Roosevelt used the metaphor of the three-horse team to depict that the government, the business community, and the American people needed to work together to overcome the challenges of the Great Depression. He argued that each of these groups had a vital role to play in pulling the "wagon" of the American economy out of the mud and back onto the road of progress. Just as the horses of a team had to work together to pull a heavy load, so too did the government, businesses, and citizens need to work together to overcome the economic challenges of the time.