Franklin D. Roosevelt was the primary architect of the New Deal in the United States during the Great Depression. Instituted in the 1930s, the New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations aimed at economic recovery and social reform. Roosevelt sought to address the widespread unemployment and poverty caused by the economic crisis through initiatives like Social Security, labor rights protections, and infrastructure development. The New Deal fundamentally reshaped the role of the federal government in American life and laid the foundation for a modern welfare state.