THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND NEW DEAL
Conservatives criticized Roosevelt for abandoning a balanced budget and borrowing money. Many business leaders were concerned by the growing deficit. Concerns about federal interference in local matters also animated the Right, as did complaints that businesses were burdened by too many regulations.
Huey Long Long s Share Our Wealth plan proposed guaranteed incomes, pensions to people aged 60 and older, veterans benefits, and large increases in taxes.
Father Coughlin A popular radio personality, he blamed the greed of bankers for causing the Depression. He criticized Roosevelt s oversight of banks, despite the regulations passed on the first hundred days.
Dr. Francis Townsend Townsend criticized Social Security benefits as insufficient and complained that it excluded people who had not worked and paid taxes under the Social Security program.
Roosevelt did not try to please most conservatives, since they were not usually part of his voting base. To please liberals, he created a jobs program, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), to improve public works. This began the Second New Deal.
WPA The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was the largest public works program of the New Deal. Among the jobs created were positions for writers, artists, and musicians.
The Wagner Act This 1935 legislation allowed workers to vote by secret ballot to determine whether they wanted to unionize. It also established an arbitration process to judge employeeemployer disputes and investigate unfair practices.
The Social Security Act This legislation allowed retired or unemployed workers to receive benefits from a tax paid to the federal government. It affirmed the longstanding progressive principle that the federal government was responsible for the welfare of all citizens.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND NEW DEAL
African Americans Although African Americans had traditionally supported the Republican Party, FDR s New Deal and the work of Eleanor Roosevelt attracted them to the Democratic Party.
Women Women had had the right to vote for less than 15 years when FDR was elected. They also began supporting Roosevelt and the Democrats during the New Deal era.
Other Groups Farmers, workers, immigrants, progressives, and intellectuals also supported the Democratic Party.
Court-Packing Plan The U.S. Supreme Court did not always support the New Deal. An angry Roosevelt tried to increase the total number of justices in a way that would have allowed him to appoint six new justices.
Political Opposition The plan met significant opposition. Southern Democrats feared new judges would ban segregation. African Americans feared new judges would not support civil rights.
Citizen Opposition Many believed the plan granted the president too much power. Roosevelt eventually backed down.
Economic Decline Despite economic growth through much of the mid-1930s, a decline in government spending combined with the beginning of payroll taxes caused a second economic downturn.
Political Effects This downturn damaged the Democrats and paved the way for the Republicans to gain Congressional seats during the 1938 midterm elections.
National Housing Act Roosevelt called for the National Housing Act to create the United States Housing Authority. This agency subsidized loans to those building low-income housing.
Farm Security Administration The Farm Security Administration gave loans to Southern tenant farmers who had been expelled from their land.
Fair Labor Standards Act This act abolished child labor, set the workweek at 44 hours for most people, and established the first federal minimum wage.
End of the New Deal Republicans gained many Congressional seats in the elections of 1938. They worked with conservative Southern Democrats to block additional New Deal legislation.
Increased Federal Power The New Deal saw a great expansion of the federal government and increased federal power over the economy.
Government Mediation New Deal reforms established the broker state, in which the federal government helps work out disagreements among competing interests.
Safety Net New Deal programs created a social safety net to see people through difficult economic times. The modern safety net includes Social Security and unemployment insurance, two programs instituted during the New Deal.
How Much Is Too Much? Americans continue to debate how much power the government should have to control the economy.