How far did Left Wing opposition hinder the New Deal

Question 1

Didn’t hinder the New Deal but did have an impact

Answer 1

• Left-wing candidates performed well in the 1934 Congressional elections
• Huey Long was viewed as a serious threat to FDR in the 1936 election
• Left-wing opposition led to the intrudction of the more left-wing Second New Deal in 1935:
  Revenue Act (1935) increased taxes on incomes over $50,000
  Social Securities Act (1935) provided pensions and unemployment benefits

Question 2

Limits to Left Wing opposition

Answer 2

• The popularity of LW opposition never exceeded FDR’s popularity in opinion polls
• Many of the alternatives to the New Deal were impractical or impossible, so posed little threat:
  ‘Share Our Wealth’ schemes were financially impossible: it was not possible to ensure an annual income for all of $2,500
  ‘Old Age Revolving Pensions’ would have required half the nation’s income to be paid in pensions
• FDR won the 1936 election with 61% of the vote