The New Deal: How FDR Redefined the American Government

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]The Agricultural Adjustment Act, AAA, paid farmers to reduce production. The Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, brought electrification and development to the rural South. The National Industrial Recovery Act, NIRA, aimed to stabilize industry through codes and public works.

[00:00:19]The Federal Emergency Relief Administration, FERA, and later Works Progress Administration, WPA, provided direct relief and jobs for millions. The Social Security Act of 1935 created unemployment insurance, old age pensions, and aid for dependents.

[00:00:38]Roosevelt's four terms, reelected in 1936, 1940, and 1944, were unprecedented, enabled by the depression and war. The 22nd Amendment, 1951, later limited presidents to two terms. We have at our disposal the national resources, the money, the skill of hand and head to raise our economic level, our citizens income.