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Aim : What were the problems of the New Deal?. 4. Problems of the New Deal. Not everyone was in favor of the New Deal when it was announced in 1933. Some Americans liked the fact that the programs were working and were doing a lot of good for needy Americans.
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4. Problems of the New Deal • Not everyone was in favor of the New Deal when it was announced in 1933. • Some Americans liked the fact that the programs were working and were doing a lot of good for needy Americans. • Other Americans did not like the fact that the New Deal went against many traditional American principles. • Over time, the constitutionality of the New Deal would be argued in the courts and in some cases, programs in the New Deal would be overturned.
Question 1 • Why was there controversy over the New Deal?
4.1 The New Deal and Civil Rights • Although the New Deal made gains in civil rights for Blacks and Indians, neither group was satisfied. • This was because these groups believed that FDR’s New Deal programs did not go far enough to grant full civil rights to these groups. • Nevertheless, these groups continued to back the New Deal and FDR.
Until 1933, many Blacks supported the Republican Party. • When the Depression occurred, many Blacks turned to the Democratic Party because they hoped the New Deal would bring them jobs. • FDR and his First Lady, Eleanor, met with many Black leaders. Many New Deal programs had clauses which dealt with discrimination.
Under many New Deal programs, race was a major issue. (1) CCC camps were segregated (2) WPA programs did not give jobs to Blacks (3) AAA favored farmers who owned many acres of the land (4) Many Blacks not covered under Social Security
Mary McCleod Bethune An influential Black leader of the Depression, she was able to gain the support of FDR and his wife Eleanor. She was a famous educator who would be remembered because a college in Florida Bethune-Cookman University is named in her honor.
The American Indian was also disappointed by the New Deal. • 1934: The US Congress passes the Indian Reorganization Act. This allowed Indians the chance to form land-owning corporations. The government had money to loan Indians from the Dawes Act. • Native Americans did not feel that they should not have to buy back land that was theirs in the first place. • Many Indians were able to own land, but many Indians did not improve under the New Deal.
The Indian Reorganization Act also allowed Indians to govern. • By doing this the US Government believed that the Indians would return to their traditional way of life. • However, the way we established the law was not welcomed by the Indians. • Many Indians wanted to choose their leaders through traditional measures and not elections. • As a result, many Indians did not vote. • If they did, the US Bureau of Indian Affairs would have the final say.
Question 2 • Why were Indians and Blacks disappointed with the New Deal?
4.2 Critics of the New Deal • One of the strongest critics of the New Deal was Senator Huey Long of Louisiana. • Long wanted every family to have $5,000 minimum income provided to them by the government. He called this the Share Our Wealth Program.
Another critic was Father Charles Coughlin. • When FDR was elected, Coughlin urged the government to take over private industry. • When FDR did not do this Coughlin used the radio to attack FDR. He reached 10,000,000 people.
Charles Coughlin A major critic of FDR, Coughlin attacked Roosevelt using his radio program.
Rush Limbaugh He is the modern day Charles Coughlin. Rush Limbaugh uses the radio to spread the word of the Republican Party and criticize the policies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Currently he is supporting Mike Huckabee in the Republican Party. He does not want to see a Democrat win the Presidency.
However, business leaders really did not like FDR. Many of them belonged to the American Liberty League. • The members of this group believed the federal government should take a less active role in the lives of Americans. • The members were really against the TVA because now the government was involved in free-enterprise and that small companies could not compete against the government who had a lot of resources.
Logo of the American Liberty League Formed by American business owners during the Great Depression. Many leaders in this organization DID NOT want the US Government to take over private industry. The main goal of the league was to get rid of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Question 3 • What were some of the proposals made by critics of the New Deal?
Question 4 • Who posed the strongest opposition to the New Deal? Why did they oppose the New Deal?
4.3 The Courts and the New Deal • Before long, many critics of the New Deal had their day in court…The US Supreme Court. • Schechter v. US ruled that the NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act) was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to the President. • In US v. Butler the US Supreme Court ruled that a tax of the AAA was unconstitutional. • The decisions angered Roosevelt because he thought the courts would overturn the New Deal. • FDR tried to change the strategy.
FDR tried to propose laws that would increase the size of the US Supreme Court. • By doing this, he would be able to keep the New Deal legal. • He tries doing this when he wins re-election in 1936. • However, the US Congress prevents this because they believed that what he was doing would violate the system of checks and balances.
