relentlessly affected by the Great Depression. The
   creation of controlled flooding, the construction of dams, and hydroelectricity utilization are
   among the developments that facilitated this region’s industrial and agricultural development
   (Kibler par. 7).
9. CCC
   This acronym represents the Civilian Conservation Corps created by President Roosevelt
   in 1933 to combat unemployment (Kelly par. 6). The desired impact of this work relief program
   was to provide employment opportunities for thousands of American citizens during the Great
   Depression (Kelly par. 6). The CCC is also accountable for creating trails and structures and
   building multiple public works projects in the parks across the United States still used today
   (Kelly par. 6).

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10. C
    CWA represents the Civil Works Administration created by President Roosevelt in 1933
    (Kelly par. 7). This program aimed to create jobs for the jobless American citizens by mainly
    focusing on the high-paying jobs in the country’s construction sector, leading to more significant
    expenditure to the central government than previously projected (Kelly par. 7).
    Conclusively, the new deal programs established by President Roosevelt during the 1930s
    enabled the United States to improve the lives of its citizens severely affected by the impacts of
    the Great Depression. These programs set an example for the American federal government to
    play a crucial role in the social and economic affairs of the country.

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Works Cited

Henry, John. “Reflections on the New Deal: The vested interests, limits to reform, and the
meaning of liberal democracy.” Levy Economics Institute, Working Papers Series,
WP 905 (2018). https://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_905.pdf
Kelly, Martin. “Top 10 New Deal Programs Of The Great Depression”. Thought, 2020,
https://www.thoughtco.com/top-new-deal-programs-104687.
Kibler, Tara. “A Quick ‘N Easy Guide To FDR’S Most Influential New Deal Programs –
Heinonline Blog.” HeinOnline Blog, 2020, https://home.heinonline.org/blog/2020/03/a-
quick-n-easy-guide-to-fdrs-most-influential-new-deal-programs/.