The New Deal was a recovery from a time of desperation and struggle. The Great Depression had taken its toll on the United States, and desperate measures were necessary to get the nation back on its feet. Roosevelt sought to achieve this with many new creations to get people working and happy again. The New Deal was primarily a radical program due to the sheer novelty and unconstitutionality of his programs.
Many of Roosevelt's programs were experimental. He wanted to try everything and see what worked. The AAA, for one, was completely new. In the history before Roosevelt, never has such a time been made to lower costs by destroying surplus. The Dust Bowl certainly aided in the deflation but Roosevelt, through the AAA, paid farmers not to farm. Additionally, never has such an effort been made to find people work. The CCC had created public works projects, for which they hired young men. The projects were certainly beneficial but were ultimately not worth the great cost Roosevelt had accumulated. However, the true purpose was not for the public, but for the unemployed young men. Another example of a program meant to create jobs was the WPA. The WPA employed people who could no longer practice their trade because the economy would not allow it. People such as artists or writers could not make a living because people generally could not afford such luxuries any more. Even highly educated people like doctors could not make a living without any person wanting to see them. The WPA was meant to help such people get back on their feet. The WPA found work for them such as murals in the city and manual labor like construction work. The unemployed people simply had no choice but to follow this program. Before, people who lost their job simply had to find a new job, usually one of lower pay, but Roosevelt allowed people to at least put their careers on hold and focus on getting through hard times. .
Some of Roosevelt's plans were also deemed unconstitutional.