U.S. history concepts · AP U.S. History
New Deal
New Deal: Franklin D. Roosevelt's programs in the 1930s to provide relief, recovery and reform during the Great Depression.
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What it means
The New Deal created jobs programs, regulated banking and securities, supported farmers, established Social Security and protected workers' right to organize. It greatly expanded the federal government's role in the economy and in citizens' lives.
Critics on the right saw it as overreach; critics on the left said it did not go far enough. Many programs excluded agricultural and domestic workers, which disproportionately affected Black Americans.
Example
The Social Security Act of 1935 created old-age pensions and unemployment insurance.
On the exam
The New Deal is a central Period 7 topic and a classic case for arguments about the changing role of government.
Lessons and practice questions
Related terms
- Progressive EraA period of reform from roughly the 1890s to 1920 that sought to address the problems of industrialization, urbanization and political corruption.
- Complexity (AP history rubric)A sustained, nuanced understanding of a historical development, demonstrated through sophisticated argument or effective use of evidence.