The Great Depression: 1929-1941

Paper Summary:

This paper examines author Robert McElvaine's book "The Great Depression: America 1929-1941," which centers on two specific economic movements: Progressivism and the New Deal. Progressivism was, in effect, an expansive ideal about what the U.S. should be to its own citizens and to the impending globalization. The New Deal was a desirable strategy for most Americans to combat the effects of the Depression. This paper details the similarities of both movements which favored the ideas and ideals of American values. The writer also compares the present status of the U.S. government and economy to that of the depression era.

Table of Contents:
Progressivism
The New Deal
Progressivism and the New Deal: Comparisons and Differences
Works Cited

From the Paper:

"Both movements favored the ideas and ideals of some sort of American values. Just as the progressives movement was founded not only with both moral and economic values as guide posts, and saw World War I as "the last and greatest example of the progressive spirit of sacrifice, so the New Deal began with individuals having to (mostly gladly) sacrifice some of their individualism for government-run and controlled works and policies determined to avoid sinking further into an economic sinkhole. We can also see similarities in the fact that the values and the eventual legislation formed a trickle-down philosophy, from the upper middle and upper classes to benefit the less-fortunate. We have to remember that President Wilson as well as FDR were "patricians"- in the best sense of the word, and their aim was to protect the citizens of this nation from war and from economic disaster, even if it meant a sacrifice and even an attempt to undo the Constitutional balance of power."

More papers on The Great Depression: 1929-1941:

• Essay # 27668 : "The Great Depression (1929-1939)"
• Essay # 73442 : "The Great Depression "
• Analytical Essay # 5879 : "John Kenneth Galbraith's 'The Great Crash: 1929'"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: