The US Between Wars
FDR and the New Deal
The Supreme Court
and the New Deal
National Recovery Act (May, 1935)
 Ruled industry codes were illegal exercise of legislative
power by president
 Ruled government regulating local business not engaged
in interstate commerce violated law
Agricultural Adjustment Act (Jan. 1936)
 Unconstitutional exercise of congressional power over
local economic activities
Minimum wage (June 1936)
 New York had tried to set minimum wage for women &
children
 Court ruled it a breach of “right to contract”
I’m sorry, but the
court says I must
chuck you back in.
The First New Deal
March 1933 – June 1936
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Transformed the role of government
Constructed numerous public facilities
Provided relief for millions of citizens
Did not end the depression
Did not win judicial approval
Worker’s Demands
 Better wages
 End to employer’s arbitrary power
 Basic civil liberties for workers
 Right to picket
 Right to distribute literature
 Right to meet to discuss grievances
 All these things required union recognition
United Auto Workers
“Sit-In” Strike
C.I.O.’s Call for Federal Action
 Economic and social security
 Public housing
 Universal health care
 Old age insurance
Voices of Protest
Huey P.
Long
RCC
Priest
Charles
Coughlin
Share Our Wealth
1934
“Every Man a King”
“Kingfish
Called for Redistribution of Wealth
“Kingfish”
 Confiscation of most of the wealth of the richest
Americans
 Immediate $5,000 grant to all citizens
 Guaranteed job and annual income ($2,500) for
all workers
The New Deals
First New Deal: 1933 – 1935
 Focused on short term ECONOMIC RECOVERY
 Designed to provide immediate recuperative
programs for all groups
Second New Deal: 1935 – 1938
 Focused on ECONOMIC SECURITY
 Designed to provide a more radical redistribution of
power away from big business and toward coal
workers, farmers, and consumers.
The Social Security Act
Transformed relationship between
government and citizens
 Before 1930s, discussion was
should government intervene in the
economy
 After New Deal, question was how
government should intervene
Government assumed a responsibility
for guaranteeing Americans a
living wage and protecting them
against economic and personal
misfortune
Presidential Election of 1936
“A Reckoning with Liberty”
Two opposing concepts of
liberty became central issue
 FDR’s (and the Democrats)
definition tied liberty to
maintaining an acceptable
standard of living
 His opponents (Republicans)
tied it to freedom from
powerful government
The New Deal Coalition
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Organized labor
Southern whites
Northern blacks
Protestant farmers
Urban Jews & Catholics
Industrial workers
Middle class home owners
Republican progressives
The “Court-Packing” Fight
FDR feared that the Supreme Court might invalidate
social security, Wagner Act & other measures of the
Second New Deal
 In a ploy to change the balance of the court, FDR
proposed that the number of justices be increased
from 9 to 15
 Amid cries that he was trying to become a dictator,
Congress rejected the idea
 Accomplished his purpose anyway
The Court-Packing Fight
Court Packing:
Prelude to Tyranny?
The Court-Packing Fight
The political cost:
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Revealed fissures in his governing coalition
Angered congressional leaders
Misjudged popular sentiment for sanctity of the court
Effectively ended his mastery of Congress and Dem.
Party
 Served as a lightening rod for his opponents
 New coalition blocked nearly every presidential
reform initiative between 1937 and mid-1960s
Assessing the New Deal
Part 1
Greatly expanded the role of Government in the
American economy
 Made government an independent force in
management/labor relations
 Required employers to negotiate w/ unions
 Told farmers what they could and could not plant
 Insured bank deposits
 Regulated the stock market
Assessing the New Deal
Part 2
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Loaned money to home owners
Provided payments to unemployed and elderly
Transformed the physical environment
Restored faith in Democracy
Redrew the map of American politics
Did not generate prosperity