Title: Conclusion: The Legacy of the New Deal | Boundless US History
Headings: Conclusion: The Legacy of the New Deal
Conclusion: The Legacy of the New Deal
Conclusion: The Legacy of the New Deal
Learning Objectives
Key Takeaways
Key Points
Key Terms
“Halfway Revolution”
Social Assistance
Political Legacies

Content: They improved the life of many citizens through providing jobs for the unemployed, legal protection for labor unions and some non-unionized industrial workers, modern utilities for rural America (e.g., electricity), living wages for the working poor, and price stability for farmers. However, the same programs disproportionately benefited white Americans and particularly white males. Economic progress for minorities, especially African Americans and many working class women, was hindered by discrimination, which the Roosevelt administration rarely battled and often endorsed. Social Assistance
One of the primary legacies of the New Deal was a change in the relationship between the government and the nation. The New Deal was built around the assumption that the government–both federal and state–not only could but should intervene in and regulate the economy and directly support those in need. While the idea emerged in Europe already in the 19th century and gained some traction in the United States during the Progressive Era, it was Roosevelt and his New Deal that applied it on such a massive scale. A number of social assistance programs that exist in the United States today trace their legacy to the New Deal era, including old age pensions, unemployment insurance, farm subsidies, subsidized public housing, support for the disabled, or support for children in the poorest families. They are designed to subsidize the needs of the general population with various eligibility requirements. The Social Security system remains the largest and most prominent social aid program originally established by New Deal legislation. Similarly, measures protecting labor that are today a taken-for-granted aspect of American life are a result of the New Deal.