To answer Joe from Butler's question, I believe the Depression ended in the second half of 1945.

I argue against the effectiveness of FDR's programs because confiscatory taxation, creating money out of thin air (via the Federal Reserve), and the imposition of dictatorial controls on production are never a solution to any economic problem. If, when the economic downturn occurred, FDR would have abolished the Fed, upheld the gold standard, increased free trade, and deregulated industry then the Depression would have been much shorter (and would have incurred less damage to the economic freedom of the nation).