New_Deal_Reform_&_Discrimination

New Deal Reform & Discrimination | Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal program attempted to aid America during the greatest economic depression the nation had ever known. It brought relief, recovery, and reform programs for Americans. But did that include all Americans' When the depression started all segments of society where hurt. It is said that those at the bottom are the worst off when this type of collapse occurs. In America's case this meant African Americans, women, and small farm owners. Would they receive a New Deal' Many of the introduced programs were helpful in rebuilding the economy, but they did have drawbacks, including discrimination. Federal relief did provide significant aid to both whites and blacks, although whites were favored. The Civilian Conservation Corps, for example, only employed around ten percent of African-Americans. A directive was issued ordering complete segregation of blacks and whites. They held that segregation was separate from discrimination. The National Recovery Administration not only offered whites the first crack at jobs, but authorized separate and lower pay scales for blacks, and the Federal Housing Authority refused to guarantee mortgages for blacks who tried to buy in white neighborhoods. Roosevelt didn’t address the discrimination that took place. He was aware of lynching that occurred, but his reasoning was he wanted the votes of Southern Congress members. The NRA employed both men and women, but paid women a smaller wage than that of men working the same job. To regulate wages and hours, the government established a system in which men's jobs paid more than women's. Pumping money into the economy meant government funding of enormous construction projects, largely held by men, and the relegation of women's work to less prestigious projects or domestic service. This wasn’t considered real work. Hours, benefits and working conditions were dismal. The greatest of women suffering during the Depression were these domestic workers, most of them were not white or native born. With the Agricultural Adjustment Act, Franklin Roosevelt’s plan was to pay farmers for not producing certain goods and destroying products that weren’t used. This discriminated against farmers, because it focused more on large farms and not smaller ones. The program also led to thousands of black sharecroppers being kicked of their land because of the acre reduction. The Civil Workers Administration was able to open up millions of jobs for men and women. The jobs involved constructing buildings, building bridges, and community projects, but itt didn’t last long because the program had used over one billion dollars, something the economy did not need. The New Deal did not end the Depression, but its programs did extend a helping hand. It’s a shame that the world is the way it is at times. Certain groups did not gain benefits from the New Deal programs simply because of who or what they were. As was the case during the time, it’s unfortunate, but in reality there will always be a “social ladder” that people will be defined by in society. Discrimination certainly doesn’t occur nearly as often or to the same extent today, but it does still exist and likely always will.