'The New Deal ended the Great Depression in America." Discuss.

The New Deal was a series of government programs initiated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt between 1933 and 1941. Designed to combat the economic downturn known as "The Great Depression," historians have long debated how effective it was in accomplishing this. In this essay, I will argue that when viewed in terms of short-term economic recovery from the Depression, the New Deal was largely ineffective and even actively harmful. This is because, as historians such as Ira Katznelson have argued, the package of programs known as "the New Deal" were often contradictory, with some reflating the economy and some depressing it.On the other hand, it will also argue if we expand our time-frame to include Second World War and beyond, the reforms put in place by the New Deal had a long-term positive impact on the American economy. As David Kennedy has argued, vital institutions such as Social Security, trade unions, and unemployment insurance were all passed during the 1930s. The importance of these programs did not become apparent until after the Second World War, when they worked to allow a wide cross-section of American's to enjoy the fruits of post-war prosperity.