CHAPTER 12 SECTION 2 The Second New Deal Launching the Second New Deal
Big Ideas: As the depression continued to drag on, people began to question if the New Deal was making things worse; others complained that the government needed to do even more to fix the economy. Criticisms of the New Deal
Roosevelt’s New Deal was attacked from the political right and left. Some thought Roosevelt was expanding the role of government too far and spending too much. Those on the left felt the New Deal did not go far enough. Criticisms of the New Deal
Republicans had never been fond of the New Deal and were alarmed that the government was engaged in deficit spending, that is the government was spending more money than it made in taxes, so it had to borrow money. New Deal opponents formed the American Liberty League to organize opposition. Criticisms of the New Deal
On the left, people complained that the government was moving too slow. They believed the New Deal was not big enough to fix the depression. After two years of the New Deal 10 million Americans were still unemployed and the nation was only producing ½ of what it had been producing in 1929. Criticisms of the New Deal
Louisiana Governor Huey Long promoted his Share Our Wealth Society which promoted taxing the rich to benefit the poor. California physician Dr. Francis Townsend argued that everyone one over 60- years-old should get a $200 check each month from the government. Criticisms of the New Deal
Father Charles Coughlin, a priest from Detroit, had 45 million followers on his weekly radio show, and he used the radio to promote a government takeover of the entire banking system. He also published a weekly magazine which was heavily anti-Semitic. Criticisms of the New Deal
The Supreme Court also had issues with the New Deal. In Schechter Poultry Company v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the NRA program was unconstitutional because congress could not simply hand legislative control over to the president. The WPA & the NRA
Among the 2nd New Deal programs was the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Between 1935 and 1941 the WPA spent $11 billion constructing 650k miles of roads, 125k public buildings, 8k parks, 124k bridges, and 853 airports. The program employed 8.5 million people. The WPA & the NRA
However the WPA was controversial because it also employed artists such as musicians, painters, sculptors, actors, and writers. Reforms for Workers and Senior Citizens
Big Ideas: Roosevelt and the Democrats wanted and needed to build support among workers and seniors in order to win in the upcoming elections 1936. The Wagner Act In 1935 Congress passed the Wagner Act. It guaranteed the rights of workers to form unions. It also set up the National Labor Relations Board to organize factory elections The Wagoner Act led to increased unionizing. Some unions engaged in sit- down strikes. They wouldn’t work, but wouldn’t leave the factory either. The Wagner Act The Wagner Act led to the formation of many new unions. The Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) was formed to help workers create unions. The CIO focused first on the automobile and steel industries. The Wagner Act The Wagner Act also set up the process of binding arbitration. Under binding arbitration, when workers and management could not come to an agreement the government would send in a third-party to listen to both sides and make a decision that both sides had to accept. Social Security One of the most enduring programs of the New Deal is the Social Security Act. The goal of the Social Security Act was to provide some insurance for working Americans. The premium payments were made to the government. A person could quit working and start collecting on the insurance when they reached 65. Social Security While Social Security helped many people, it left out the neediest populations such as farm and domestic workers. 65% of all African Americans were either farmers or domestic workers. However, it set the precedent that it was the government’s responsibility to help those who, through no fault of their own, could no longer work.