The Peanut That Broke The Law
The New Deal marked a fundamental recognition by the United States government that farmers were unable to earn a living without significant regulatory changes to commodity markets. Rural poverty and the threat of social unrest compelled federal intervention into agricultural capitalism. Agrarian reform during the Great Depression sought to address the impoverishment of farmlands and farmworkers. New Deal policies from the 1930s aimed to influence commodity markets by curbing crop surplus.