Saving the Country with Alphabet Soup! The Great Depression was one of the largest challenges the people of the United States ever faced. With the election of Franklin Roosevelt, the voters of the country signaled a desire for a radical change, and hundreds of government programs were rolled out to combat the grave economic situation. WPA! CCC! NRA! HOLC! TVA! Some of the programs are still well known or even active today, while others have become obscure. What were these programs, what did they do, and did they work? Can you really fix an economy with alphabet soup?