Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) entered the presidency actively trying to alleviate the effects of unemployment and poverty brought on by the Great Depression. One of his first acts was helping the banks get back on their feet. In 1929 alone, 659 banks closed--they did not have money to operate. By 1932, over 5,000 more banks went out of business.

Two days after taking the oath of office, FDR declared a bank holiday. Banking transactions (except for making change) were suspended across the nation for four days. During that time, FDR drafted an Emergency Banking Act, which Congress quickly passed. The Act allowed the president and Treasury to reopen banks that were healthy and help those that were not. For banks that were short on assets, customers were only allowed to withdraw part of their money. Banks on the brink of collapse only accepted deposits.

To garner support for the measure, Roosevelt addressed the nation on the radio through one of his famous Fireside Chats. He soothingly told the public that the government had created a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which guaranteed accounts in the banks. In other words, if a family had deposited money, and the bank could not give it back to them, the federal government would.

Soon the nation was confident enough to place their money back in the banks. And if you go into banks even today, you will see signs that tell customers their money is insured through the FDIC.

The next challenge FDR needed to tackle was the nation’s high unemployment rate. Roosevelt felt the economy needed a government stimulus to get things going again. He first established the Federal Emergency Relief Act which gave $3 billion to state and local government for relief payments to get money into local economies.

In 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC was established. The CCC was aimed at young, unmarried males who were hired to do public work projects, such as constructing reservoirs, building bridges, and cutting fire lanes through forests. They planted trees, dug ponds, and cleared lands for camping. CCC employees earned $30 dollars per month, most of which was sent directly to their families.

The CCC was extremely popular. Discouraged youths were removed from the streets and given paying jobs and provided with room and shelter. Roosevelt’s New Deal offered many other public works government funded programs to get people back to work. The Works project Administration (WPA) was the largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, over time employing over 8 million people (mostly unskilled men) to carry out public work projects, such as road building, school building, and arts projects.

American farmers were in trouble even before the Great Depression began and needed help as well. The prices of farm goods had fallen, and farmers were in debt, needing to buy expensive farming machinery, seeds, and fertilizer. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (or AAA) was created as a part of the New Deal. Under this program, farmers were paid to limit the amount of food they could produce.

In this way, scarcity would drive the price of food back up. Under the AAA, the prices of agricultural products tripled. The AAA was ultimately repealed by the Supreme Court in 1936 for being unconstitutional.

Rural electrification programs and groups, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), also helped farmers by bringing electricity to rural communities that didn’t have connectivity.

In 1935, the Roosevelt administration began helping people prepare for retirement. Previously people were expected to save a portion of their paychecks for retirement. But during the Depression, most people could not afford to save. The Social Security Act (SSA) was passed to help with this problem. It was deemed a "contract between generations."

Under this act, workers and employers would have around 3% of their paycheck deducted, which they would then get back in increments after retiring at the age of 65. It also serves as a safety net and can be used in the case of job loss as unemployment compensation.