Did FDR End the Depression?

No, but that's the myth that we were taught for generations in school. And he extended it far longer than it needed to be if he hadn't pushed his socialist agenda. I think finally his own party realized it, but the textbook editors never caught on.

"Let's start with the New Deal. Its various alphabet-soup agencies—the WPA, AAA, NRA and even the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)—failed to create sustainable jobs. In May 1939, U.S. unemployment still exceeded 20%. European countries, according to a League of Nations survey, averaged only about 12% in 1938. The New Deal, by forcing taxes up and discouraging entrepreneurs from investing, probably did more harm than good.

What about World War II? We need to understand that the near-full employment during the conflict was temporary. Ten million to 12 million soldiers overseas and another 10 million to 15 million people making tanks, bullets and war materiel do not a lasting recovery make. The country essentially traded temporary jobs for a skyrocketing national debt. Many of those jobs had little or no value after the war."

And now Obama is fulfilling FDR's incompleted dreams and dragging down the economy.

Burt Folsom: Did FDR End the Depression? - WSJ.com