Black Husbands example essay topic

The goal of my essay is to discuss the effects of the New Deal on the American people. It will show how the revolutionary program proposed by FDR helped improve the lives of citizens. It will also show the effects of the New Deal on immigrants, minorities, and women. Also, it shows how it ended the Depression by improving the economy and some of the controversies surrounding the program. Blacks were having an extremely hard time in America because they were not getting decent or any jobs at all. "Many northern businesses refused to hire blacks; two thirds of Manhattan's hotels had no African American employees".

(Student Resource Center) "There was a high rate of unemployment, the lack of stable jobs, and low wages made it impossible for black husbands to support their families". (STUDENT RESOURCE) "Even if a black was qualified for a top job, the boss would give the job to someone who was white yet unqualified for the work". They were suffering because of racism, unemployment, and a degrading society. Blacks also had to struggle with racism as well as a poor economy. Along with being in poverty and living in over crowded areas, blacks also had to deal with racist who felt that they did not deserve to be equal to whites. One example was by the Federal Housing Administration, who segregated housing for the poor and refused to make loans to blacks buying homes in white neighborhoods.

The black codes meant that they could not vote, did not have equality in the job market, and could not use the same facilities as whites. The New Deal had a positive effect on African Americans because the federal government helped blacks for the first time. Many blacks were put on relief and were given financial aid to help them combat the depression. Many black families desperately needed funding because they were not given the decent jobs that many whites had.

Early programs that provided food, shelter and clothing helped blacks greatly. These included the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), the National Recovery Administration (NRA), the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Agricultural Adjustment Administration ( ) and the National Youth Administration (NYA). The Public Works Administration (PWA) turned more than one-third of all the housing units it built over to African Americans. Despite the best efforts of the PWA's director, Harold Ices, the agency remained segregated in the South, but its contributions to black communities in the form of schools, hospitals, and recreational facilities were greatly appreciated and helped the minority community greatly. The WPA's educational and cultural program gave wholehearted support to the work of blacks. Nearly a quarter of a million blacks were taught to read and write by the WPA.

"Black music, literature, and art -- including that of artists such as Jacob Lawrence and Samuel Brown -- were produced by the Federal Art Project in the WPA". (Thomas) Another group that was effected by the New Deal were women. Women had to struggle throughout the Depression because they were forced to be in the home raising children and keeping the household together. Without women, there would be no food on the table when the husbands came in from work and no one to raise the children while the husbands were out at work in the factories. According to Eleanor Roosevelt's book Its up to the Women, women's roles became more important as they had to take drastic measures to make sure a family survives. "They saved money by buying day old bread, cutting adult clothes down to children's sizes, and saving scraps like old rags".

(Microsoft Encarta) The New Deal improved women's situation because financial aid was given to many white families to help people pay mortgages and buy food. The various government programs created by the New Deal put women to work on government projects like building roads and bridges. Women also benefited by the work of Susan B. Anthony and other feminist who paved the way for women's rights, women finally had a small say in government and the New Deal helped get their opinions across. The last group that will be discussed are immigrants like the Italians, Portuguese, and Mexican Americans. Like other minority groups, Mexicans were badly unemployed and were blamed for taking away jobs from other natural born Americans.

Their children were also seen as a problem because their children needed special schools because they did not know English and increase public school budgets. They were also seen as a health hazard because they lived in overcrowded conditions. The New Deal helped Mexican Americans by improving the English classes of Mexican schools and making more things in Spanish to help them adjust. There were also soup kitchens and various organizations set up to help them with food, clothing, and basic goods needed for survival.

The point of this essay is to educate people on the plight of other groups besides whites during the depression. Many people when researching the Depression only believe that white people were suffering, but fail to realize that because of their color and control over government, they suffered but failed far better than other groups like Mexicans and African Americans. Although whites had troubles finding jobs, Mexicans and African Americans were refused jobs because of their race. They were forced to work for far less than what a Caucasian person would get for a job. Not only did Mexicans live in poverty, but were attacked by racism and could barely even speak English.