Measures taken to overcome Great Depression

1. The National Industrial Recovery Act (later declared unconstitutional) was passed to
help companies create price floors on their products.
2. The Wagner Act was passed, aiding the ability of workers to form labour unions.
With stronger unions, it was believed that wages would not decline.
3. The Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed, creating the price floors for agricultural
products.
4. The government created a series of programs designed to put people to work. For
example, the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration
created employment opportunities building sewers, roads, bridges, water systems,
Post Offices, and so forth.
5. The government took some action to make the banks safer for depositors. The main
such action was the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
The FDIC insures bank accounts against bank failures and that prevented runs on
banks, since all money in an account is protected even if the bank fails.
6. There was the creation of what has been called the “Welfare State”. The best known
of these programs was the creation of Social Security in 1935.
7. Additional Welfare State programs that were created in this period include
Unemployment Compensation and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).
AFDC was a large part of what most people called “welfare” until it was replaced in
1996.
8. One aspect of the Welfare State that was not created in this period was the
provision of medical care for elderly people. Medicare did not come into existence
until 1965.
9. The 1932 Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) authorized the lending of $2
billion to banks, railroads, and other privately held companies, and in July 1932 the
federal government appropriated $300 million for the nation’s first relief and public
works projects.
10. The Hoover Administration created the Check Tax[48] to generate extra government
funding. The tax added a two cent tax to the purchase of all bank checks, directly
affecting the common person. This additional cost pushed people away from using
checks, so instead the majority of the population increased their usage of cash. Banks
had already closed due to cash shortage, but this reaction to the Check Tax rapidly
increased the pace.
11. In the "First New Deal" of 1933–34, a wide variety of programs were targeted toward
the depression and agriculture in rural areas, in the banking industry, and for the
economy as a whole.
12. Relief programs were set up for the long-term unemployed who are routinely passed
over whenever new jobs did open up.
13. The most popular program was the Civilian Conservation Corps that put young men
to work in construction jobs, especially in rural areas. Prohibition was repealed,
fulfilling a campaign pledge and generating new tax revenues for local and state
government. A series of relief programs were designed to provide jobs, in cooperation
with local governments.
Reference:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2013/11/30/the-great-depression-was-ended-
by-the-end-of-world-war-ii-not-the-start-of-it/#10fdd18857d3
https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-an-economic-depression-3306013