New Deal World War II

Please Reply to Camelie

Feb 11 9:32am

Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Social Security Act

Two major New Deal programs that had a strong impact were the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Social Security Act. The WPA focused on giving people jobs through public works projects like building roads, schools, parks, and bridges. It also supported artists, writers, and musicians, which helped preserve culture during a hard economic time. African Americans, immigrants, and women did benefit from WPA jobs, but they often faced discrimination, lower wages, and segregation. Even with these inequalities, the WPA still provided income and opportunities to many minority families who otherwise would have had no work (Lange, 2017). The Social Security Act helped create long-term economic security by providing unemployment insurance and retirement benefits. However, many African Americans and immigrants were left out at first because farm and domestic workers were excluded, and those jobs were heavily held by minorities. This shows that while the New Deal helped, it did not treat all groups equally (Conkin, 2016).

In my opinion, the New Deal helped stabilize the country and gave people hope, but it did not completely end the Great Depression. The programs created jobs, strengthened banks, and increased consumer confidence, which helped slow the economic collapse. Still, unemployment remained high until World War II increased industrial production and created massive demand for labor. So, the New Deal laid the foundation for recovery, but the war economy is what truly pulled the United States out of the Depression.

References:

Conkin, P. K. (2016). Welfare programs of the New Deal. In Origins of a welfare state, 19341936.

Lange, B. (2017). Implementing New Deal programs. In The stock market crash of 1929, Updated Edition.

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Please Reply to Jared

Feb 11 6:24am

For this initial post, I considered these two (2) historical events during World War II:

• Rise of fascism, militarism, and imperialism
• Failure of the League of Nations

In the 1930s, the United States followed a mostly isolationist foreign policy shaped by the Great Depression and public fear of another major war. Neutrality Acts limited arms sales and loans, even as fascist and imperial powers expanded in Europe and Asia (Isserman, 2016; Leonard, 2017; Poolos, 2021). These choices did not directly cause World War II, but they reduced early pressure on aggressive states. President Franklin D. Roosevelt warned about Germany and Italy and tried cautious diplomacy, yet domestic politics prevented stronger action (Franklin D. Roosevelt: Relations with Italy and Germany, 2011; The Rise of Nationalism, 2020). As a result, expansionist regimes were able to push boundaries with limited immediate consequences.

The failure of the League of Nations also helped set the stage for war. The League lacked enforcement power and major-member support, which made it ineffective at stopping territorial aggression and weakened confidence in collective security (Bloodworth, 2022; Hess, 2016; Arms and the League, 1938). Educational films similarly show how repeated inaction damaged its credibility (League of Nations, 2000; 2012). The United States might have helped slow events through earlier cooperation, sanctions, or military guarantees, but rising nationalism and militarism across several regions made a single nation unlikely to prevent the conflict on its own. U.S. involvement may have delayed the war but probably could not have stopped it entirely.

References

Bloodworth, J. (2022). Overview: The United Nations. In The United Nations.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Relations with Italy and Germany, 2011; The Rise of Nationalism, 2020

Hess, G. R. (2016). The United Nations and World War II. In The diplomatic front: Roosevelt and the American vision of the postwar world.

Isserman, M. (2016). World War II. In World War II (4th ed.).

League of Nations. (2012). [Video]. Films for Humanities & Sciences.

Poolos, J. (2021). The origins of war in Europe. In The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Updated ed.).