How was the New Deal's approach to the crisis of the Great Depression different from previous responses to economic slumps in American history

Included government interference and investment in the economy.

Prior to the New Deal, the US took a "wait it out" approach to recessions and panics. The economy was growing so there were bound to be bumps in the road. Hoover tried this very approach in the early stages of the Great Depression but this depression was larger in scale and connected to a global economy. FDR pumped money into the economy, physically creating jobs and infrastructure. He also regulated the market in a way no one had done prior.