Roosevelt and the
New Deal
The Second New Deal

Criticism From Left and Right
◦ Deficit Spending: borrowing money to pay for
New Deal Programs
◦ American Liberty League: purpose was to
organize opposition to the New Deal
Challenges to the New Deal

Leaders such as Huey Long, Father
Coughlin, and Francis Townsend posed a
serious threat to Roosevelt being reelected in 1936.
◦ Huey Long: Senator/Governor of Louisiana who
championed the downtrodden and
built a powerful and corrupt political
machine. He wanted to share the
wealth of the rich.
◦ Francis Townsend: proposed a monthly government
pension for citizens over
age 60 to be entirely spent
each month. This would free
up jobs for the unemployed.
Challenges to the New Deal
Launching the Second New Deal
The Second New Deal launched by
Roosevelt was begun due to a lack of
recovery by the economy from the first
New Deal.
Works Progress Administration (WPA):
8.5 million workers put to work building stuff
A controversial part of the WPA was the a program called
“Federal Number One”. It offered jobs to artists,
musicians, theater people, and writers.
The Supreme Court’s Role

In 1935 the Supreme Court unanimously
struck down the National Industrial
Recovery Act (NIRA) in Schechter v. United
States.
Rise of Industrial Unions

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
guaranteed workers the right to form unions
without interference from employers. Binding
arbitration (Wagner Act) was set up as a
process where union members could take their
complaints to a neutral party where both sides
were heard and a binding decision on the issue
could be made.

The United Mine Workers Union
◦ Led by John L. Lewis, began working with
several other unions to organize workers in
industries where unions did not yet exist.
◦ Formed the Committee for Industrial
Organization (CIO)
Rise of Industrial Unions
Rise of Industrial Unions

Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO)
The CIO set out to organize industrial unions, or
unions that included all workers in a particular
industry, skilled and unskilled. The CIO began by
focusing on the automobile and steel industries.
(United Steel Workers of America)

The Social Security Act protected
workers from unemployment and not being
able to work due to elderly age.
◦ The framers viewed it as an insurance bill. Workers paid
premiums.
◦ Also provided welfare payments to needy people (the
disabled and poor families with young dependent children)
◦ The main part of Social Security was the monthly
retirement benefit which people could collect at age 65.
◦ SSA also provided unemployment insurance
supplying unemployed workers temporary
income
◦ The SSA left out farm and domestic workers.
The Social Security Act

Fill in the diagram about the Social Security system. Then
write an essay describing how it initially worked, who
benefited, and who did not.
Essay Question

Fill in the diagram about the Social Security system. Then
write an essay describing how it initially worked, who
benefited, and who did not.
Source of Funding: workers’ pay
Groups receiving benefits: (1)people
with disabilities and poor families wth
young dependent children; (2)retirees;
(3) Unemployed workers looking for new
Jobs. Those left without: many farm
and domestic workers.
The framers of the Social Security Act viewed it primarily as an insurance
bill, with workers earning the right to receive benefits by paying premiums.
The law provided modest welfare payments to other needy people, including
those with disabilities and poor families with young dependent children. The
core of Social Security was the monthly retirement benefit, which people
could collect when they stopped working at age 65. The plan also included
unemployment insurance, providing temporary income to unemployed
workers looking for new jobs. Social Security initially left out many of the
neediest members of society—farm and domestic workers, many of whom
were African American workers.
Essay Question

Describe the provisions of the National Labor
Relations Act and the work of the board it created.
Essay Question
Describe the provisions of the National Labor
Relations Act and the work of the board it created.
The act guaranteed workers the right to organize unions
without interference from employers and to bargain
collectively. The law set up the National Labor Relations
Board, which organized factory elections by secret ballot to
determine whether workers wanted a union. The NLRB then
certified the successful unions. The new law also set up a
process whereby dissatisfied union members could take their
complaints to binding arbitration in which a neutral party
would listen to both sides and decide the issues. The NLRB
was authorized to investigate the actions of employers and
could issue “cease and desist” orders against unfair practices.

Essay Question