Which is an example of how the role of government in the United States and other Western democracies changed during the Great Depression? People came to expect their governments to take an active role in their economic welfare. Explanation: The US government enacted a number of programs and policies in an attempt to aid economic recovery. A prominent example is President Roosevelt's "New Deal." Today, most economists believe that these government interventions did little to help - and may have even hindered - economic recovery. However, the general public accepted government intervention and began to expect it.