New Deal in Roosevelt's Politics - Coursework Example

Introduction New Deal consisted of a slew of administrative and economic measures, Franklin D. Roosevelt promised, as a presidential candi and adopted as the President of USA after his election in 1932 to rejuvenate the g national economy suffering from the Great Depression. New Deal was implemented in two phases; the First New Deal intended to carry out emergency relief programs began in March 1933 and Second New Deal was implemented in 1935-36. Though a much-admired and longest serving President, Roosevelt increasingly got mired in controversy due to the New Deal programs and policies. Despite the fact that Roosevelt got elected to the White House for record four-terms, but it is said that his popularity waned in all subsequent elections due to the unpopularity of New Deal. The success of New Deal, however, remains widely contested among economist, political scientists and historians to this day. The Beginning of the New Deal Roosevelt began his election campaign with two things in mind; to check economic distress and provide employment (Eliot). During the first days in office, the Roosevelt called for a special session of Congress and got passed bills for facilitation of such New Deal programs like Works Project Administration (WPA), Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), National Youth Administration (NYA), Farm Security Administration (FSA), National Recovery Administration (NRA), and Public Works Administration. These Acts and Programs were intended ensuring reasonable farm prices, generating employment and providing economic and social security to the people. This era is typified by a political adage: Roosevelt proposed, Congress passed. Later Congress, the Congress passed important legislations like the Agricultural Adjustment Act, National Housing Act, and the Social Security Act. However, New Deal opponents felt that these legislations while on one hand made the Executive (the President) much more powerful transgressing into the Congress area, and on the other tried to make the federal power more pervasive over states. Roosevelt was blamed for trying to pursue centralization of power intended to replace free-enterprise with state-owned economy: Fascism or Communist style (Flynn, 1944, quoted by Gordon). Venn (1998) feels that the task of administering the New Deal was complex and demanding one. “The sheer scale of legislation and the proliferation of agencies meant that the operation of the federal government was far more fluid than it had been previously, as well as requiring a vastly increased bureaucracy. (Venn, 68). New Deal also witnessed hostility from media-barons like William R. Hearst. But a very pro-active White House policy, led by Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor ensured took the venom from the media-sting. The Ideologues The most vociferous criticism of the New Deal came from three ideologues each espousing a different ideology. Foremost among them was the Louisiana Senator, Huey Long, who challenged New Deal on the grounds that it was not doing enough for the poor. Long asked for a minimum wage to every American family and sought the distribution of the wealth of the rich amongst the poor. He asked for heavy taxation of the rich and advocated the “Share the Wealth” program. Long promised to confiscate any personal wealth over $ 3 million and dole a sum of $3000-$5000 dollars for every American family. In the north, the most vociferous opponent of New Deal was catholic priest Charles Coughlin who used radio to air his anti-New Deal views. He targeted the private banks and their lending policies, often resorting, to orthodox Christian views on money-lending and called Roosevelt ‘anti-God’, campaigned for nationalization of banks, and asked for a ‘fair-wage’ to the poor. The third ideologue opponent of the New Deal, and perhaps the most effective, was James Townsend of California. Townsend wanted every American above 65-years to be paid a monthly sum of $200. These ideologues impressed people with their oratory but they could not become mass leaders. Coughlin and Townsend teamed up with Long’s successor, Graeme Smith, to set-up an electoral fight with Roosevelt, in 1936, but didn’t record an impressive performance. Smith got only 2% of the vote to which Roosevelt is said to have remarked: “Everyone is against me except the voter.” However, what needs to be observed is that the Republican candidate, Alf Landon, polled 16 million votes against Roosevelt’s 27 million. Though the ideologues fared badly, but it is contented that a lot of anti-New Deal sentiment whipped up by the ideologues got translated into the Republican vote. Mainstream Politics On the mainstream national political spectrum, the New Deal got vociferous opposition from the entire range of politicians from extreme left to extreme right. Theorists like Venn (1998) contend that right was more practical in approach in opposing the New Deal while Left gave an ideological fight that was vociferous and more effective. While the ‘right wingers’ nearly ostracized Roosevelt for having betrayed his own class of the wealthy, the leftists sought more from Roosevelt calling the New Deal a ‘raw deal’ for the poor. The Congress gave full support to Roosevelt his anti-unemployment measures. Roosevelt won all states with exception of Maine and Vermont in the 1936 election thus belying the notion that New Deal was vastly popular all over the country. The Republicans showed a variegated stand on New Deal from outright opposition to veiled support. In fact, post Hoover era, Republicans too were serious about the Depression and were sincerely looking for new economic policies. In the New Deal, they found some clauses fit-enough to lift the sagging economy. During 1936 elections, the party made it known that they would actually retain some of the New Deal elements if voted to power. (Venn). On the other hand, hidden by Democratic majority in the Congress was the fact that some Democrats from the South were not only conservative but also opposed the New Deal policies. Some like Al Smith floated their ideas consistently and fluently (Venn). Many southern conservatives who had dithered from opposing the invincible President felt emboldened by the Democrat opposition. Once created, the conservative coalition of southern Democrats and Republicans did not disappear and continued to hamper the New Deal through its opposition to ‘radical’ schemes and its unwillingness to appropriate sufficient funds to support New Deal projects. (Venn, 88). However, the most telling mandate on the popularity of New Deal was the 1936 elections. Roosevelt polled 27 million votes in the 1936 elections against the Republican candidate Alf Landon, who got 16 million votes. But things had nearly reversed by the time of 1940 elections primarily due to the Recession of 1937 and lack-luster results of the New Deal. No Democrat contender was ready to take over the mantle from Roosevelt. Roosevelt broke the convention to win the elections third successive time. His rival Republican Wendell Willkie polled no less than 22.3 million votes against Roosevelt’s 27.2. No doubt New Deal’ popularity and with him Roosevelt’s was on the wane. Roosevelt’s campaign also didn’t prove effective enough to oppose his congressional opponents in their election. “His opponents became more entrenched in their opposition and used skillful legislative tactics to harass the administration (Brundage).” Thereafter US plunged into the World War II and New Deal took a backseat in the economic and political agenda of the United States. The Conservative Stance The conservatives saw the pro-worker, pro-black, and pro-unionization stance of the New Deal as infringement of their rights, and gave it state versus the federal authority color. Democrat and Republican congressmen found common cause in opposing what they saw the pro-communist slant of the New Deal. This conservative stand halted the reform juggernaut of the New Deal to an extent. (Brundage). Led by Texan, Martin Dies, the conservative coalition was to haunt the Roosevelt Administration for the rest of its years in office. Republicans too made it clear that their offensive was not against the social reforms of the New Deal but against the lop-sided economic policies of the New Deal “Within the country at large, there was growing opposition among businessmen to the New Deal in general, and to the President in particular.” (Venn, 88). According to Venn (1998) these businessmen were further alarmed by support given to the organized labor during the NRA and the Wagner Act. The conservatives also formed the American First Committee that opposed the move of US to join global movement to check the Japanese and German militarism, thus delaying its entry into the Allied grouping. The Supreme Court The in opposition to the New Deal legislation by the Supreme Court is the most interesting chapter of its history. The Court struck down, one by one, the New Deal legislation holding them unconstitutional taking the plea that through the New Deal, Roosevelt was trying to subvert the powers of the state governments. It is said that it was judicial intervention that checked the Roosevelt’s stride of usurping democratic institutions and giving a free-hand to the federal government over state governments. The Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional. Later a law to provide minimum wages to women in New York was also found to be against the constitution. Supreme Court questioned the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) suggesting that help to farmers should be rendered at the state-level and not at the federal level. “Suddenly, the non-political branch of the federal government was caught up in an intense and bitter national political debate.” (www.crf-usa.org) In May 1935, the Supreme Court gave the opinion that concentration of powers in executive and had marred the authority of legislature, and the economic regulation of the New Deal was invading the authority of the states. However, there was a sharp difference in opinion amongst the nine judges of the Supreme Court. Four Judges led by Justice Sutherland formed the Conservative group. Likewise, another group of three judges, Justices Brandeis, Cardozo, and Stone formed the liberal group. Justice Owen Roberts and Chief Justice Charles Evan Hughes formed the moderate group. When Hughes sided with liberals, Roberts provided the crucial swing-vote against the New Deal. Thus the much-hyped Supreme Court opposition to the New Deal was based upon a single vote. Roosevelt tried to add more judges to Supreme Court, through a Congressional Act. . But the proposed legislation, ostensibly meant to streamline the functioning of the Supreme Court, met stiff opposition from Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee felt that it was blatant invasion of judicial power by the executive. On the other hand, in a significant move, Supreme Court upheld a minimum wage, it had earlier struck down, upholding of Wagner Act, Social Security Act and National Labor Relations Act brought about a détente in Executive-Judiciary relationship. This episode in US political parlance is called a “switch in time saved nine.” By another quirk of fate, Joe Robinson, the architect of judicial reform Act died on July, 1937. Roosevelt gave in and decided to drop the Bill (www.crf-usa.org, 1994). But this was not before the ‘court-packing’ scheme had got a severe beating in the Congress. The charge on Roosevelt’s this specious activity (Venn, 1998) was led by no other than his former supporter Senator Burton Wheeler. Conclusion During the most crucial stage of New Deal, World War II broke-out. The din of the opponents and proponents of the New Deal got lost in the din of the war. The War made it all the more hard to be categorical on the issue as to who won the war on New Deal. No matter how fierce, the opposition to the New Deal was, the opponents never were strong enough to break the Democratic coalition that Roosevelt forged in the elections of 1932 and 1936 or to check the far-reaching consequences expansion of the federal government (Brundage). We agree with Brundage that the opponents of the New Deal left a mixed bag of legacy. With their opposition to the Roosevelt’s program they inspired some of the most enduring element of the American political system like the Social Security while succeeding in stone-walling the attempts of Roosevelt to transform the federal-state structure. Bibliography The U.S. Supreme Court (2000), Constitutional Rights Foundation, www.crf-usa.org, The Constitutional Rights Foundation Website, Accessed May 26, 2008 http://www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria10_4.html Eliot T. H. Recollections of the New Deal, www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk, “The Spartacus Website, Accessed May 26, 2008, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USARnewdeal.htm Venn, Fiona (1998), The New Deal, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh University Press Ltd, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Rosen, Elliot, A. (2006) Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, http://ap.grolier.com, The Grollier Multimedia Website, Accessed May 26, 2008, http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0250170-0 Black, Conrad (2003) Unjust Criticism of FDR and the New Deal, The Wall Street Journal Online, Accessed May 26, 2008, http://www.suu.edu/faculty/tufte/Articles/93_Fall_2003/78_Unjust_Criticism_of_FDR_and_the_New_Deal.pdf Brundage, Fitz, Opposition to the New Deal, www. dlt.ncssm.edu, The North Carolina School of Science Mathematics, Accessed May 26, 2008, www.dlt.ncssm.edu/lmtm/docs/opp_newdeal/script.doc Gordon, David, (2006) Three New Deals: Why the Nazis and Fascists Loved FDR, The Ludvig Von Institute Website, http://mises.org, Accessed May 26,2008 http://mises.org/story/2312 Read More