Chapter 33 13 Themes

Chapter 33

The Great Depression and the New Deal

Big ideas matter. Here are the most important themes for this chapter.

The over-arching theme of chapter 33 is that FDR led the federal government into his massive New Deal programs. The goal was to re-invigorate the U.S. economy and jolt it up out of the Great Depression.

1. FDR quickly got many New Deal programs passed. The general philosophy was: the government will start massive projects and spend huge quantities of money and this will “jump-start” the economy.
2. These programs hit on all walks of life. Emphasis was placed on creating jobs, housing, construction projects, and restoring confidence in banks.
3. Though FDR was popular, there were critics to the New Deal—some saying it did too much, others that it did too little.
4. FDR pretty much had his way with Congress, until he asked for more Supreme Court judges and was finally told, “No.”
5. All told, though the New Deal may have helped the economy a bit, but it did not boost the U.S. out of the Depression.

Back to the themes index.