CHANGING THE GOVERNMENT
(AGAIN)
• THE ROOSEVELT ADMINISTRATION WILL SEE A
TRANSFORMATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY (THEY
BECOME THE PARTY OF REFORM) AND WHAT IT MEANS TO
BE A “LIBERAL” – THEY SEE THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT TO
MODERNIZE AND REGULATE THE MARKET ECONOMY, AND
UPLIFT LESS FORTUNATE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.
• DEPRESSION BRINGS YET ANOTHER “NEW” DEFINITION OF
FREEDOM AND THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT: ECONOMIC
SECURITY – PROTECTED BY THE GOVERNMENT (SAFETY
NET)
ELECTION OF 1932
•
PEOPLE ARE ANGRY, AND EVEN
THOUGH THE CRASH WASN’T
HOOVER’S FAULT- THE DEPRESSION SEEMED TO BE. AND IT HAPPENED
TO BE THE ROCK BOTTOM OF THE DEPRESSION.
•
DEMOCRATS NOMINATED FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT- GOV OF NY (TR’S 5TH
COUSIN, THERE ARE LOTS OF ROOSEVELTS) CAMPAIGNED
AGGRESSIVELY, AND PERSONALLY, AND LIKE HIS COUSIN, IT WAS HIS
PERSONALITY, VISION, AND OPTIMISM IN THE FACE OF DESPAIR (“THE
ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF”) THAT WOULD
CONVINCE THE PEOPLE HE SHOULD BE PRESIDENT- WON BY A
LANDSLIDE, AND IS ELECTED 3 MORE TIMES
FDR AND ELEANOR
FROM WEALTHY BACKGROUNDS. (SOMETIMES DUBBED “TRAITORS” TO THEIR
CLASS) TODAY THEY WOULD BE CALLED POLITICALLY MODERATE- AT TIME, PRETTY
DARN RADICAL, BUT FISCALLY FRUGAL, AND NOT AGAINST BUSINESS
FDR HAD BEEN SEC OF NAVY AND VP NOMINEE IN 1920- STRUCK BY POLIO IN 1921 OFTEN CREDITED WITH STRENGTHENING HIS WILL AND COMPASSION.
ELECTED GOV OF NY IN 1928- SPOKE FREQUENTLY OF PLIGHT OF “COMMON MAN”
ELEANOR WAS THE MOST ACTIVE 1ST LADY IN AMERICAN HISTORY- CHAMPIONED
CAUSES FOR WOMEN, CHILDREN, THE POOR AND AFRICAN AMERICANS.
“CONSCIENCE” OF NEW DEAL
PRESIDENTIAL RANKINGS: C-SPAN SURVEY, 2009
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin Roosevelt
George Washington
Theodore Roosevelt
Harry Truman
John Kennedy
Thomas Jefferson
Dwight Eisenhower
Woodrow Wilson
Ronald Reagan
Lyndon Johnson
James Polk
Andrew Jackson
James Monroe
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Bill Clinton
William McKinley
John Adams
George H.W. Bush
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
Grover Cleveland
Gerald Ford
Ulysses Grant
William Taft
Jimmy Carter
Calvin Coolidge
Richard Nixon
James Garfield
29. Zachary Taylor
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Martin Van Buren
32. Chester Arthur
33. Rutherford Hayes
34. Herbert Hoover
35. John Tyler
36. George W. Bush
37. Millard Fillmore
38. Warren Harding
39. William Harrison
40. Franklin Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan
THE NEW DEAL
• FDR’S PLAN TO REMAKE THE
AMERICAN ECONOMY. A BREAK WITH STRAIGHT CAPITALISMFDR FOLLOWS THE PHILOSOPHY OF JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES,
WHO SAYS THAT THE BEST WAY TO SOLVE ECON PROBLEMS IS
FOR THE GOV’T TO SPEND BIG $$, “INVESTING” IN THE NATION
AT A TIME WHEN PRIVATE BUSINESS CAN OR WILL NOT. TO PAY
FOR PROGRAMS, TAXES GO UP, AND SO DOES THE DEFICIT.
• CHANGE IS SCARY, AND FDR WAS HATED AND LOVED BY LARGE
SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION. GAVE WEEKLY ADDRESSES“FIRESIDE CHATS” ON THE RADIO WHERE HE WOULD EXPLAIN
POLICY, AND BOLSTER CONFIDENCE. PROMISES AMERICANS THE
“3 RS” RELIEF, RECOVERY, AND REFORM
FIRST 100 DAYS
• MARCH- JUNE 1933.
DETERMINED TO HIT
THE GROUND RUNNING. CALLED CONGRESS
FOR A SPECIAL SESSION. GATHERED A
“BRAIN TRUST” OF ADVISORS AND EXPERTS IN ADDITION TO THE
CABINET (DOLLAR A YEAR MEN) LOOKING FOR OUT OF THE BOX
SOLUTIONS- AND PLANNED TO SPEND IN WAYS THE GOV’T HAD NEVER
DREAMED, NOT JUST JOBS, BUT WITH SOCIAL WELFARE AND SAFETY
NET PROGRAMS UNTIL GOV’T BECAME THE PRIMARY FORCE IN THE
ECONOMY. DID MANY BY EXECUTIVE ORDER SO HE DID NOT NEED
APPROVAL FROM CONGRESS.
• BECAME AN IMPORTANT MEASURE OF A PRESIDENT’S
EFFECTIVENESS
BANKING
•
BANKING SYSTEM IS IN BAD SHAPE, 5000 BANKS FAILED
BETWEEN 1929-1933. FDR DECLARED A BANK HOLIDAYCLOSING EVERY BANK IN THE COUNTRY SO CONGRESS
COULD CREATE A NEW REGULATORY SYSTEM.
•
•
•
•
EMERGENCY BANKING ACT: GOV’T WILL “BAIL OUT” FAILING
BANKS.
GLASS- STEAGALL ACT: SAID BANKS COULD NOT BUY/SELL STOCK.
CREATED
FDIC TO PROTECT PEOPLE’S $$ (UP TO $5000). TOOK US OFF GOLD
STANDARD TO GET MORE $$ CIRCULATING
WORKS - FROM 1936 TO END OF DEPRESSION- NOT A SINGLE BANK
FAILS
PROGRAMS
• NATIONAL RECOVERY ACT: MODELED ON IDEA OF BUSINESS
GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP (LIKE DURING WWI) TO ELIMINATE
CUTTHROAT COMPETITION AND SET INDUSTRY STANDARDS. (ALSO
RECOGNIZED RIGHTS OF UNIONS)
• AGRICULTURE ADJUSTMENT ACT: SUBSIDIES AND FARM CREDIT
ACT: PREVENT FORECLOSURES
• CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS : YOUNG MEN WORKING IN
NATIONAL PARKS
• TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY/RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
ACT: BUILD DAMS TO CONTROL FLOODING AND CREATE
HYDROELECTRIC POWER FOR DEPRESSED AREAS (ESP IN SOUTH)
• AND HE KEEPS A CAMPAIGN PROMISE LEGALIZING THE SALE OF
BEER AND WINE. THE 21ST AMENDMENT WILL GET RID OF
PROHIBITION ENTIRELY LATER IN 1933
MORE PROGRAMS
• PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION: BUILT ROADS,
BRIDGES, HOSPITALS ETC FOR PUBLIC GOOD
• SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC) CREATED TO
REGULATE THE STOCK MARKET
• FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION (FHA) LOANS TO BUY
HOUSES, AND BUILD HOUSING FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES
(PROJECTS)
THE DUST BOWL
• BECAUSE THINGS WEREN’T
CHALLENGING ENOUGH….
IN 1930 NATURE HAD
THROWN THE US A
CURVEBALL WITH A PERIOD
OF SEVERE DROUGHT THAT
DESTROYED TOPSOIL LAYER
IN OK. TX, KA AND CO.
DISPLACED OVER 1 MILLION
FARMERS “OKIES” WHO
MOVED WEST. (GRAPES OF
WRATH)
OPPOSITION TO THE NEW DEAL
• SOME PEOPLE BEGAN TO QUESTION THE POLICY OF
EXTREME GOV’T ACTION- ESP THE HIGHER TAXES
ETC..
• SOME FELT THAT GOV’T “INTERFERENCE” WAS
DAMAGING LIBERTY, OTHERS THAT NEW DEAL
PROGRAMS “FAVORED” CERTAIN GROUPS. FATHER
CHARLES COUGHLIN- ANTI- SEMITISM (PRO FASCIST)
• STILL OTHERS DIDN’T FEEL THE NEW DEAL WENT
FAR ENOUGH- LIKE HUEY LONG (THE KINGFISH), THE
SOCIALIST GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA WHOSE “SHARE
OUR WEALTH” PROGRAM ADVOCATED A GOV’T SALARY
OF $2000 PER YEAR TO EVERY FAMILY IN US- GOTTEN
BY TAXING INCOMES OVER $1M AT 90%
SUPREME COURT
DECISIONS
• OFTEN VERY CRITICAL OF NEW DEAL- IT
SEEMED FDR WAS REWRITING THE
POWERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH,
AND GIVING IT A LOT OF POWER…
• DECLARED NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL
RECOVERY (SCHECHTER V. US) ACT AND
AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT (US V.
BUTLER) UNCONSTITUTIONAL- WHICH
SHUT DOWN TWO MAJOR FACETS OF
NEW DEAL POLICY
• WHEN FDR IS RE-ELECTED IN 1936 HE
WILL TAKE IT AS A MANDATE TO END
OBSTACLES OF THE COURT….
LABOR AND THE NEW DEAL- THE CIO
•
•
•
•
DEPRESSION WAS A RALLYING CRY FOR WORKERS- BY 1934 THEY LITERALLY
HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE….AND FOR THE 1ST TIME IN A LONG TIME THEY
HAVE A SUPPORTIVE GOV’T. A WAVE OF STRIKES ACROSS THE COUNTRY… AND A
NUMBER OF THEM ARE SUCCESSFUL.
CIO (CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS) ORGANIZED NOT BY CRAFT –
BUT ALL THE WORKERS IN A GIVEN INDUSTRY, LIKE STEEL OR AUTO
MANUFACTURING. LED BY JOHN LEWIS, WANTED TO MAKE UNIONS THE
CORNERSTONE OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
SIT DOWN STRIKE: MOST EFFECTIVE TACTIC- OCCUPY THE PLANT. NO
DESTRUCTION (OFTEN CLEANED/REPAIRED) BUT NO WORK EITHER. BY 1941- ALL
AMERICAN STEEL AND AUTOMAKERS WILL BE UNION (EVEN HENRY FORD)
NOT ONLY ABOUT WAGES ETC, GAINED PROCEDURES FOR SENIORITY, HIRE/FIRE,
AND A SAY IN OVERALL MANAGEMENT OF THEIR WORK. NO MORE COGS IN THE
MACHINE. MORE LIKE IWW- OFFERED MEMBERSHIP REGARDLESS OF RACE ETC…
2ND NEW DEAL
•
THE 100 DAYS PROGRAMS HAD BEEN ABOUT RELIEF
AND RECOVERY- (WITH SOME REFORM) BEGINNING IN
1935 FDR CREATED NEW PROGRAMS FOR REFORM:
DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF WORKING PEOPLE- SAYING THAT
A PRIMARY FUNCTION OF GOV’T WAS TO ENSURE A “SAFETY NET”
STANDARD OF LIVING BELOW WHICH NO AMERICAN WOULD BE
ALLOWED TO FALL.
•
KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS: JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES- BRITISH
ECONOMIST WHO SAID INVESTMENT NECESSARY TO KEEP ECON
ROLLING- AND IF BUSINESS IS GUN SHY- GOV’T SHOULD DO IT- EVEN IF
IT MEANS OPERATING WITH A DEFICIT (WE HAVEN’T BEEN WITHOUT
ONE SINCE…) AND AN ACTIVE GOVERNMENT DRIVING THE ECON.
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION (WPA)
• HIRED UNEMPLOYED (OF ALL AGES CCC
HAD BEEN YOUNG MEN) FOR BUILDING
PROJECTS: ROADS, BRIDGES, WATER
PLANTS ETC… AND ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS.
EMPLOYED 8.5 MILLION PEOPLE ON 1.7
MILLION PROJECTS AT COST OF $11B
• PAINTERS, MUSICIANS, WRITERS AND
ACTORS HIRED TO DECORATE PUBLIC
PROJECTS (GUARDIANS OF
TRANSPORTATION!) AND CREATE WORK TO
“LIFT THE SPIRITS OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE”
WAGNER ACT
•
•
“MAGNA CARTA OF LABOR”
GUARANTEED UNIONS THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE
AND BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY. OUTLAWED BLACKLISTING
AND OTHER TECHNIQUES TO PREVENT UNIONIZATION.
•
•
•
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD CREATED FOR ARBITRATION AND
MEDIATION IN LABOR DISPUTES
FDR “SOLD” IDEA SAYING THAT UNIONIZATION WOULD BOOST THE
PURCHASING POWER OF ORDINARY AMERICANS
FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT 1938: CREATED A FEDERAL MINIMUM
WAGE (40 C AN HOUR), A MAXIMUM 40 HOURS WORKWEEK WITH TIME
AND HALF FOR OVERTIME, AND OUTLAWED CHILD LABOR UNDER 16
SOCIAL SECURITY ACT
•
PROBABLY MOST FAMOUS PART OF NEW DEALREPRESENTS A RADICAL SHIFT IN THINKING. (THOUGH
NOT A NEW IDEA- BISMARCK DID IT IN GERMANY, AND
BRITISH LABOR PARTY DID IN 1920S)
•
OLD AGE INSURANCE: WORKERS AND BUSINESS WOULD “PAY IN”
DURING THEIR CAREERS- AND THEN “DRAW OUT” WHEN THEY
RETIRED. ACTUALLY FAIRLY CONSERVATIVE AS IT WAS “SELF
FUNDED” RATHER THAN
GOVERNMENT FUNDED.
•
ALSO CREATED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, AND
FUNDS FOR WIDOWS/CHILDREN IF A WORKER WAS
KILLED ON THE JOB
THE WEALTH AND TAX ACT
• INCREASED INCOME TAX RATES
FOR WEALTHY. INCOMES OVER $1M
TAXED AT 75%, INHERITANCE
TAXES SET AT 50%. THE GOAL WAS
TO LIMIT THE POWER OF THE
“SUPERWEALTHY”, AND ENSURE
MORE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION
WITHOUT RESORTING TO THE
EXTREMES OF HUEY LONG’S
SCHEMES.
A RECKONING WITH LIBERTY
•
•
OVERALL- 2ND NEW DEAL CHANGED AMERICAN’S RELATIONSHIP
WITH GOVERNMENT- IN ANY CRISIS AFTER 1930S THERE IS NOT
QUESTION OF WHETHER THE GOV’T SHOULD INTERVENE, ONLY ON
HOW IT SHOULD INTERVENE. ANOTHER STEP ALONG THE ROAD
WHERE WE ASSUME IT IS THE GOV’T RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
OUR “FREEDOM”.
FDR HELPED CREATE THE MODERN DEFINITION OF “LIBERAL”
(19TH CENTURY VERSION HAD BEEN ABOUT LIMITED GOV’T AND
LAISSEZ FAIRE) ROOSEVELT USED THE WORD TO
DESCRIBE A LARGE, ACTIVE, SOCIALLY
CONSCIOUS GOVERNMENT.
ELECTION OF 1936 AND THE NEW DEAL
COALITION
• FDR PLANNED 2ND NEW DEAL WITH ELECTIONS IN
MIND (REPUBLICANS CONDEMNED “WASTE” OF TOO
MUCH GOV’T SPENDING)
• NEW DEAL COALITION: DIFFERENT GROUPS OF
VOTERS CAME TOGETHER TO SUPPORT FDR’S
PROGRAMS- URBAN WORKERS/LABOR UNIONS, THE
WHITE SOUTH, BLACKS, IMMIGRANTS (ESP JEWS,
CATHOLICS AND EASTERN EUROPEANS) AND
INTELLECTUALS – THOSE DISPOSED BY THE
BUSINESS CLIMATE OF THE 20S AND HURTING FROM
THE CRASH.
COURT
PACKING
•
•
•
FDR SAW THEIR VIEWPOINT AS CONTRARY TO THE
WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND THEIR ELECTED
REPRESENTATIVES, AND BEGAN TO THINK HOW TO
CREATE A SHIFT
ASKED CONGRESS FOR LEGISLATION WHICH WOULD
REORGANIZE THE COURT BY ALLOWING THE
PRESIDENT TO ADD A NEW JUSTICE FOR EVERY
JUSTICE OVER 70 WHO DID NOT WISH TO RETIRE(THESE
WERE THE ONES DECLARING NEW DEAL PROGRAMS
UNCONSTITUTIONAL)- ADDING UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 15
JUSTICES INSTEAD OF 9.
THE LEGISLATION WAS OVERWHELMING DEFEATED,
BUT THE MESSAGE, (WHICH WAS THE REAL PLAN) WAS
RECEIVED BY THE COURT SEVERAL JUSTICES DID
RETIRE- AND OTHERS STARTED BACKING NEW DEAL
LEGISLATION. “THE STITCH IN TIME THAT SAVED NINE”
WOMEN AND THE NEW DEAL
•
•
FDR HAD THE 1ST FEMALE CABINET MEMBER, (FRANCES PERKINS,
SECRETARY OF LABOR) THE 1ST FEMALE AMBASSADOR AND MORE
FEMALE JUDGES THAN HAD EVER BEEN APPOINTED. HIS WIFE,
ELEANOR, TRANSFORMED THE ROLE OF FIRST LADY TO BE A TRUE
POLITICAL PARTNER RATHER THAN SIMPLY WHITE HOUSE
HOSTESS.
STILL, WOMEN AS A WHOLE STRUGGLED DURING THE DEPRESSION,
AT WORK AND AT HOME. MANY BUSINESSES LAID WOMEN OFF SO
THEY COULD HIRE MORE MEN- THE IDEA BEING STILL ENGRAINED
THAT IT WAS THE MAN’S JOB TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY.
THE SOUTHERN VETO
• THERE WERE A LOT OF SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS WITH KEY
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN CONGRESS (COMMITTEE
CHAIRMANSHIPS ETC ARE BASED ON SENIORITY) AND FDR
KNEW HE NEEDED TO TREAD LIGHTLY IF HE WANTED
LEGISLATION TO PASS. THEY MADE SURE THAT SOCIAL
SECURITY DID NOT APPLY TO EITHER AGRICULTURAL OR
DOMESTIC WORKERS- THE TWO LARGEST CATEGORIES OF
AFRICAN AMERICAN WORKERS IN THE SOUTH.
• MOST COMMON BENEFIT FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS
WAS AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN
(WELFARE) AND FEDERAL HOUSING PROJECTS –
WHICH IN TURN MADE THOSE PROGRAMS SEEM LESS
“DESIRABLE” TO MANY
THE INDIAN NEW DEAL
• 1934 THE INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT OFFICIAL
REPEALED THE DAWES ACT OF 1887. ENDED FORCED
ASSIMILATION AND ALLOWING INDIANS CULTURAL
AUTONOMY ON TRIBAL LAND (WHAT WAS LEFT ANYWAY)
BUILT SCHOOLS AND HEALTH CENTERS ON RESERVATIONS
• BUT: DID NOT REALLY IMPROVE LIVING CONDITIONS ON
RESERVATIONS, OR COMPENSATE NATIVE AMERICANS FOR
EVERYTHING THEY HAD LOST OVER 50 (OR 400) YEARS.
BLACKS AND THE NEW DEAL
•
•
•
DISCRIMINATION MEANT AFRICAN AMERICANS HAD HIGHER THAN
AVERAGE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES AT THE START OF THE DEPRESSION- SO
THEY NEW DEAL PROVIDED DESPERATELY NEEDED RELIEF. BUT FDR TOOK
NO SPECIFIC STEPS TO CREATE CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION, AND TURNED A
BLIND EYE WHEN STATES SEGREGATED PROGRAMS ETC. (NOR DID HE
ACTIVELY BACK AN ANTI-LYNCHING LAW BEING LOBBIED BY THE NAACP)
ELEANOR FAR MORE ACTIVE IN CIVIL RIGHTS AND FIGHTING
DISCRIMINATION, SPEAKING PUBLICALLY, AND ENCOURAGING THE
APPOINTMENT OF AN AFRICAN AMERICANS TO LEADERSHIP ROLES WITHIN
THE GOVERNMENT
STILL, THERE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER NUMBERS OF AFRICAN
AMERICANS IN THE NORTH (WHERE THEIR VOTING RIGHTS ARE LESS
LIKELY TO BE RESTRICTED) BLACKS BECOME A POLITICAL FORCE FOR THE
1ST TIME SINCE RECONSTRUCTION. BLACKS HAD BEEN LOYAL
REPUBLICANS….UNTIL THE NEW DEAL
A NEW CONCEPTION OF AMERICA
•
•
•
•
NEW GROUPS ENTERING THE SOCIAL MAINSTREAM (LEADERSHIP
POSITIONS) JEWS AND CATHOLICS (ESP ITALIAN) HELD PROMINENT
POSITIONS IN FDR ADMINISTRATION.
FOR FDR, THE “COMMON MAN” (HELLO ANDREW JACKSON) WAS THE
HEART AND SOUL OF THE COUNTRY- AND SMALL TOWN, MIDDLE CLASS,
BECAME CULTURAL FOCUS AS WELL. FRANK CAPRA - “MR SMITH GOES
TO WASHINGTON”. NORMAN ROCKWELL
GROUPS PROMOTED “PLURALISM” (AS OPPOSED TO PURE
ASSIMILATION“) AS THE AMERICAN WAY.
SCOTTSBORO BOYS: 9 BLACK TEENS ACCUSED (ON VERY WEAK
EVIDENCE) OF RAPING 2 WHITE GIRLS IN ALABAMA 1931. 13 YEARS OF
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, BUT LED TO A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT
PRECEDENTS: RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION, AND THAT STATES CANNOT
EXCLUDE BLACKS FROM JURIES.
CIVIL LIBERTIES
• REPLACES LIBERTY OF CONTRACT AS THE JUDICIAL
FOUNDATION OF FREEDOM. COURT IS NOW UPHOLDING THE
IDEA THAT THE PURPOSE OF LAW IS TO PROTECT OUR
RIGHT TO CHOOSE FOR OURSELVES (FREEDOM OF SPEECH,
FREEDOM TO ASSEMBLE AND PROTEST)- AND OUR RIGHT TO
PRIVACY. THOUGH AS SO OFTEN HAPPENS, WE WILL TEST
THIS, AND IT WON’T ALWAYS WORK OUT WELL- HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES (WHICH WILL BE
VERY BUSY DURING THE COLD WAR) ESTABLISHED IN 1938
THE END OF THE NEW DEAL
• THE NEW DEAL BEGAN TO FADE AS THE 30S
ENDED. NOT THAT MOST PROGRAMS ENDEDJUST GOT TO A POINT WHERE THEY WEREN’T
MAKING NEW ONES. VARIETY OF REASONS
•
•
GROWING DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE CONSERVATIVE
DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AND THE REST OF THE NEW DEAL
COALITION. THEY WILL COME TOGETHER WITH REPUBLICANS
TO TRY TO BLOCK ELEMENTS THEY SEE AS CONTROVERSIALLIKE FUNDING THE ARTS (MORALITY)
AND FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY- THE COMING APOCALYPSE IN
EUROPE STARTS TO DRAW PRIMARY ATTENTION BEGINNING
AROUND 1938
THE NEW DEAL
IN AMERICAN HISTORY
• FDR DIDN’T END THE DEPRESSION, WWII DID
NEW DEAL HAS BEEN DEBATED BY MANY HISTORIANS.
DID IT SAVE THE US ECONOMY, OR DO MORE DAMAGE IN
THE LONG RUN BY ENCOURAGING DEFICIT SPENDING ETC…
(WHICH WOULD CREATE ALL NEW PROBLEMS LATER)
• THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY GREW ENORMOUSLY- THE 1930S
WERE THE DECADE OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP (AS THE 20S
HAD BEEN OF LAISSEZ FAIRE) BUT AGAIN, THERE ARE
ARGUMENTS ABOUT WHETHER THAT IS A GOOD THING OR A BAD
THING IN THE END….
• POPULISM (1890-1895), PROGRESSIVISM (1900-1920) NEW DEAL (19331938) CHANGES OUR CONCEPT OF PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT