Progressive Era vs New Deal free essay sample

New Deal vs. Progressive Era During both the Progressive era and the New Deal era, policies as well as programs were being created in an effort to assist the American public, specifically those living in poverty. Throughout the early 1900’s Roosevelt had strayed away from the typical laissez-faire policy and decided that the people would need to be guided by the government. â€Å"Wilsonian Progressivism† had also aimed at assisting the public with his â€Å"New Freedom Program† which consisted of antitrust legislation, banking reform as well as tariff reductions. After the stock market crashed in 1929, America had fallen into a Great Depression resulting in the unemployment of millions. Newly elected Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to present his New Deal policy which focused on three methods of helping America: relief (immediate action to temporarily lessen the suffering), recovery (executive and legislative initiatives intended to get the economy starting), and reform (permanent programs used to reduce the possibility of another economic disaster). We will write a custom essay sample on Progressive Era vs New Deal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Both the Progressive era and New Deal era policies and programs had similarities and differences in their approach to helping the American public. The programs and policies created during both era’s had been directed toward similar groups of people in need, such as the labor groups. Roosevelt had stood up for labor rights during the Pennsylvania coal mines dispute where the workers demanded a 20 percent increase in pay. Roosevelt had ordered the employers to give the workers a 10 percent increase as well as a working day of nine hours. To enforce his decision he established the Department of Commerce and Labor which spawned the Bureau of Corporations which was given the permission to investigate businesses engaged in interstate commerce. Wilson had helped the laborers with the Seamen’s Act of 1915 which required decent treatment and a living wage on American merchant ships. Franklin Roosevelt also helped the suffering labor groups by passing the National Recovery Administration which had reduced working hours as well as granting the workers a right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. Franklin Roosevelt had also battled private companies when he established the Tennessee Valley Authority which had determined how fair the rates being charged by private companies for electricity were. The New Deal legislation had led to an increased union membership and the winning of better wages and rights for the labor force. Both era’s had also decided to create a new banking system in order to help the economy and thus the public. Wilson created the Federal Reserve Act/Board which appointed twelve regional reserve districts each with its own central bank. The board was able to create paper money backed by commercial paper in order to make sure the amount of money in circulation could be increased as needed. Franklin Roosevelt similarly established the Glass Steagal Banking Reform Act which spawned the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which insured that there were individual deposits up to $5000. The act had ended the bank failures and saved the money of many unemployed. The two era’s had always attempted to assist the farmers. Wilson made credit available to farmers at low rates of interest with the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916, as well as authorized loans on the security of staple crops with the Warehouse Act of 1916. The New Deal had created the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 which made millions of dollars available to help farmers meet their mortgages. The Agricultural Adjustment Agency had helped the farmers increase the value of their crops by paying the farmers subsidies not to plant on parts of their land, kill off livestock and overall to restrict agricultural production. Lastly Wilson’s Workingmen’s Compensation Act of 1916 which gave assistance to federal civil-service employees during periods of disability is similar to Franklin Roosevelt’s Social Security Act of 1935 which gave federal-state unemployment insurance to the elderly, physically handicapped and delinquents. Although both era’s had shared numerous similarities in programs that were passed, they also had many differences. Due to the fact that the New Deal era was plagued with the Great Depression, Roosevelt had to focus on creating temporary jobs or programs to help get the unemployed working. These â€Å"relief† programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had allowed unemployed and uniformed men to work in government camps by reforesting, firefighting, controlling flood problems, and they even helped with swamp drainage. Most of their money would be sent to their parents so they could pay their mortgages and other expenses. Another relief program was the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation which helped refinance mortgages on nonfarm homes. During the progressive era there were no programs created to provide temporary work other than the NewLands Act of 1902 which helped develop irrigation projects, such as the Roosevelt Dam created on Arizona’s Salt River in 1911. Another difference was when Roosevelt had passed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 which made meat that was being shipped over the state lines subject to federal inspection. The Food and Drug Act was also passed to insure the mislabeling of foods and pharmaceuticals. Franklin Roosevelt had never passed any legislation addressing the issue of food and drugs. Overall, both the Progressive era and New Deal era had attempted to assist the American public through banking legislation, benefits for laborers and benefits for farmers. However the two eras differed to their approach to regulating the big business. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal focused more on creating a focused way of getting the unemployed back to work. The progressive era presidents did not have to concern themselves with creating more jobs for the unemployed and so they decided to focus on fixing popular issues such as the trusts. Both eras had remained loyal to the American public and managed to establish programs and policies that would be in the best interests of the suffering public.