ABSTRACT
The principal novelties of Roosevelt’s early presidency were the “Brain Trust” of university professors and financial experts, whose “strategic line” was directed at acting effectively and rapidly; the collection of an impressive quantity of data to form an empirical basis for intervention; and the determination to depart from mainstream approaches. The new administration produced an unprecedented amount of new legislation in its first 100 days of government. The New Deal can be seen in two stages: economic policy from 1933 to 1935, and more attention to social policies from 1935 to 1938. The campaign to reduce unemployment was supported by the institution of National Labour Service and by military conscription after Germany’s rejection of the Treaty of Versailles. The policy achieved a success unrivalled elsewhere in the world; by 1936 unemployment had been drastically reduced and there were actually manpower shortages.
