Skip to content

Roosevelt and the New Deal | ISC Class 11 History

questionbuddy.in/isc/class-11/history/the-great-depression/roosevelt-and-the-new-deal-aims-and-measures

HistoryISC Class 11 · The Great Depression

Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures (ISC Class 11 History)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Draft, not yet fact-checked

Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected in November 1932 and in office from March 1933, promised a New Deal aimed at relief, recovery and reform. The Hundred Days brought banking reform, relief and public works (CCC, FERA, PWA, WPA), farm and industry recovery (AAA, NIRA), the TVA, and in 1935 the Social Security and Wagner Acts.

Sort every New Deal measure under one of the three Rs: relief for the needy, recovery of farms and industry, reform of banks and security.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures

Aims. Roosevelt declared that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" and promised a New Deal. The three Rs: Relief (immediate help for the jobless and hungry), Recovery (revive industry and farming, raise prices and wages, create jobs) and Reform (change the system, especially banking and the stock market, so a crash could not recur, and give people security). He also aimed to restore confidence (radio fireside chats), accept federal intervention in the economy, and use public works spending even at the cost of a deficit.

Banking and finance. Emergency Banking Act (1933): a bank holiday, only sound banks reopened under supervision. Glass-Steagall Act (1933) separated ordinary and investment banking and created the FDIC to protect savings. The Securities and Exchange Commission (1934) regulated the stock market.

Relief and jobs. CCC (1933): young men in forestry, flood control and conservation. FERA (1933): relief grants to states. PWA and later the WPA (1935): roads, schools, bridges, airports and arts projects employing millions.

Recovery. AAA (1933): paid farmers to reduce production to raise prices. NIRA (1933): codes of fair competition on prices, wages and hours, and workers' right to join unions. TVA (1933): dams for flood control and cheap electricity across several states.

Second New Deal (1935). Social Security Act: old-age pensions and unemployment insurance. Wagner Act: protected workers' right to organise and bargain collectively.

Opposition and limits. The Supreme Court struck down the NIRA (1935) and the first AAA (1936); business leaders called it socialism and others said it did too little; unemployment fell but stayed high until rearmament. Achievements: restored confidence, saved the banking system, built a lasting welfare framework.

Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures: key facts

Three Rs
  • Relief
  • Recovery
  • Reform
Banking measures
  • Emergency Banking Act 1933
  • Glass-Steagall 1933, FDIC
  • SEC 1934
Relief and recovery agencies
CCC, FERA, PWA, WPA | AAA, NIRA, TVA
Second New Deal 1935
Social Security Act | Wagner Act
Supreme Court struck NIRA 1935, AAA 1936.

How to answer Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures questions

Expect 4-mark aims or measures and an 8-mark combined question with an evaluation.

  1. 1State the three Rs with one example each.
  2. 2List measures under banking, relief, recovery and reform.
  3. 3Name opposition and limits.
  4. 4Conclude with achievements and a balanced judgement.

Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Insured savings

Suppose a reform guarantees small bank deposits after many banks have failed.

Which New Deal measure and aim does this match?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. The Glass-Steagall Act created the FDIC.
  2. It served reform and restored confidence.

Answer: Glass-Steagall and the FDIC; reform.

Memory hook: Protect savings, rebuild trust.

Paid not to plant

Suppose farmers are paid to grow less so that prices rise.

Name the New Deal act and its purpose.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. It is the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA).
  2. Cutting output to raise prices served recovery.

Answer: AAA; recovery.

Memory hook: Fewer crops, better prices.

Tricks to remember Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

  • Three Rs

    Relief, Recovery, Reform.

    Use it when: Aims.

  • BRRR

    Banks first, then Relief, Recovery, Reform.

    Use it when: Order of measures.

Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Agency · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

The agency that built dams for flood control and cheap electricity in a poor region was the:
(a) CCC
(b) WPA
(c) TVA
(d) AAA

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Tennessee Valley.

Answer: (c) TVA.

Example 2: Three Rs · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

State the three aims of the New Deal and one measure for each.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Relief: CCC, FERA or WPA.
  2. Recovery: AAA, NIRA or TVA.
  3. Reform: Glass-Steagall, SEC, Social Security or Wagner Act.

Answer: Relief (CCC), recovery (AAA), reform (Social Security).

Example 3: Banking reforms · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain four New Deal measures taken to restore the banking system and regulate finance.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. Emergency Banking Act with a bank holiday; only sound banks reopened.
  2. Glass-Steagall separated ordinary and investment banking.
  3. The FDIC protected savings.
  4. The SEC (1934) regulated the stock market.

Answer: Bank holiday, Glass-Steagall, FDIC and SEC.

Example 4: Evaluate · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

"The New Deal ended the Depression." Evaluate.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. It restored confidence and saved the banking system.
  2. Relief and public works employed millions.
  3. Unemployment fell but stayed high until rearmament for World War II.
  4. The Supreme Court struck down parts and critics said it either went too far or not far enough.

Answer: It gave relief and reform but did not end unemployment before rearmament.

Example 5: Source work · 5 marks · Source-basedHOTS / competency

Read the extract and answer.
Roosevelt took office in March 1933, declaring that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself".
(i) In which month and year did he take office? [1]
(ii) What did he mean? [2]
(iii) Name two measures from the Hundred Days that tried to restore confidence. [2]

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
  1. (i) March 1933.
  2. (ii) That fear and panic were making the crisis worse, so confidence had to be restored.
  3. (iii) The Emergency Banking Act (bank holiday) and the Glass-Steagall Act with the FDIC.

Answer: (i) March 1933 (ii) fear worsened the crisis (iii) Emergency Banking Act and Glass-Steagall.

Where students lose marks in Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

  • Mistake: Mixing relief and recovery agencies

    CCC and AAA swapped.

    Do this: CCC and WPA gave relief and jobs; AAA and NIRA aimed at recovery.

    Usually costs: 1 mark.

  • Mistake: Saying the New Deal ended unemployment

    Limits are forgotten.

    Do this: Unemployment stayed high until rearmament.

    Usually costs: 2 marks.

  • Mistake: Omitting reform measures

    Only jobs listed.

    Do this: Add Glass-Steagall, SEC, Social Security and Wagner Act.

    Usually costs: 1 mark.

Exam tips

  • Expand each abbreviation once.
  • Use headings for banking, relief, recovery, reform.
  • Mention the Supreme Court rulings with years.
  • Balance achievements and limits.

Practice questions on Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

  1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

    The Wagner Act of 1935 protected:
    (a) farmers' prices
    (b) workers' right to organise and bargain collectively
    (c) bank deposits
    (d) stock markets

    Hint

    Labour.

    Answer

    (b) Workers' right to organise and bargain collectively.

  2. Q2 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

    Describe the relief and public works agencies of the New Deal.

    Hint

    CCC, FERA, PWA, WPA.

    Answer

    The CCC employed young men in conservation, FERA gave grants to states, and the PWA and the WPA built roads, schools, bridges and airports and employed millions.

  3. Q3 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

    Why did the Supreme Court strike down the NIRA (1935) and the first AAA (1936), and what was the effect on the New Deal?

    Hint

    Think of the Court's view of federal power, then the Second New Deal.

    Answer

    The Supreme Court held that the NIRA gave the President too much law-making power and regulated trade within states, which went beyond the federal government's powers over interstate commerce. It struck down the first AAA because the tax on food processors was used to regulate agriculture, which it held was a matter for the states. The rulings removed key recovery measures and showed that the early New Deal had limits. Roosevelt responded with the Second New Deal of 1935, including the Social Security Act and the Wagner Act, and the AAA was later replaced by a revised farm law.

  4. Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

    Explain how the AAA and NIRA aimed at recovery and why they met opposition.

    Hint

    Codes, farm cuts, courts.

    Answer

    The AAA paid farmers to cut output to raise prices and the NIRA set fair-competition codes and union rights; business leaders called them socialism and the Supreme Court struck them down.

  5. Q5 · 3 marks · Assertion-reasonHOTS / competency

    Assertion (A): The Social Security Act of 1935 belongs to the Second New Deal.
    Reason (R): It provided old-age pensions and unemployment insurance as lasting reform.
    (a) Both true and R explains A
    (b) Both true but R does not explain A
    (c) A true, R false
    (d) A false, R true

    Hint

    Reform phase.

    Answer

    (b) Both A and R are true but R does not explain A. The Act belongs to the Second New Deal because it was passed in 1935, after the Supreme Court rulings, as part of a new phase of lasting reform; R only describes what the Act provided.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

  1. 1.TVA purpose?Show answer

    Dams, flood control and cheap electricity.

  2. 2.Year of Social Security Act?Show answer

    1935.

  3. 3.FDIC created by?Show answer

    Glass-Steagall Act 1933.

  4. 4.Who struck down the NIRA?Show answer

    The Supreme Court in 1935.

  5. 5.Roosevelt's slogan?Show answer

    The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Roosevelt and the New Deal: Aims and Measures: frequently asked questions

What were the Hundred Days?

March to June 1933 of rapid legislation.

Did the New Deal cost money?

Yes, public works used deficit spending.

Why fireside chats?

To restore public confidence by radio.