In the first hundred days of his presidency, Roosevelt passed a series of emergency measures to tackle the Depression. (a) Describe the main actions taken b...

(a) Main actions during the Hundred Days of 1933 [4 marks]

Roosevelt acted with unprecedented speed during his first hundred days in office (March to June 1933). He declared a "bank holiday," closing all banks temporarily and reopening only those judged financially sound under the Emergency Banking Act. He created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which provided jobs for young unemployed men in environmental conservation projects such as planting trees and building trails. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) paid farmers to reduce production in order to raise crop prices, which had collapsed during the Depression. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) established codes of fair competition for industry, setting minimum wages and maximum working hours.

(b) Why Roosevelt acted so quickly [6 marks]

The urgency reflected the depth of the crisis Roosevelt inherited. The banking system was on the verge of total collapse: thousands of banks had failed since 1929, and panicked depositors were withdrawing their savings, threatening a complete financial meltdown. Approximately 13 million Americans were unemployed (around 25% of the workforce), with many facing hunger and homelessness. Roosevelt had promised the American people a "New Deal" during his 1932 election campaign and needed to demonstrate decisive action to justify the overwhelming mandate he had received (winning 42 of 48 states). Herbert Hoover's cautious, limited approach had been decisively rejected by voters, and the public expected immediate, bold government intervention. There was genuine fear that economic desperation could lead to social unrest, radical political movements, or even revolutionary upheaval. Roosevelt used his personal charisma and his innovative "fireside chats" on radio to build public confidence in rapid change, understanding that restoring psychological confidence was itself a form of economic recovery.

(c) How successful the Hundred Days measures were [10 marks]

Successes:

• The bank holiday restored confidence in the financial system; when banks reopened, deposits exceeded withdrawals, ending the panic.
• The CCC employed approximately 2.5 million young men between 1933 and 1942, building infrastructure and carrying out conservation work that benefited the country for decades.
• The AAA succeeded in raising farm prices and incomes for those farmers who participated.
• The national mood shifted from despair and panic to cautious optimism, a psychological transformation that was itself economically significant.
• Roosevelt's approval ratings soared, giving him the political capital to pursue further reforms.

Limitations:

• Unemployment remained at approximately 10 million even after the Hundred Days; the measures were a beginning, not a solution.
• The NIRA was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 (Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States), removing a central pillar of the first New Deal.
• The AAA's policy of paying farmers to destroy crops and slaughter livestock while millions went hungry was widely criticised as morally indefensible.
• Recovery proved partial and fragile: a sharp recession returned in 1937-38 when Roosevelt cut government spending to reduce the deficit.
• The measures were emergency responses rather than long-term structural reforms.

The Hundred Days successfully stabilised the immediate crisis, restored public confidence, and prevented economic collapse, but they did not end the Depression. That would only come with the massive government spending driven by wartime mobilisation after 1941.