New Deal

The New Deal is the term used to refer to the economic policies and reforms executed by the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, cousin of forever badass Theodore Roosevelt, in order to combat the aggravating economic situation in the United States caused by the Great Depression.

Some of the policies implemented were Social Security, "bank holidays" to prevent a run on banks, gold was called in, and large number of government agencies were created with the goal of giving employment by building roads, bridges, parks and dams until the onset of World War II.

The Roosevelt Recession
The Roosevelt Recession was a economic recession between 1937 and 1938. By 1936 the GPD had returned to pre-1929 levels but unemployment was still an unresolved problem. FDR's cabinet decided to revert their economic policies to fiscal conservatism later that year. FDR had actually run as a fiscal conservative in 1932 and completely switched gears because of a pragmatic approach to politics as well as hijacking the programs Herbert Hoover had instituted and mixing them with ideas former New York Governor Al Smith had used in his home state.

As part of the new conservative measures taxes were raised, the federal budget was balanced, and the Federal Reserve adopted a new policy. The result was that the economic gains made in 1936 and most of 1937 were lost and the economic took a turn downwards.

Economist John Maynard Keynes sent a letter to the president outlining a new set of policies to revert the economic recession. The administration reverted its conservative policies, workfare programs were expanded, the Federal Reserve changed its policy, and the economy started to slowly climb back to its previous state.

However, Roosevelt's increased spending made him unpopular amongst the right-wingers. In the 1936 election Hoover accused Roosevelt of driving the nation towards socialism. The reverend Coughlin accused Roosevelt of being a communist/fascist/tool of the international Jewish conspiracy.