During the early part οf the Great Depression, the economy had ground to a halt as a result οf the stock market crashing and the unemployment rates skyrocketed as businesses shut down. Only a very small portion οf the population actually held stock. The cause οf the Great Depression was really a result οf shallow economical prosperity. Most οf the farmers and other industries struggled in the 1920’s. Low prices, suppressed wages and production material prices, and lopsided distribution οf income all influenced the spiraling effect οf the Great Depression. The relative greed οf businesses in terms οf profit margins and little interest in the increase οf wages and positive working environments also played a role. By not making allowances for increasing wages, businesses essentially reduced the spending power οf the workforce. This made the products these workers helped to produce unavailable to them. The banking industries were also involved by reacting inappropriately to economical trends right before the crash. An increase in credit flexibility might have helped reduce some οf the dramatic effects οf the stock market crash. The relative reduction in disposable income as well as an inflexible credit system created a dramatic reduction in spending and effectively promoted a drastic reduction in the value οf the dollar. When the market crashed, all οf these factors that were hidden by a general belief in permanent wealth and prosperous trends sent the economy into a tale spin. Many believed that the United States would decline into dissolution and little faith was placed with the current policies οf Herbert Hoover’s administration. The American public desperately needed someone to guide them through the most economically debilitating period in history. They were looking for someone with a plan that would help kick start the economy and bring prosperity back to the masses. The gravity οf the Great depression called for governmental reforms and programs to protect and maintain the general welfare οf its citizens. Franklin Roosevelt utilized a committee οf people from differing points οf view to aid in his legislative ideas. (Kimball 11-19) This committee, called the Brain Trust, disagreed and argued over many οf the policies implemented during the New Deal era. This conflict was probably as helpful as it was harmful to the decision-making processes needed for instituting the programs and organizations introduced in the following years. The New Deal would bring about a new beginning in public welfare by setting up the framework for a welfare state, which is still in existence today. The New Deal program is usually divided into three periods. The first phase (1933-34) attempted to provide recovery and relief from the Great Depression through programs οf agricultural and business regulation, inflation, price stabilization, and public works (New Deal 1993). Fortunately for Roosevelt, the Democratic Party held the majority in Congress. This allowed Franklin Roosevelt to churn out legislation with almost no resistance. On his second day in office, FDR called for a special session οf Congress which would ultimately establish numerous emergency organizations, notably the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which attempted to stabilize prices and