Section 2 “The New Deal’s Critics”
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American Liberty League
demagogue
nationalization
deficit spending
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1) What were some of the shortcomings and limits of the New
Deal?
2) What were the chief complaints of FDR's critics inside and
outside of politics?
3) How did the court-packing fiasco harm FDR's reputation?
4) What effects did the New Deal have on women and minorities?
5) Why did the American Liberty League view the New Deal as
unconstitutional and un-American?
6) Why did Upton Sinclair and Robert La Follette believe that the
New Deal did not go far enough?
7) Describe FDR's “court-packing” maneuver and its outcome
8) Compare and contrast the criticisms of two New Deal–era
demagogues, Father Coughlin and Huey Long.
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A) amend the Constitution.
B) remove opposing judges from the Court.
C) appoint judges favoring the New Deal.
D) ignore Supreme Court rulings.
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A) limiting people's freedom.
B) not doing enough to help poor people.
C) raising taxes on the rich.
D) increasing the national debt.
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A) white men.
B) women.
C) African Americans.
D) immigrants.
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A) money owed over the long term to bondholders
B) money spent over and above annual revenues
C) money spent on public works programs
D) money spent to repay the annual debt, or "deficit"
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Federal relief programs in the South, including public works
projects, reinforced racial segregation.
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Many Progressives and Socialists also attacked the New Deal.
But these critics charged that FDR's programs provided too
much help.
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President Roosevelt's Court Packing was supported by many
Americans.
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The New Deal receives criticism from people who oppose
deficit spending—paying out more money from the annual
federal budget than the government receives in revenues.