Criticism and Reformulation
What is ironic about this Margaret Bourke-White
photograph?
Section 11.2
FDR & the New Deal
• Charisma
• “We have
nothing to
fear but
fear itself.”
• Alphabet
Soup
Legislation
• CCC
• NIRA
• Truth in
Securities
Act
• GlassSteagall Act
FDR takes oath of office, 3/4/1933
Objectives
At the end of this day you should be able
to:
•
State reasons each of these people and groups
didn’t agree with FDR and the New Deal:
Dr. Townsend
Father Charles E. Coughlin
Huey Long
The American Liberty League
The Supreme Court
• Provide more examples of how the New Deal
would lead to new programs like:
–
–
the WPA
the Social Security Act of 1935
Dr. Townsend Presentation
Describe Dr. Townsend’s social security plan.
• Retired physician
• Horrified after he saw elderly
women rummaging in garbage
for food
• Proposed retiring people over
60 and giving them a pension
of $200 per month
• Had to be spent by end of
month
• Result would help elderly and
stimulate the economy
• His idea would later influence
the Social Security Act of 1935
Cartoon implies that FDR will drain
What is ironic about this
the pockets of the workers in order to
fillcartoon?
the pot of the elderly with the
Townsend Plan. FDR was a vehement
opponent of the Townsend Plan.
Describe the economic recovery under
the New Deal (1933-34):
• A limited recovery
• National income rose by 25%,
many farms saved,
unemployed got relief
(welfare) or an ‘Alphabet
Soup’ job
• Workers made 13% less than
pre-Crash income level
• Farm prices were 28% lower
• Unemployment was still 20%
• Discontent started rising over
slow pace of recovery
People holding the signs
wanted more aggressive
What was the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
and how did the New Deal help end
malnutrition?
• Interracial union of displaced
farmers who were upset with
the Agricultural Adjustment Act
• Landowners were supposed to
share the government subsidy
with them but evicted them
from land instead
• Looked to FDR for help
• “Too often he has talked like a
cropper and acted like a
planter,” STFU leader said of
FDR
Photo by Arthur Rothstein,
Aug., 1935:
Sharecropper's child
suffering from rickets
What effect has poverty
had on this Tenant
Farmer?
This Child?
•
•
•
•
•
What impact did the NIRA have on union
membership and worker/management relations?
1 million workers joined
Below: funeral of Teamsters;
bottom: scenes of violence
union in 2 years
between police and union
Unionization did not bring
protestors
better relations
Minnesota police shot 67
union protestors in 1934 who
were trying to get businesses
to negotiate with truck driver
union (Teamsters)
Hundred thousand attended
funeral and business leaders
gave in
1, 800 strikes in 1934
Video capture of dockworkers’
strike in SF
Father Charles E.
Coughlin
Close-up of Father Coughlin
Why is Father Charles E. Coughlin labeled as
a demagogue?
• Demagogue= a leader who
gains power by appealing to
people’s prejudices and fears
rather than reason
• Roman Catholic Priest/Radio
Talk Show
– Audience of 30 million
• Wanted FDR to nationalize
banks
• Blamed ‘Jewish bankers’ for
the nation’s troubles
• Wanted to redistribute wealth of
the rich
• Silenced by Church leaders in
1942
Above and below: Father
Coughlin
Huey Long
Presentation
Huey Long in midspeech
Describe Huey Long’s Share the Wealth program.
• Known as “The Kingfish”
• Taxed wealthy for $ to build roads,
bridges, schools, hospitals, for the
poor
• ‘Dictator’ of Louisiana
– Installed a puppet government when
elected senator in 1930
• Controlled all state appointments in
Louisiana
• Share the Wealth Program• Governor/Senator of Louisiana
– Socialist idea to confiscate all
income over $5 million and give it to
poor
• Assassinated by his wealthy dentist in
1935
Above: Long again;
below: “Every Man a
King” pin
FDR Critics
Video capture: The White House
from Lafayette Park
What was the American Liberty League?
• Organization of business leaders and
conservative politicians who hated the New
Deal
• GM and the Du Ponts defied FDR’s demand
that they improve working conditions
• Instead, they instituted the speedup systems
– forced men to work at terrifying speeds
Symbol (Liberty
on the assembly lines
Bell) of A.L.L.
– Many died of the heat and pressure,
increased by fear of losing their jobs.
• Claimed dedication to “upholding the
Constitution”
• Real goal was to destroy the New Deal
• Used propaganda to smear FDR’s
administration (argument was that to profit,
they had to get the workers to do as much
work in eight hours as they had previously
Irénée du Pont (1876done in ten or twelve…no way could they
1963)
afford to hire another shift!)
How did the Supreme Court weaken the
New Deal?
• Used power of judicial
review
• Ruled that
– NIRA gave executive branch
too much power over small
businesses
– that Federal Gov had no
right to regulate business
within states
– AAA’s method of regulating
agricultural production
through taxation was
unconstitutional
Cartoon implies that FDR
wanted a bunch of “yesmen” on the Court
What was the WPA and how did it
put people to work?
• Works Progress
Administration
• Part of Second New Deal
• Built schools, hospitals,
airports, playgrounds
• Employed teachers,
writers, actors
• Taught people to read,
beautified buildings with
murals, wrote
guidebooks to historical
places, put on live plays
Above: FDR visits WPA; below: WPA
symbol
What was the Social Security Act of 1935?
• Govt. relief &
retirement pension
program
• Enough $ to meet
basic needs of
citizens
• Gave a pension
($12-$85 per
month) to injured
workers, elderly,
orphaned
Youngish man
pictured: must
be an injured
worker!
Social Security Act
Video clip: background is of original
13-star flag
What does
this cartoon
imply?
Cartoon implies FDR blames Court for
“holding up” the New Deal; thus, his courtpacking plan
Why did FDR want to ‘pack the court’
and was he successful?
• Wanted to put 6 new
justices in who would
support his ideas
• Claimed that he wanted to
ease the workload of the
aging justices
• Public viewed FDR as
dictator
• Supreme Court started to
support some of his
legislation and he withdrew
the proposal
In this cartoon, FDR is cracking
the whip, hitting the horse
labeled “judicial”. All three
horses are shown laboring hard
and breathing heavily. So what
does the cartoon imply?
Video capture: Greek-revival
building that’s home to Supreme
Court
Let’s Review
Hoover and the Crash
Video capture: review of the
Crash and Hoover’s response