Answer: The New Deal policies enacted by the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration during the 1930s in response to the Great Depression are traditionally interpreted in terms of how they affected the nation as a whole. However, New Deal policies also had a dramatic impact at the state and local level. Because many officials of state and local governments were unwilling to work in cooperation with the federal government, their response to New Deal policies often did not help the nation to recover as quickly and fully as it could have.