10.2The New Deal

Franklin D. Roosevelt won the presidency in 1932 promising a "New Deal" and radiating confidence.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

His administration launched an unprecedented flood of programs to provide relief, recovery, and reform: banking regulation, public works and jobs programs, aid to farmers, and protections for workers' right to organize. The Social Security Act (1935) created old-age pensions and unemployment insurance, building the foundation of the American welfare state.

The New Deal did not fully end the Depression—that took the war—but it eased suffering and reshaped expectations. Government would now be held responsible for the health of the economy and the security of citizens, a profound and lasting change.