Introduction The New Deal is a term that was popularized by Franklin Roosevelt. It had programs and measures that he came up with to cope with the problems experienced. These problems arose because of the great depression, which occurred in the United States in 1930. The New Deal involved a number of reforms that were focused to deal with problems affecting the social, economic and government arenas. It was adopted by each state. It went a long way in helping the US as a country especially in pulling it out of this hard time. This is why it was considered as a major breakthrough in American history (Shlaes, 2007). The social welfare system in America changed greatly during the 1930s. Before the changes, the local governments for each region distributed relief. Consequently, this led to the rise of various problems, as there were some scandals that arose. In 1933, the method was changed and the system was made much larger. The parties that were involved in this were the federal, state and local government. Bureaucracy dominated the scene because of these actions. The permanent social welfare system that was developed by the social security act contributed significantly to this process (Jansson, 2012). Social and economic conditions that led to the enactment of the New Deal programs The great depression This is one of the major problems that led to the need to adopt the New Deal. Various factors led to this. A key factor, which was a major cause of the great depression, was the stock market crash, which took place in the year 1929. There was a major loss of about 40 billion dollars within a period of only two years (Shlaes, 2007) Stockholders had lost too much money; despite attempts to recover some of the losses, the gap could still not be filled. By 1930, the great depression became inevitable. After the stock market crash, banks started failing. Over nine thousand banks closed, due to the difficulties they were experiencing. The remaining banks were not insured, and people lost their savings when the banks crashed. The remaining banks in order to remain afloat restricted the issuing of loans hence making it hard for most businesses to sustain themselves (Shlaes, 2007). A major outcome of the great depression was unemployment. Due to the crash of the stock market and banks, many people lost their jobs. This was due to the rampant layoffs to maintain the businesses. Some businesses went bankrupt hence the workers from the failed businesses lost their jobs. The decline of the buying of goods also led to unemployment. People became unsure of the situation after the stock market crash and bank failures. They decided to keep their money. This, in turn, led to less production hence bringing down the need of a big workforce, which eventually led to a reduction in labor. Another blow to the economy was the policy to reduce the number of imports from Europe from entering the country. Though this policy served to protect American companies, it led to a decline in trade between the countries, and eventually resulted to economic restrictions as the countries also held back in supplying resources that were needed by the US (Jansson, 2012). Unemployment led to rural to urban migration as man