Title: The New Deal & the 3 R's - The Great Depression
Headings: The "New Deal" and The Three R's
The "New Deal" and The Three R's
Content: 1. CCC & WPA: FDR set up the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to provide jobs to millions of unemployed Americans and "stimulate" the economy. The WPA and CCC built more than 650,000 miles of roads as well as 150,000 schools, airports, hospitals, parks, dams, and other public projects, many of which are still in use today. 2. Social Security Act: A law enacted in 1935 to provide aid and financial security to retirees, the unemployed, people with disabilities, and dependent mothers with children. During the depression, approximately 50% of senior citizens lived in poverty. Like many Americans appalled at the sight of fellow citizens living their final years in poverty after a lifetime of hard work, FDR believed that a nation as prosperous and advanced as the U.S. should not allow retired citizens to suffer poverty. It protects citizens from poverty during retirement, and provides temporary relief for involuntary unemployed Americans and families seeking new jobs- a program known as Unemployment Insurance.