Roosevelt, thirty-second President of the United Sates, greatly expanded the role of the federal government with a wide-ranging economic and social program, the New Deal, designed to counter the Great Depression of the 1930s. He also led the nation through most of its participation in the global struggle of World War II. His New Deal established programs like the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Works Progress Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. .
In his inaugural speech he spoke of a "New Deal" for America and thus the New Deal was born. As soon as Roosevelt took office, help was on the way as he created many programs to take the nation out of hard times. Roosevelt was determined to directly relieve the suffering of the American people. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was established as a temporary program that would run on direct governmental aid to give the states large grants that were passed on as direct cash payments for needy families. It was short-lived because it stressed the importance of immediate relief rather than long-term recovery. .
The pressure of the emergency created by the Great Depression was so intense and the power of Roosevelt's voice was so persuasive that Congress did just about anything he wished. Because of this Roosevelt had the ability to create these imperative programs. In the fall of 1933 the Civil Works Administration, was formed as a temporary measure to provide work. It was designed to give jobs for up to 4 million people at a given time. Many people had jobs in the fields of construction, teaching, social work, and medicine. All of these jobs gave back to the nation and the community. The major accomplishment of the CWA was that it gave a billion dollars to the economy within just a few months.
In addition, the lasting effects of the New Deal programs are still felt today, which proves that the relief and works progress programs were of outmost benefit to America.