A New Vision of Society

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR, Second Inaugural Address, 1937

There are several examples of the New Deal's emphasis on protecting the bottom and most vulnerable portion of the society. One of the most important that is still very much a part of our lives today was the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established for the first time a federal minimum wage, a maximum number of hours for a work week, and overtime pay for hours that exceed this maximum. But of all of the transformations wrought by the New Deal, perhaps the most dramatic was Social Security. Before the New Deal, support for the elderly, disabled, and unemployed was a matter of the family or private charities. It would have been unthinkable for the government to directly aid citizens with income or medical care. With the Social Security Act of 1935 for the first time the government took responsibility for the vulnerable portions of society.

"Our progress out of the depression is obvious. But that is not all that you and I mean by the new order of things. Our pledge was not merely to do a patchwork job with secondhand materials. By using the new materials of social justice we have undertaken to erect on the old foundations a more enduring structure for the better use of future generations...I do not look upon these United States as a finished product. We are still in the making" - FDR