New Deal Documents – Debating the Role of Government
A nalyze the following criticisms of the New Deal & answer the questions from “ Critics of the New Deal”
Father Charles Coughlin was a Catholic priest in Detroit who had a popular radio program that attracted
a weekly audience of about 30 to 45 million A mericans. Originally a New Deal supporter, Coughlin
had become impatient with its reforms. He called instead for heavy taxes on the wealthy and
nationalization of the banking system (the federal government would own and run the banks).
Document A
Source: Father Charles Coughlin, National Union for Social Justice, November 11, 1934.
“For two years Mr. Roosevelt was so conservative that he gave ear to those men whose policies were most
responsible for effecting the depression. Modern capitalism with its gold standard, its private control of
currency and credit…was suffered to continue alongside the emergency relief which was expended upon a
down-trodden people. Even this emergency relief was financed by the private bankers.
All this was honest experimentation which resulted in seventeen millions or more citizens becoming
recipients of a national dole, in our national debt being increased by billions of dollars, and in our bankers
waxing rich as they battened off the interest money resultant from our endeavors of trying to borrow
ourselves out of debt with privately manufactured bankers' dollars.
No wonder we did not weed out the over-privileged! No wonder that we did not effectively lift up the
underprivileged! The task was impossible as long as the tool for its performance was the system of modern
capitalism.”
Document B
Source: Jouett Shouse, President of the American Liberty League, “The New Deal vs. Democracy” radio address July 15, 1936.
“The New Deal has built up a huge bureaucracy which has shown no regard for the Constitutional rights and
liberties of our citizens…
…The New Deal has used the money of taxpayers of all political parties to build up a propaganda machine to
aid its efforts to continue in power.
The New Deal has prostituted the administration of the relief of the unfortunate to the ends of partisan politics.
The New Deal has spent huge sums upon public works, despite grave doubts as to the desirability or usefulness
of the projects.
… The New Deal has harassed American business and has entered into competition in almost every possible
way with private industry.
The New Deal has misused the Federal taxing power in an effort to promote visionary schemes for the
redistribution of wealth.
The New Deal has imposed taxes heavier than were ever before placed upon the nation in time of peace and by
reckless borrowing has saddled huge obligations upon generations yet unborn…
…The New Deal has led the nation far along the road toward national bankruptcy and has increased the
national debt to unprecedented size.
The New Deal has manifested its contempt for constitutional government.
The New Deal has sought to make the Legislative Branch . . . subservient to the will of the Executive.
Document C
Source: “Samson”, political cartoon by Elderman in the Washington Post, February 1937.
Although popular opinion supported most of the
president’s programs, the Supreme Court saw things
differently. The Court declared the National Industrial
Recovery Act and the Agricultural Adjustment Act
unconstitutional in 1935. With cases pending on
Social Security and the Wagner Act, it seemed likely
the Court would strike down nearly all of the major
New Deal programs. Roosevelt was furious that a
handful of jurists, “nine old men” as he called them,
were blocking the wishes of a majority of the people.
After winning reelection in 1936, he decided to try to
change the political balance on the Supreme Court.
Roosevelt sent Congress a bill to increase the number
of justices: if any justice had served for 10 years and
did not retire within six months after reaching the age
of 70, the president could appoint an additional justice
to the Court. Since four justices were in their 70s and
two more were in their late 60s, the bill, if passed,
would allow Roosevelt to quickly appoint as many as
six justices. The court-packing plan, as the press
called it, was Roosevelt’s first serious political mistake
as president. The scheme created the impression that
the president was trying to interfere with the
Constitution’s separation of powers and undermine the
Court’s independence.
Document D
Source: “The Legacy of the New Deal,” the American Republic Since 1877, Glencoe, 2003.
In terms of its main goal of ending the Depression, the New Deal was only a limited success. Unemployment remained
high, and economic recovery was not complete until after World War II. As a whole, the New Deal tended to operate so
that it balanced competing economic interests. Business leaders, farmers, workers, consumers, homeowners, and others
now looked to government to protect their interests. The federal government’s ability to take on this new role was
enhanced by two important Supreme Court decisions. In 1937, in NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel, the Court ruled that
the federal government had the constitutional authority, under the interstate commerce clause, to regulate production
within a state. In 1942, in Wickard v. Filburn, the Court used a similar argument to allow the federal government to
regulate consumption in the states. These decisions increased federal power over the economy and allowed it to mediate
between competing groups. (See pages 964-965 of your textbook for more information on these Supreme Court cases)
In taking on this mediating role, the New Deal established what some have called the broker state, working out conflicts
among different interests. This broker role has continued under the administrations of both parties ever since.
Probably the biggest change the New Deal brought about was the new public attitude toward government. Roosevelt’s
programs had succeeded in creating something of a safety net for average Americans- safeguards and relief programs that
protected them against economic disaster. By the time the Roosevelt years were over, the American people felt that the
government had a duty to maintain this safety net even though it required a larger, more expensive federal government
than at any time in American history. Critics continued to argue that the New Deal made the government too powerful.
Another legacy of the New Deal, therefore, is a debate that has continued to the present over how much the government
should intervene in the economy or support the disadvantaged.