Which of Roosevelt’s early New Deal programs illustrate his willingness to experiment with bold, innovative ideas? Which of his actions show his hesitation and attachment to conventional values?

Answer 1

Roosevelt's early New Deal programs that illustrate his willingness to experiment with bold, innovative ideas include:

1. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): This program was an innovative approach to solve unemployment and environmental conservation issues. It provided jobs to young, unemployed men, who were put to work in forestry, soil conservation, and park maintenance projects.

2. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA): This bold initiative aimed at stabilizing the farming industry by providing subsidies to farmers for reducing production, in an attempt to raise crop prices and help the struggling agricultural sector.

3. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA): This legislation established the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA). These agencies aimed at promoting industrial recovery by setting wage and price controls and encouraging cooperation among businesses, as well as funding public works projects to provide employment.

4. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): This ambitious program aimed at modernizing and developing the impoverished Tennessee Valley region through various projects, including building dams to provide electricity, controlling floods, and improving agricultural practices.

However, some of Roosevelt's early actions also show his hesitation and attachment to conventional values:

1. Bank Holiday and Emergency Banking Act: These actions were relatively conservative approaches to banking reform, as they aimed to stabilize the banking system by shutting down banks temporarily and then reopening them once they were declared solvent. These actions did not significantly change the structure of the banking industry.

2. The Glass-Steagall Banking Act: This legislation was a conventional approach to banking reform, implemented to restore faith in the industry by separating commercial banking from investment banking activities and creating the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure bank deposits.

3. The Social Security Act: While the creation of a social security system was a groundbreaking move, it can also be seen as an attachment to conventional values, as it was designed to provide assistance to specific groups, such as the elderly and disabled, rather than a comprehensive welfare system for all citizens.

4. The Gold Standard: FDR initially hesitated to abandon the gold standard and enact more aggressive monetary policies, due to his conventional belief in conservative fiscal policies, although he eventually took the bold step to devalue the dollar and suspend the gold standard in 1933.