Opposition To The New Deal

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Opposition To The New Deal

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President of the United States of America (USA) in March 1933, he had done so with a landslide victory over Herbet Hoover. Roosevelt took action to bring about immediate economic relief especially to those most affected by the Great Depression as well as reforms in industry through a series of ‘alphabet agencies’. The New Deal was effective to a great extent after implementation, yet it did have its critics. Roosevelt was largely accused of inappropriate government expenditure, economic interference in bigger businesses and not fully considering the programs prior to their implementation. Roosevelt’s most notable critics were Senator Huey Long, Dr Francis Townsend and Father Charles Coughlin. All of these individuals, however, displayed a certain inferiority when compared with the Supreme Court.

Much of the New Deal legislation was enacted within the first three months of Roosevelt’s presidency. His first objective was to alleviate the suffering of the nation’s huge number of unemployed workers. Such agencies as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were established to dispense emergency and short-term governmental aid. Opposed to the traditional American political philosophy of laissez-faire, the New Deal generally embraced the concept of government-regulated economy aimed at achieving balance among conflicting economic interests. However Roosevelt met criticism from many people through out his imposition of the New Deal, especially when old antagonisms between the Democrats and Republicans emerged. Specific opposition came from three people in particular, Huey Long, Francis Townsen...