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 60years-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.