Opposition to new deal

• Franklin D Roosevelt was a very popular president
• As the Great Depression deepened, there was more criticism of the New Deal and Roosevelt's leadership
• The New Deal had never been seen in America before - it was a programme of reform
• There were many successes, but also many setbacks and much scrutiny
• Groups that opposed the New Deal

  • Those who felt it had gone too far
  • Those who thought it hadn't gone far enough
• Those who felt the New Deal had gone too far


  • Republicans who believed in limited government and laissez-faire
  • The wealthy who were affected by increased taxes
  • Business leaders who disliked the New Deal's intervention in business and industry practices
• Examples of New Deal policies that were opposed


  • TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
  • Relief programmes
  • NRA (National Recovery Administration)
  • 1935 National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)
  • Social security and pensions provisions
• American Liberty League


  Created by wealthy businessmen and conservative politicians who saw the New Deal as a threat to free enterprise
• Those who thought the New Deal hadn't gone far enough


  • Huey Long's 'Share Our Wealth' plan
  • Dr Francis Townsend's Old Age Revolving Pension Plan
  • Father Charles Coughlin's National Union for Social Justice
• Roosevelt still won the 1936 presidential election despite opposition
• The most serious opposition came from the Supreme Court, which declared some New Deal agencies unconstitutional
• Supreme Court's argument


  • The agencies had overstepped the powers of the federal government
  • The federal government could not impose laws on the individual state governments
• By 1936, the Supreme Court had ruled against 11 out of 16 of the so-called alphabet laws
• In 1937, Roosevelt tried to enlarge the court by 'packing' it with six new justices who might be more supportive
• Roosevelt's court-packing plan backfired and was criticised by members of his own party, his supporters, Republicans and his opponents
• Tyrant


  A cruel and oppressive ruler