USA 5 Flashcards
Supreme Court
Most of the judges did not support Roosevelt’s view
Had responsibility to stop the president and federal government from taking too much power into their own hands
To express their view on the deal they had to wait for an individual appeal
Sick chicken case
The Schechter Brothers in New York ran a chicken company and had signed up to the NRA codes of fair prices and running a good company. When they sold a batch of diseased chickens, the NRA took them to court. The Schechters appealed to the Supreme Court, who decided that the NRA was unconstitutional because as a federal agency it was interfering too much in business and in matters which should be dealt with by individual states and their laws.
The Sick Chickens case led to the Supreme Court getting rid of 750 of the NRA codes and after that the NRA had no power to tell business what to do.
NRA was scrapped
Roosevelt’s response
Created plan to appoint new judges who favoured deal
Plan was defeated but Supreme Court got message and descions began to reflect public mood and challenges to the deal stopped
Republicans
The republicans opposed Roosevelt because:
He was a democrat
He made the feeder government too powerful
He spent to much money
Appealed against him in next election but Roosevelt won and was elected for second term
Successful opposition
Cut spending on relief programs
Investigate alphabet agencies
Block new measures
In effect new deal was brought to a stop
Business opposition and the liberty league
Businesses did not like being told what to do my the NRA - minimum wage and restricted working hours
The new deal supported unions - meant that unions had the power to challenge businesses
Business did not like the way the government was spending so much money - higher taxes meant less money for people to buy goods
Opposition groups
American liberty league - democrat al smith joined with republican James Wandsworth and the du pont brothers to oppose new deal.created national organism which distributed leaflets, broadcasting on radios and sponsored dinners to spread their message. In their view the new deal threatened the power of the states.
American liberty league limited success
The league made little difference
This was due to:
Struggle
In to recruit- only 150,000 people joined
It was unpopular
The Supreme Court had changed its attitudes
Closed in 1940
Huey long share our wealth programmes
Governor of Louisiana
Was popular because he heavily taxed the rich
With this money he provided social services years before the new deal such as:
Set up reading and writing programs for adults, gave free textbooks to school children
Became senator
Was able to criticise new deal
Issued share our wealth programme where rich were obligated to be taxed and it would be given to poor
Shot dead in 1935
Coughlin
Priest who was provided with large radio network
Had 30 million listeners
When coughlin turned against the deal it massively lost support
Coughlin felt the depression was caused by the Wall Street financiers and international bankers
The deal was influenced by them and therefore ineffective
Coughlin set up national union for social justice
National union for social justice 1934 (fairer society)
Called for:
Fairer taxation policy
Nationalisation of parts of the U.S. economy
Currency and banking reforms
To put ideas into action Coughlin decided to form team with Gerald smith from the share our wealth programme
Started national union party
They failed because Roosevelt was a well liked president and they were critiquing him, Roosevelt had implemented some of their ideas so it was garden to criticise, Coughlins radio lost support as it bacame anti semitic
Dr Francis Townsend
Retired public health officer influenced as he saw old pope pls rummaging through bins for
Made him want to work against poverty in the elderly came up with idea for old age revolving pensions
Proposed that everyone over the age of 60 should get 200 dollars a month to spend within thirty days by adding a 2 percent sales tax
Could not be funded so not a successful challenge
Upton Sinclair
Novelist who wrote book critising poor conditions of workers in meat packing industry
Tried to run for governor in California - idea seen as too radical
Republican elected instead
Impact of criticism
Challenged popularity but not serious blocks to new deal
But did influence them as by implementing deals that met appeals reduced criticisms
The end of the new deal
Second World War became focus of presidentcy
