In the 1930s, Americans face a massive economic downturn, where millions of people ended up losing it all. During that time period, a majority of the American people start to doubt the reality of the American dream. Even some of the wealthiest people lost everything and became severely poor. Four years after the Stock Market Crash, around a fifth of the US population remained unemployed at the worst point in the Great Depression. Those who were fortunate enough to keep a steady job often found their wages and hours being cut. Many have tried to maintain appearances and live as close as possible to normal when adapting to new economic circumstances. Just like the film Cinderella Man Braddock struggles to support his wife Mae and three children. Making money is difficult for him to put food on the table or even keep power in the house. This is the case with many families during the Great Depression.
The government made efforts to help the recovery process, but it didn’t achieve much. President Hoover expanded the services for public works. Public works are infrastructure projects funded by the government. The main purpose was to give people jobs, but the public works provided by Hoover didn’t really help. He tried to put money into banks to continue operating, but not enough was done. The bank gave money to poor families, but by 1932 the economy was too deep into the Depression for this to even help. Lots of men would line up at places where jobs would be provided. Even though the pay was low, men did everything they could to only earn a few dollars during this time. In the first scene, Braddock who has sold all his values, including his boxing equipment, swallows his pride while standing in line to ask for an emergency welfare payment so he can restore electricity and gas.
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During the presidential election of 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt easily defeated Hoover. Roosevelt’s plan to end the Great Depression addresses the economy’s specific needs. In 1935, Roosevelt created the New Deal to make the economy grow faster. It focuses on the three R's, relief, recovery, and reform. Although Roosevelt was elected in 1932, he did not take office until March 1933. He said on the day of his inauguration '... the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ....'. Roosevelt declares a national bank holiday on his first night in office so no more banks can close. He requires the government to check every bank to ensure the banks are safe. People’s faith and confidence in banks are restored and the banking crisis ends. Roosevelt made sure Americans knew everything he was doing because he felt they had the right to know. The people were relieved to have someone in control who is actually helping them.
To conclude, The New Deal programs have helped improve the lives of the Americans who suffered from the Depression. It installed safeguards to make the Depression less likely to happen again. The film's main sections focus not only on Jim Braddock's boxing matches but on his struggles during the Depression outside the ring. The Great Depression changed Americans’ ways of thinking about themselves and their relationship with the country and the world.
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Hoover vs Roosevelt: Great Depression Response.
(2023, September 25). Edubirdie. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/how-did-hoover-and-roosevelt-differ-in-their-response-to-the-great-depression-compare-and-contrast-essay/
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