The New Deal, initiated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a series of programs in response to the Great Depression and it established what role for the federal government?

• A. To play a key role in economic and social affairs
• B. To maintain strict isolationism
• C. To reduce government spending
• D. To regulate only banking

Answer: (A)

The New Deal expanded the federal government's role in both economic and social life. In response to the Great Depression, the government created large-scale public works, relief programs, and social safety nets, and it began to regulate industries and set standards in areas like labor and finance. This marked a shift from a hands-off approach to an active, interventionist federal government that aimed to stabilize the economy and support citizens when private markets failed. Choices that imply isolationism, cutting spending, or limiting regulation to banking don’t fit, because the New Deal’s impact reached well beyond banks into broad economic and social policy.