The Great Depression and African American Movements Essay

The Great Depression and African American Movements - Essay Example The Great Depression was addressed by President Roosevelt’s New Deal when he assumed office as a President of the United States on March 4, 1933. President Roosevelt’s New Deal involved a series of economic programs focused on Relief, Recovery and Reform of the economy not only to address the Great Depression but also to avoid the repetition of the same. Among the programs of his new deal was the obtained permission to reopen most banks and provided grants to citizens. He instituted government initiated work programs to generate employment through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) programs. President Roosevelt also pump primed the economy with the widespread public spending on infrastructure by constructing roads, buildings, dams and similar projects through his Public Works Administration (PWA) which provided not only jobs but income in the system. He also enlisted young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps to work on conservation projects.President Rooseveltâ €™s New Deal was to elevate both income and prices which dropped during the depression. When Second World War came in 1941, President Roosevelt shifted his attention to foreign policy to address the war. The war proved to be good for the US economy because the massive spending to build war machines double the country’s Gross National Product or GNP and reduced unemployment rate from 14% to less than 2%.The 1930s and 1940s saw the emergence of two African American religious movements which includes the Nation of Islam.