When President
Roosevelt took office in March 1933, he faced several challenges. The
immediate challenge with which he dealt was with the banks. Banks failed
when people tried to get their money out of their accounts. Thus,
President Roosevelt ordered a banking holiday where every bank in the
country closed. The Emergency Banking Act was passed. The federal
government would inspect the banks and only the strongest banks were
allowed to reopen. Most banks were allowed to reopen after the bank
holiday ended. Before the banks reopened, President Roosevelt talked to
the nation about our banking system in one of his Fireside Chats. He
reassured Americans that the banks were in good shape and that the
people didn’t need to fear that the banks would fail again.
President Roosevelt also wanted to reform the banking industry. The
Glass-Steagall Act prevented commercial banks from investing in the
stock market. Glass-Steagall also provided insurance for deposit
accounts with the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
This would reassure investors that their money was safe in their bank
accounts.
Another immediate issue President Roosevelt had to face was the high
rate of unemployment. About 25% of the population was unemployed. The
Works Progress Administration was created to help employ people. People
were put to work on construction projects. The Civilian Conservation
Corps was created to provide work for unemployed young men. They would
go to the west to work on conservation projects. President Roosevelt
knew he had to get people back to work.
President Roosevelt also needed to reform the stock market. The
Securities Act of 1933 was passed to try to accomplish this. This law
required companies to give accurate information to investors. It also
created the Security and Exchange Commission to monitor the stock market
and prevent fraud.
President Roosevelt faced many challenges when he took office. These
programs were designed to deal with some of the challenges he faced.
