The first reforms of the New Deal aimed at
A. providing home loans to help the homeless.
B. creating the Social Security Administration to support pensions.
C. creating agencies to regulate the stock market.
D. reopening banks and assuring people it was safe to keep their money there.
D. reopening banks and assuring people it was safe to keep their money there.
The first reforms of the New Deal aimed at several goals, but the best answer to your question is option D: reopening banks and assuring people it was safe to keep their money there.
To get to this answer, it's important to understand what the New Deal was. The New Deal was a series of policies and programs implemented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression, which began in 1929. The goal of the New Deal was to address the economic crisis and provide relief, recovery, and reform to the American people.
With that context, let's look at the options one by one:
A. Providing home loans to help the homeless: While the New Deal did include programs that aimed to provide affordable housing, such as the creation of the Federal Housing Administration, the first reforms did not specifically target the issue of homelessness. So, this option is not the best answer.
B. Creating the Social Security Administration to support pensions: The Social Security Administration (SSA) was indeed created as part of the New Deal, but it was not one of the first reforms. The SSA was established in 1935, a few years after the initial reforms were implemented. Therefore, this option is not the best answer.
C. Creating agencies to regulate the stock market: The New Deal did address the issue of stock market regulation, particularly with the establishment of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1934. However, this was not one of the first reforms. Therefore, this option is not the best answer.
D. Reopening banks and assuring people it was safe to keep their money there: This option correctly identifies one of the main focuses of the first New Deal reforms. When Roosevelt took office in 1933, one of his first actions was to declare a Bank Holiday, which temporarily closed all the banks in the country. This was done to stabilize the banking system and restore public confidence in it. After the Bank Holiday, banks were reopened in a controlled manner, and steps were taken to assure the public that it was safe to keep their money in the banks. Therefore, this is the best answer.
In summary, the first reforms of the New Deal aimed at reopening banks and assuring people it was safe to keep their money there.