Tuesday, December 10, 2013

FDR -- Leader or Shrink?



FDR's New Deal programs marked action rather than Hoover's inaction, and his ability to restore confidence in the American people is credited to pulling the nation out of the Depression.  To what extent was FDR acting as a psychological therapist to a very depressed United States?  Was his success more ideological than it was physical?  Or was only seeing believing for the very disillusioned public? 

Consider how some sick patients treated with placebos often are cured from their ailments even if they are not given any actual medication.  Did the United States simply need a more positive outlook?

14 comments:

  1. I do think that this new FDR New Deal program helped pull the US out of the depression because FDR’s policies helped to stimulate the economy. And I do think that the FDR was acting as a psychological therapist because it helped many people get jobs, which is what boosted the economy. Overall I think that FDR’s policies helped bring people not physically but mentally out of their depression because people starting believing that the country could be revived again.

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  2. Roosevelt from the beginning of his presidency went right to work. He like Meghan said got America out of the depression. His New Deal program changed America. Now some of his ideas made people question, but they worked. There are somethings that he created that are still in affect today. But i disagree with what Meghan is saying because he did act as a therapist because therapist are to help the people and that is exactly what he did. he listened to what the people had to say and tried his best to satisfy the people.

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  3. People had lost hope after the depression; the economy was downhill and it looked as if it would be stuck that way. However, Roosevelt created programs, called New Deal programs, that helped boost the economy and the attitude of the people. I believe Roosevelt acted like a psychological therapist because he cared for the people and helped them get out of the "slump" that they were in. In addition, I also agree that his success was more ideological than physical because to see progress, people must get in the positive mindset first.

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  4. when does positive reinforcement not help with the outlook and progression of a situation. If you believe that the economy and total movement as a nation is getting better and the future is getting is getting brighter what stoping you from feeling better. FDR established programs that put americans back to work like building dams he also implemented the new deal which took a direct approach to get america back on its feet. once FDR established trust back into the banks the economy started to heal itself and people began buying products. he brought america out of the worst depression known he was also a democrat.

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  5. Roosevelts New Deal Program had both physical and ideological success. Although he did address the depression the fact that he was able to uplift the entire moral of the country had a greater overall effect. Imposing stimulation plans can't do anything if the people effected don't have the hope to get it moving.

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  6. The big difference between Hoover and FDR is that Hoover waited so long to act while FDR did not lose a minute of his time and started acting right after his inaugural, with new programs, shutting down banks, creating agencies which gave much more confidence to people in the US. This way, he created a really close relationship between him and the population and he was willing to change everything that people would say was going wrong. He was therefore also like a doctor for the US or a therapist as the Cartoon shows since he got everyone out of their depression giving them hope again. And he also started stimulating the economy again (which is shown in the cartoon with the physical diseases the patient has that are getting repaired).

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  7. FDR definitley improved the overall US, both economically and psychologically. His new ideas and reforms helped to pull the US out of the depression and give everyone new hope as well. From the moment he was elected FDR Started helping the US and those who were most effected by the great Depression. FDR also talked to the nation and explained to everyone what was going to happen and how, which gave the people. More of an idea of what was going on. He also helped to create many more jobs that helped peopleget jobs again so they could start making money for. Themselves.

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  8. FDR was not just ideological but he was physical as well. Not only did he use the Media(radio) to explain the New Deal program in order to provide confidence within the economy but also he created a lot of organizations in order to brighten up the economy. Plus, not only did he make the situations better by enacting the Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act, but also he used the Agricaultrual Adjustment Agency to control the deflation of the farm good prices. Plus, he used FERA not only to grant funds to states and local governments but he also used FERA for creating jobs and funding individuals.

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  9. The Great Depression in America was a huge mess. Americans were mentally crashed and the economy was physically crashed which means the laws on economy was broken. For example the increase on tariff issued by Hoovers just messed everyone (European countries and America) up even more. Therefore I think the New Deal from FDR did fix some laws but more importantly he gave Americans confident on spending money again. So yes, FDR acted as a psychological therapist of Americans more than he did physically fixing it because economy itself is not alive - that could get a terminal disease like human can. And that was what the real problem was - people's depression.

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  10. I think that FDR was a very big help to the United States during the depression. He blamed the economic crisis on bankers and financiers. But once he was in office he sent a bunch of bills to congress that were easily passed. These bills made laws that helped the economy get back on its feet. Like Hoover, he saw the Depression caused in part by people no longer spending or investing because they were afraid. I think that he was both idealogical and physical. By sending bills to congress and by having senators propose programs to people he was using a physical approach and by coming up with ideas to change the country he was being idealogical.

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  11. Parts of FDR's New Deals raised the American populace's confidence in the economy, which was a major part in our nation's recovery from the Great Depression. His famous quote, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" showed the importance that he attributed to confidence. But the New Deals had more physical success than ideological success. Each of the components did so much to improve the economy. For example the AAA destroyed tons of food (which seems detrimental) to raise the deflated food prices so that farmers could make a living. The NRA set a minimum wage, set a limit to working hours, and eliminated price-fixing thereby raising industrial production by 22%. Also the FERA and the CWA produced twenty-four million jobs. The numbers don't lie. FDR's New Deal strengthened the economy through reforms and new jobs.

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  12. Roosevelt succeeded were Hoover failed. Not only was Roosevelt involved in the economy but parts of his FDR helped farmers, set a minimum wage and limited working hours to protect the lower social classes from being exploited. This made them feel like they were protected, made them work harder and increased the populations confidence in the economy. It also physically helped the economy. HE WAS AWESOME.

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  13. Sometimes, it is really important to let people believe that they can do great.One of the significant issues in the Great Depression is people's depression besides the economy. FDR's policies helped raise people's confidence in rescuing the economy; encourages people to fight against the bad economy. Furthermore, the new policies fit in the real situation pretty well than just an idea.

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  14. The FDR's policies made people believe that the economy would eventually get better. It created an ideology that uplifted the entire nation's morals which was extremely necessary in order to even begin to recover from the great depression. I think that the positivity that came with these policies is what helped the US the most. I think that a positive out look was not all, but was a huge part of what the country needed.

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