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1930's

During the 1930's American citizens witnessed a



breakdown of the Democratic and free enterprise



way of life.   The government saw that the



free enterprise system was failing.   The New Deal  



increased the government's regulation and intervention



and the economic system, thus temporarily



abandoning the capitalism system and turning toward



socialism to find the answer.   The answer...



the New Deal.







Socialism is usually thought of as a form



of government that advocates public ownership



and public control of wealth (Britannica Jr.



Encyclopedia 1980, p.231).   In other words,



a socialistic government wants the wealth of



the nation spread out in such a way that the



money is equally distributed among the country's



citizens.   Socialism is in favor



of tearing down the class structure and forming



a classless society.   In this way, it was born out  



of Marxism, whose founder was Karl Marx.  



Leaders of the Communist Party of the Soviet



Union said that their country used socialism



as a major step towards "building communism".



However most socialist political parties in



democratic countries of the West rejected the



Communist idea of socialism.   Socialists prefer



the government ownership of industries that are



vital to a country's welfare.   These include the



coal, oil, iron, and steel industries.   The



basic idea favored by all Socialists is the



public ownership and use of property in order



to extend the benefits of wealth more equally.







Many economic, political, and social factor lead



up to the New Deal.   When staggering statistics



such as 25% unemployment, and the fact that 20%



of NYC school children were underwieght and



malnourished (World Book, p.200) hit the



White House, the government knew something had



to be done.   With the economy at on all time



low people wanted change, Roosevelt's legislative



program represented a new way of...