Chapter 23 Section 2
The New Deal’s Critics
American Liberty League
 Founded in 1934
 Led opposition to New
Deal
 Said New Deal limited
individual freedom
 Unconstitutional
 Said it resembled
Communism
What effects did the New Deal
have on women and minorities?
 It allowed lower wages for
their work and favored white
males in job programs
 Federal relief programs in the
South enforced racial
segregation
 Social security excluded
farmers and domestic workers
 Primary areas where African
Americans and women
worked
Why did the American Liberty League view
the New Deal as unconstitutional and unAmerican?
 It felt the New Deal limited
individual freedom too
radically and that its
mandatory programs
resembled communism
Examine the picture on page 778. What message do
you think the photographer was trying to
communicate with this picture?
 All of the people on the
billboard are white
 All of the people in the
relief line are African
American
 The photo might have been
commenting on
discrimination in New Deal
relief programs
Examine the political cartoon on page 780. Does the
cartoon favor or criticize the New Deal? Support your
answer with details from the cartoon?
 The cartoon suggests that
New Deal programs,
represented by restraints
on Uncle Sam, interfere
with American freedoms
and the free market. It is
critical of the New Deal.
Why did Upton Sinclair and Robert La
Follette believe that the New Deal did not go
far enough?
 Sinclair believed that the
nation’s entire economic
system needed to be
reformed along Socialist
lines
 La Follette believed that
wealth needed to be evenly
distributed…also socialism
Demagogue
 Leaders who manipulate
people with half-truths,
deceptive promises, and
scare tactics.
Identify 2 demagogues of the New Deal era. Briefly
explain what each individual believed.
 Father Coughlin- Radio
sermons against FDR&
New Deal-wanted
guaranteed income and
nationalization of banks
 Huey Long- Senator from
Louisiana
 Wanted to be President
 Proposed “Share the
Wealth”/”Every Man a
King” program
 Give everyone a $2,500
annual income
 Long eventually
assassinated
Nationalization
 Government takeover and
ownership
Deficit Spending
 A nation spending more
than it brings in
The Supreme Court Reacts
 FDR upset by Supreme
Court rulings against the
New Deal
 Afraid courts would rip
apart New Deal
 Proposed court reform
 Allow FDR to appoint 6
new supreme court justices
The Supreme Court Reacts
 FDR said it would make
judiciary more effective
 Clearly designed to create a
court more in favor of New
Deal
 Labeled Court Packing Bill
The Supreme Court Reacts
 Congress and Press protest
 Violation of judicial
independence& separation
of powers
 Hurt FDR’s public image
Supreme Court Reacts
 Court packing never
happened
 Never had to
 7 of the 9 justices either die
or retire
 FDR able to appoint 7 new
justices anyway