The Role of the Conservative Right in Opposition to the New Deal
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To what extent did opposition to the New Deal come from the conservative right?
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Opposition to the New Deal in the 1930s came from various quarters, including the conservative right. The American Liberty League, formed in 1934, represented a prominent organized voice of opposition from conservative Democrats and industrialists who believed that the New Deal was undermining private enterprise. While the League garnered some popular support initially, its influence waned after FDR’s reelection in 1936.
In Congress, conservative Democrats began working with Republicans and issued a Conservative Manifesto in 1937 that extolled the virtues of private enterprise. This bipartisan effort led to the blocking of certain New Deal initiatives, such as an anti-lynching bill, highlighting the conservative opposition's impact on policy-making.
The conservative backlash continued with opposition to the Fair Labour Standards Act, which introduced a minimum wage. Southern Democrats, particularly, clashed with FDR over his reform agenda, leading to further blockades of New Deal proposals in the Senate.
On the other end of the spectrum, left-wing opposition to the New Deal also emerged through figures like Father Coughlin, Francis Townsend, and Huey Long. Coughlin's National Union for Social Justice and third-party bid in the 1936 elections, Townsend's advocacy for Social Security, and Long's Share Our Wealth movement portrayed a more radical critique of the New Deal from within.
Labour unions and other grassroots movements also contributed to left-wing opposition, creating pressure for more comprehensive social reforms in the face of economic hardship. This culminated in the Second New Deal of 1935–36, which expanded Social Security and labor rights in response to the growing demands from these left-leaning factions.
While figures like Townsend influenced later New Deal legislation, the impact of the more extreme left-wing opposition, exemplified by Coughlin and Long, diminished over time due to personal fates and changing priorities. It is clear that opposition to the New Deal varied in its origins and intensity, with both the conservative right and the left presenting significant challenges to FDR's reform agenda during the tumultuous 1930s.
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To what extent did opposition to the New Deal come from the conservative right?
Indicative Content:
Possible discussion of opposition from the right:
• The most organised and most public right-wing opposition to the New Deal was the American Liberty League, set up in 1934. It combined conservative Democrats and some leading industrialists and some popular support for private enterprise, which these groups felt was being eroded by the New Deal. Once FDR was re-elected in 1936, the American Liberty League lost support and soon disbanded.
• However, in Congress at least, conservative Democrats started to work across the aisle with some Republicans. In December 1937, they published a Conservative Manifesto praising private enterprise. The right-wing opposition in the Senate blocked an anti-lynching bill approved by the House, to FDR’s embarrassment.
• FDR pushed through Congress the Fair Labour Standards Act, which introduced a minimum wage, against conservative opposition. Relations between FDR and Southern Democrats deteriorated. The right-wing opposition in the Senate blocked further New Deal reforms.
Possible discussion of opposition from the left:
• The leading left-wing opponents – Father Coughlin, Francis Townsend and Huey Long – are better remembered than the American Liberty League and the ‘Old Right’ Conservative Coalition of the later 1930s.
• Coughlin established a National Union for Social Justice in 1934 and a third party to contest the 1936 presidential elections. Francis Townsend gained national publicity for his proposal to introduce Social Security for the old. Long set up his Share Our Wealth movement in 1934, arguing for progressive taxation and great redistribution of wealth.
• As well as personalities such as Coughlin, Townsend and Long, institutions such as labour unions should also be included. There was more labour unrest in the 1930s than is often remembered. This left-wing pressure, even though uncoordinated, was at its height during the First New Deal. There would seem to be a close connection between that left-wing pressure and the more radical Second New Deal of 1935–36, which did include Social Security reform and the Wagner Act.
• Only Townsend remained to influence New Deal legislation in FDR’s second term, helping to persuade Congress to extend Social Security to include dependents of retired workers. Long had been assassinated in 1935 and Coughlin became more concerned with opposing communism. Thus, there is a clear contrast between opposition to the New Deal in the two presidential terms.
Some candidates will include Supreme Court opposition to many New Deal reforms, but the Supreme Court is a judicial not a political institution and so cannot be seen as either left wing or right wing. Accept any other valid responses.