Several years after the start of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt was elected president on the Democratic ticket. The Great Depression was a time of crisis for America; almost a quarter of the workforce was unemployed and many others worked only part time. Thousands of banks failed and people lost their savings. The Depression resulted in widespread homelessness and hunger among the poor without sufficient resources being provided to alleviate hardship. Roosevelt began his presidency with the intention of passing laws to provide relief and help the country out of the Depression. During the first hundred days of his presidency, numerous bills and reforms were passed under the so-called New Deal, to support the economy and provide relief to those in need. Early in his second term, Roosevelt initiated the Second New Deal and sought to pass more progressive policies. If something didn't work well, it was improved or a new bill was drafted in its place. The government reforms resulting from Roosevelt's New Deals demonstrate that he was a revolutionary rather than a conservative. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the goals of New Deal programs was to help people directly. Federal funds were appropriated for jobs programs. Millions of previously unemployed people were put to work creating dams, reservoirs, national park trails, and other public works projects. The largest program, the Works Projects Administration (WPA), provided employment to more than 8.5 million people. In the long term, Roosevelt created the Social Security Act (SSA). This provided unemployment benefits and aid to needy children. The SSA also provided federal retirement benefits to some workers, funded through a special Social Security tax paid by those same workers and their employers. The law was eventually amended to include majority workforce and transfer of benefits to widows of covered workers. The other goal of the New Deal was to reform and provide aid to banks and industries to support the economy. One of the first bills introduced by Roosevelt was the emergency bank relief bill, which passed with overwhelming support in both the House and Senate. It gave the federal government the authority to revamp the banking system. To make this work, Roosevelt convinced Americans to deposit their money in reopened banks to restore the financial system. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was enacted to provide companies in each industry a way to voluntarily create industry-wide codes. Big business dominated, so the code came to reflect the interests of big business. The NIRA did not help the economic recovery and was stopped by the Supreme Court when it was determined that the law overstepped the federal government's constitutional limits. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was also found to be unconstitutional, but due to its popularity it was rewritten to be accepted as legal by the Supreme Court. The AAA established a crop control system to limit surpluses and offered subsidies to farmers who complied. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay While legislations and reforms are passed under the New Agreements greatly improved the economy and it was not until World War II that the years of.