What were the major results of the New Deal?

In 1937, the American economy showed signs of improvement, leading Roosevelt to reduce some of the federal government's expenditures under the New Deal. As a result, the economy plunged downward again. While Roosevelt's commitment to continuing the New Deal seemed to weaken in the late 1930s, the administration continued to implement policies designed to remedy some of the problems in the economy and to improve the conditions of workers and farmers. In 1938, FDR signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a minimum wage and outlawed child labor. He also signed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, which replaced the original AAA. Because the Supreme Court had ruled that the federal government could not pay farmers to curb production, the new AAA paid them to conserve soil--by taking some of their land out of production.

In the late 1930s, FDR was increasingly concerned with events in Europe, where World War II began in September 1939. Even though the Depression continued, as did many New Deal policies, economic troubles at home seemed less urgent than the outbreak of war abroad. Roosevelt was re-elected to an unprecedented third term as president in 1940, and a fourth term in 1944, and so served more than twelve years as president. He led the American effort during World War II until his death in April 1945.

The New Deal recorded both failures and successes. It failed to end the Depression or to eliminate unemployment. World War II, which led to an extraordinary increase in American factory production of airplanes, vehicles, electronics, and other wartime supplies, finally pulled the American economy out of more than a decade of depression.

The New Deal did have other lasting effects on the economy. New Deal policies redistributed wealth, reducing the gap that had separated the wealthiest and poorest Americans. Perhaps even more important, the New Deal marked the origins of modern American society. The New Deal greatly increased the role of the federal government and created a new role for government in regulating the economy. The Social Security program, for example, is generally considered one of the most important laws ever passed in the U.S., and remains a vital part of many citizens' lives.

Some Americans continued to dislike the New Deal, and to distrust the growing power of the federal government. In the 1980s and 1990s, American presidents would seek, and succeed, in eliminating some decades-old New Deal policies and reducing the power of the federal government. Still, the administration of Franklin Roosevelt established new expectations for the presidency, and subsequent presidents would, for better or worse, be compared with FDR.