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What Did Roosevelt Do During The Great Depression?

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"No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country," - Franklin D. Roosevelt ("Thinkexist.com"). In the middle of the deepest economic recession in the history of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt took office and did everything in his power to try and turn the country around. Roosevelt was a very intelligent man and the country believed he would lead them out of the Great Depression (Brinkley). Roosevelt inspired the nation to make drastic changes during the Great Depression with his extensive knowledge, understanding of the people's suffering, and new government reforms. Roosevelt was raised in a life of comfort and refuge by his parents in …show more content…

In pain and no longer able to walk, the doctors had diagnosed him with polio, an incurable disease that causes severe and permanent damage to the nerves and often leads to paralysis (Feinberg 9-46). Even though he was paralyzed from the hip down, a determined Roosevelt continued to get involved in politics. According to Eleanor Roosevelt, "Polio gave him patience and increased his understanding of what suffering meant" (Brinkley). Even though he was unable to do many of the things he used to do, the effects of polio made him stronger and more determined to be involved in politics. It also drove him to create a fundraiser called the "March of Dimes" that would later raise enough money to develop a vaccine to prevent the disease from ever occurring in children (Feinberg 9-46). Roosevelt became involved in politics once again in 1924 where he gave a speech, nominating Al Smith for president of the United States. Al Smith lost the election to Hoover, but Roosevelt ran in the next election and became president himself, in 1932, at the start of the Great Depression (Beschloss, and Sidey). Roosevelt had just begun his presidency when The Grapes of Wrath was written ("shmoop: We Speak Student"). Franklin Roosevelt won a majority of the votes due to Herbert Hoover's growing unpopularity (Feinberg 9-46). Despite his plans to fix the growing economic crisis, the country continued to suffer from the Dust Bowl and unemployment ("Modern American Poetry"). Many

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