The Great Depression in the world had started in 1929 and lasted up to 1939. It originated from the United States, and it has been termed the most severe depression in history. The depression caused colossal unemployment, loss of output, and a high deflation rate. The depression’s cultural and social effects were more felt in the US than in any other country. The government, headed by president hoover then, tried all it could to bring back the economy to its former state. The administration tried all it could but failed since the president believed in the Laissez-faire and was not willing to change.
Before the depression period had taken effect, the stock markets had crashed earlier in 1929 October. The crush did not cause the depression but was a result of prolonged economic problems. The value that was lost at that time was estimated to be 10 million every 5 hours. Unemployment rose from 3.1% to 25%, which left most people without jobs, and the ones that were left experienced a cut in their hourly wages (“Depression and New Deal”). According to Sutton, the economy stabilized after president Hoover left office, and Roosevelt took office. According to Kennedy, Roosevelt, as opposed to Hoover, was a politician who believed that the government had a social responsibility to address human suffering and ensure that the economy is healthy.
According to the secondary source, president Rosevelt who had taken office in 1934, was seen as a dictator due to his way of ruling. According to the lecture, “Rosevelt’s efforts to expand the power of the federalists’ end times fears about the rise of totalitarian states and world rule by a Satan-inspired dictator” (“HIST 371 Great Depression and New Deal”). People were interpreting his presidency as Adolf Hitler’s ruling, where Christians and Jews were persecuted. At that time, the Christians in the United States thought that their president was no longer who they thought he was. Instead, they termed him and his administration as devil sent and not God’s envoy on earth.
Hoover as the president, stuck to Laissez-faire as a way to cushion the economy during the depression. On the other hand, President Roosevelt created programs that provided relief to farmers and unemployed individuals (“Great Depression and the New Deal: 1929-1941”). Through the national recovery administration program, the president’s administration was able to stabilize the economy that had considerably fallen during president Hoover term (“HIST 371 Great Depression and New Deal”). President Roosevelt way of ruling, which was considered dictatorial was what the United Stated required at the time.
After being elected to office, the FDR was passed, and he got to serve for two terms consecutively, hence he was able to execute his programs well. Mathew Sutton wrote the source with a perspective of explaining how Roosevelt was elected as the president after Hoover and how he managed to stabilize the economy (“HIST 371 Great Depression and New Deal”). The source connects to the secondary source and the lecture by explaining how the depression affected the economy and how Roosevelt administration used a different approach to stabilize the economy.
Each source is critical in showing how the great depression affected people in the United States. The sources indicate how the two presidents, namely Hoover, and Roosevelt handled the economy. The depression led to a lot of unemployment, sickness, and poverty, which president Hoover could not manage effectively, although he tried to put up some measures that never worked. President Roosevelt used a different approach to governance and revived the economy, although he faced opposition from people who believed that he was not God sent.
Works Cited
“Depression and New Deal.” (n.d.). PowerPoint Presentation.
“Great Depression and the New Deal: 1929-1941”. (n.d.). PowerPoint Presentation.
“HIST 371 Great Depression and New Deal.” YouTube, Web.