Franklin d. Roosevelt and People Essay

Submitted By klforrester
Words: 662
Pages: 3

"Aid Rewards the Shiftless" and "Aid Helps the Truly Needy" are both about government aid/relief provided to those who needed/applied for it during and shortly after a time of the “United States’ highest unemployment rate and greatest financial crisis ever to date”; The Great Depression. The relief program came from President Franklin Roosevelt who had some success after many attempts of federal relief from the prior Hoover administration failed. Some Americans objected to the relief efforts by making the illogical fallacy that most families would simply just take advantage of the “system”. Like Hoover, many believed that the relief program would “ damage the initiative of recipients” and “produce a permanent under class”. Extreme opinions and fallacies can be seen in "Aid Rewards the Shiftless"; which was written by Minnie Hardin, a farm-woman from Indiana who strongly objected to the program in her letter to President Roosevelt. In her letter she makes the point that there is a class of people who refuse to work. They can not be helped because they refuse to help themselves. These people go on relief and get “kicked off” and still want relief benefits such as work hours and pay; however these people aren't even worth hiring. She goes on to compare all families in this “low class” to those of a neighboring family that shes states ruined a house and other property, as well as racked up a considerable amount of debt. Which is an unfair judgment, as could be debated after reading document number two showing an opposite view point. "Aid Helps the Truly Needy" was a letter written to Harry Hopkins by a reporter named Lorena Hickok. This letter greatly opposes the proceeding letter by expressing the many people that need relief do not apply for it out of self pride. Unlike the type of people Minnie described, these people were not looking for handouts from the government, but steady work and jobs. She even goes on to state that children suffer from malnutrition and neurotic conditions due to the pride of their skilled labor parents “whose pride remains stronger than hunger”. I believe that back then, I would have found Hickok to be more applicable to those times. People needed assistance more than ever. I would have not wanted to see people loosing their livelihoods, homes and lives. It really is a shame. Even now... even to this day, Americans still debate over government benefits distributed to it's citizens. Many argue that