History 105 project 1



History 105 project 1

Introduction

There seems to be a consensus among people that President Franklin D Roosevelt and his deal should be credited with the incredible expansion and growth of the Federal government. President Roosevelt was certainly a major willing participant in the process, the amazing growth of the Federal government had started well before the inception of the New Deal. It is believed that the rapid growth and progress would not have been possible without the consistent efforts of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The early origins of the Federal progress could be traced back to the Constitutional Convention, but the contemporary era of growth started before the World War I. Contradictory to the popularly held belief, the progress and growth continued in the period of 1920s (Randall, 1991). If we analyze the growth percentage of the Federal government; it can be ascertained that it grew drastically during Herbert Hoover's first term as the President as compared to the seven years after the New Deal.

The scenario of the growth could be divided into two distinct parts i.e. before and after the year 1913. It started after the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution which permitted the imposition of a Federal income tax. In the year 1913, the Federal spendings were only 2.5 percent of the GNP (Gross National Income). However, today the spending accounts to over ten times as compared to the spending of that time; if the analysis is to be conducted based on the governmental spending only. Very little growth took place before the imposition of income tax.

If we analyze the era before 1913, it is evident that the Federal government expanded in other ways i.e. by expanding its power base and by improvising its mandate. When the different colonies were combined to form the United States of America, the founding founders considered the newly found government as the protector of its citizens' liberty. It implied to protecting the rights of the native citizens. At that point in time, the grimmest threat to people's rights was considered to be the government itself. Hence, by the year 1913, the role of the Federal government of the country transformed from protecting the rights of its citizens to ensuring the economic prosperity of its citizens.

Discussion

Examples of Federal Government's Expansion

For instance, an analysis of the spending reveals that the Aggregate federal expenditures declined in the decade of 1920s. ...