How did the New Deal change Americans' view of the government's role?

• A. It reduced government responsibilities
• B. It reinforced belief in limited government
• C. It established a legacy that the government should deliver public services, intervene in the economy, and promote welfare
• D. It promoted isolationism

Answer: (C)

During the New Deal, the federal government took on a much larger role in daily life. Faced with the Great Depression, Americans came to expect the government to provide relief, create jobs, regulate the economy, and protect welfare through public programs. So many new initiatives—from public works and unemployment relief to banking reforms and Social Security—established a lasting standard that the government should deliver services, intervene in the economy, and promote people’s welfare. The other ideas don’t fit this shift: reducing government responsibilities or clinging to limited government contradict the expansion seen in New Deal programs, and isolationism is mainly about foreign policy, not the domestic role the New Deal reshaped.