FDR and the New Deal

In the 1920s, life was good for most Americans—and great for many. Prosperity built on the new economic premise of "buy now, pay later" ruled the decade known as the Roaring Twenties. Then the bubble burst, and America's house of cards came tumbling down. With stunning suddenness, the stock market crash of '29 revealed the flaws in America's economy and plunged the nation into the worst depression it had ever known. The troubled citizenry called on its newly elected president to lead it out of economic chaos.