The New Deal was a way to rebuild America, both economically and politically. This happened through many phases. The first phase consisted of getting banks back up on their feet. One might wonder, why was the government so interested in helping banks this way? Well, the answer became pretty apparent as time passed by. It was to build a trust between the government and the people. Often times we witness a government doing so much, but forgetting that it is there to serve the people. If the people, or citizens, of the country are not satisfied, then every action of the government becomes a selfish one, or one with no purpose. It is the people that decide the fate of the country. The government can only guide and discipline, but it cannot control. The government of United States finally realized this, and made immediate effort to fix these ties. They understood that the key to a healthy relationship is trust. When both sides have faith that the other will live up to expectations, they become a lot more comfortable with them, which improves their bond. Also, the Glass-Steagall Act was passed, which prevented banks from investing in the stock market. This was because the stock market was a risk, and banks were taking this risk with money that was not even theirs. How can one trust a bank like that to safely hold their money? The government realized this and decided to take action in order to ensure trust between them and the citizens.
Trust is many times the key factor that citizens look for in a government or leader. During the New Deal, Roosevelt was able to use that trust to help build up the nation. This is partly because without the trust of the people the process wouldn't have worked as well as it did. People wouldn't start using the banks in fear that another one of these depressions may occur. This I think should be a main goal of government, but not as a front as sometimes some government officials do it, but actually to help the nation and its citizens.
ReplyDeleteAn example of how trust is definitely required to make government actions work was when the government wanted citizens to sell off their crops in return for government compensation. This happened many times, but during the Great Depression, the citizens of the USA did not see how they were supposed to be compensated when the whole country could not afford anything. So there was no trust that the government could actually do what it said it would, and as a result, that initiative failed.
ReplyDeletei partially disagree with your stand on who decides the fate of the country; the relationship between the government,people, and the fate of our country can be best described as a cause and effect relationship. meaning they both take part in the deciding the fate of our country.
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