Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal was a two-part program of emergency measures and long-range planning with three specific aims—recovery from the Depression, relief for victims of the Depression, and reform of the nation's economic system.
During Roosevelt's first days in office, Congress enacted an unprecedented number of new programs. The second phase of the New Deal emphasized social reform rather than short-term emergency measures. Out of these efforts came large-scale public works programs and the Social Security system.
Roosevelt won reelection in 1936 by a landslide. However, problems with the Supreme Court and other setbacks slowed the pace of the New Deal. But by then its programs had altered the role of government in American life.
