"It's pretty much standard belief that Roosevelt's New Deal ended the Depression . . . but there’s no real sign of the economy being in fine trim in 1938 or 1939. Among economists a much more common thought is that it was WWII that ended the Depression. All that government spending upon the war being Keynesian stimulus on steroids which finally broke free from the slump."
-Tim Worstall, Forbes
Although the New Deal under Roosevelt's leadership didn't singlehandedly end the Great Depression, it did alleviate the social and economic distress of many during that time.
"Though the economy would not fully turn around until after 1939, when World War II kicked American industry into high gear . . . the relief and reform measures put into place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped lessen the worst effects of the Great Depression in the 1930s . . ."
-The History Channel: The Great Depression
"The New Deal was not intended to "end the Great Depression." It was intended to bring about relief, recovery and reform so that the natural mechanisms of market capitalism [could fix the situation]."
-Personal Interview with Jeffrey Urbin, education specialist at the FDR Presidential Library & Museum
"I agree the War was what finally got us out of the Great Depression. But I think the great legacy [of the New Deal] is the social programs like Social Security, and the idea that the government can help people, that government is not a problem but a solution to people’s problems. And that idea is one that we still have today and of course it’s debated thoroughly but it’s still there." |