U.S. History
9.05
1
Chapter 19 section 3 The New Deal Coalition
Essential Question: What were some of the advancements during Roosevelt’s second
term?
I. Roosevelt’s Second Term
 New Deal brought great change in American life and society. Women and
African Americans saw these changes the most
 Indian Reorganization Act of 1934: reversed the Dawes Act’s policy of
assimilation. It restored some reservation lands, gave Native American tribes
control over those lands, and permitted them to elect tribal governments
 There is a shift in political party affiliation for African Americans and switched to
the Democratic Party from the Republican Party
 Roosevelt’s administration also broke new ground in appointing African
Americans.
 William Hastie, became the first black federal judge in U.S. history
 African Americans also hired to fill posts in the government
 A group of these officials, known as the Black Cabinet, under the leadership of
Mary McLeod Bethune, director of of the Office of Minority Affairs in the
National Youth Administration. Black Cabinet acted as unofficial advisers to the
president
- Bethune became the first black woman to head a federal agency
 Frances Perkins: was appointed as Secretary of Labor, was the first woman to
head an executive department
 New Deal programs paid women lower wages than men.
A. The Election of 1936
 To challenge President Roosevelt’s reelection bid, the Republicans nominated
Alfred Landon, the governor of Kansas
 Landon thought it was time “to unshackle initiative and free the spirit of
American enterprise.”
 Roosevelt won with the largest landslide in history with more than 60 percent
of the popular vote
B. The Court-Packing Plan
 In January 1936, in United Sates v. Butler, the Court had declared the
Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional
 Roosevelt wanted to change the political balance on the Court
 In March 1937, he sent Congress a bill to increase the number of justices
 It proposed that if any justice had served for 10 years and did not retire within
six months after reaching the age of 70, the president could appoint an
additional justice to the Court
 Since four justices were in their 70s and two more were in their late 60s, the
bill, if passed, would allow Roosevelt to quickly appoint as many as six new
justices
U.S. History
9.05








2
The court-packing plan, as it was called, was Roosevelt’s first serious
political mistake.
The issue split the Democratic Party
- many Southern Democrats feared Roosevelt’s plan would put justices
on the Court who would overturn segregation
- At the same time, African Americanleaders worried that once
Roosevelt set the precedent of changing the Court’s makeup, a future
president might pack the Court with justices opposed to civil rights
- In Mid-July the Senate quietly killed the court-packing bill without
bringing it to a vote
- Roosevelt achieved his goal of changing the Court’s view of the New
Deal
- The fight hurt his reputation and encouraged conservative Democrats
to work with Republicans to block any further New Deal proposals
C. The Recession of 1937
In late 1937 Roosevelt’s reputation suffered again when unemployment suddenly
increased
Roosevelt decided it was time to balance the budget
Roosvelt first cut spending of the WPA and PWA – then moved on to Social
Security
- this caused about 2 million people to be out of work by the end of
1937
the recession of 1937 led to a debate inside Roosevelt’s administration
Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau favored balancing the budget and cutting
spending
- This would encourage business leaders to invest in the economy
- Harry Hopkins, head of the WPA, and Harold Ickes, head of the PWA,
both disagreed
- They pushed for a new theory called Keynesianism to support their
arguments
Keynesianism was based on the theories of British economist John Maynard
Keynes.
- in 1936 Keynes published a book arguing that Keynes argued that
deficit spending could provide jobs and stimulate the economy
- According to Keynesian economics, Roosevelt had done the wrong
thing, when he cut back programs in 1937
- Roosevelt took this advice and asked Congress for $3.75 billion for the
PWA, the WPA, and other programs
II. The New Deal Ends
A. The Last New Deal Reforms
 Roosevelt’s goal in second term was to provide housing for the poor and
responded with the National Housing Act, establishing the United States Housing
Authority
U.S. History
9.05




















3
- received $500 million to subsidize loans for builders willing to provide low-cost
housing
Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 which established a
minimum wage – the lowest wage an employer can legally pay a worker
- this was the last piece of New Deal legislation
By 1939, the New Deal era had come to an end
B. The New Deal’s Legacy
Sense of optimism faded by 1937.
By the end of 1938, the New Deal era of reform launched in 1933 was over
Roosevelt’s setbacks empowered his opponents in Congress
Following the 1938 elections, Roosevelt lacked the support needed to pass more
New Deal-style laws
The relief programs did help people that helped to provide a steady paycheck
New Deal was less successful in delivering economic recovery. Joblessness
initially fell from a high of 13 million in 1933 to about 9 million by 1936
The New Deal established the broker state, in which the government works out
conflicts among different interests
Roosevelt’s programs succeeded in creating a safety net for Americans –
safeguards and relief programs that protected them against economic disaster.
There were several critics of the New Deal policies
Some thought that it hurt business confidence and slowed pace of recovery
Left legacy of new roadways, bridges, dams, and public buildings
New Deal programs often compromised, or contradicted, Roosevelt’s desire to
build a country where everyone is included
Relief programs provide a clear example since they gave aid to millions of people
Level of government assistance varied by state
Programs permitted discrimination against African Americans, Hispanic
Americans, women, and others
At this time, Europe seemed to be marching toward another war
American factories prepared to gear up to arm those who would fight the battles
In a period of months in 1939 and 1940, international conflict produced what
years of political struggle had failed to achieve: an end to the Great Depression