OVERVIEW
Criticism of the Roosevelt administration ranged from arguments that its policies would harm business and economic recovery to charges that it was subverting democracy. Some labeled the New Deal as fascism, although it is important to remember that at the time fascism did not connote the tragedy of World War II but rather an ideology of authoritarian nationalism and planned economy, associated most often with Benito Mussolini's Italy. Others saw the New Deal as a manifestation of socialism or communism. The left accused Roosevelt of empowering big business while the right opposed the policies that regulated business and expanded workers' rights. FDR and his vision attracted critics from all sides of the political spectrum, who often labeled the New Deal using the same terms but meant very different things.
THE AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
The American Liberty League was a non-partisan organization formed in 1934 in opposition to the New Deal. The League gathered Republicans, Democrats, and influential business leaders who opposed the New Deal's premise that the government not only could but should intervene in the economy. The organization's stated goal was "to defend the Constitution and defend the rights and liberties guaranteed by that Constitution." Its members believed that the New Deal's regulative nature threatened Constitution-given individual liberties and expanded the executive power beyond what the Constitution intended. The League engaged in campaigns, in which it aimed to educate the public about the legislative process. Its strong links with business elites and pro-business agenda discouraged popular support but the League remained one of the most vocal conservative voices opposing the New Deal in the mid-1930s.
CONSERVATIVE COALITION
After Roosevelt's failed attempt to appoint additional pro-New Deal judges in the Supreme Court (the so-called "court packing plan"), conservative opposition strengthened and unified. By 1937, an informal group of congressmen and representatives opposing the New Deal formed in Congress. Known as the Conservative Coalition (at the time, the term "conservative" referred to the opponents of the New Deal and did not imply any specific party affiliation), it initiated a conservative alliance that, with modifications, shaped Congress until the 1960s. In 1937, Josiah Bailey, Democratic senator and one of the staunchest critics of the New Deal, released a "Conservative Manifesto" that presented conservative philosophical tenets, including the line "Give enterprise a chance, and I will give you the guarantees of a happy and prosperous America." The Manifesto called for reduced governments spending, balanced budget, and lowering taxes. It also emphasized the importance of private enterprise and suggested that the position of unions was too powerful. Over 100,000 copies were distributed and the document marked a turning point in terms of congressional support for the New Deal legislation.
HUEY P. LONG
Although Republicans formed natural opposition to the policies of the Democratic administration, it was a Democratic senator from Louisiana, Huey Long, who became Roosevelt's most fervent opponent. In 1934, Long established the Share Our Wealth movement built upon populist slogans of the redistribution of the wealth (e.g., capping personal fortunes, taxation of the rich, guaranteed income, etc.). He popularized his ideas through radio and Share Our Wealth clubs began to mushroom across the country. While some labeled Long a socialist, Roosevelt called him "one of the two most dangerous men in America" and accused him of spreading fascism. Long gained massive support. Share Our Wealth clubs had millions of members and tens of millions of Americans listened to Long on the radio every week. He was assassinated in 1935, shortly after he announced that he would run for president.
OPPOSITION ON THE LEFT
Roosevelt attracted as much criticism from the left as he did from the right. When Norman Thomas run as the presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of America in the 1932 election, his platform reminded more of the later New Deal agenda than the New Deal plan announced at the time by presidential candidate Roosevelt. Thomas promised support for the unemployed and the elderly, federal relief and jobs programs, repeal of Prohibition, and national medical insurance but gained very limited support. Although Roosevelt's New Deal introduced programs corresponding with the 1932 socialist proposals, Thomas and his colleagues criticized Roosevelt's attempts as fixing or reforming capitalism rather than radically changing the existing economic order. Roosevelt's ambiguous relationship with the business, which conservatives perceived as too restrictive and focused on pro-labor initiatives while leftists as leaving too much power in the hands of business leaders, has also provoked much criticism on the left.
While not really an opponent of Roosevelt, a socialist writer Upton Sinclair (known for his immensely influential 1906 novel The Jungle) popularized a program known as End Poverty in California (EPIC) that Roosevelt eventually considered to be too radical . EPIC called for public works projects, tax reform, and guaranteed pensions. It also proposed that unused farmland should be given to the unemployed, who could establish cooperative farms. Many farmers and unemployed workers supported EPIC although Sinclair lost the governorship of California in 1934. Although Roosevelt did not endorse Sinclair, the program influenced later New Deal policies.
OTHER OPPOSITION
Two other important figures became prominent critics of Roosevelt although neither of them was a mainstream politician. Charles Coughlin, a Catholic priest and an extremely popular radio show host, initially supported Roosevelt. However, by 1934, he became one of the harshest critics of the New Deal. He blamed communists and Jews for the Great Depression and his radio show was increasingly antisemitic and sympathetic towards Hitler and Mussolini. Coughlin founded the National Union for Social Justice in 1934 and in 1935, he helped found the Union Party. The organizations aimed to challenge Roosevelt's agenda and bid for reelection. Coughlin was incredibly popular, attracting tens of millions of listeners to his weekly broadcast. His activism attracted widespread accusations of promoting fascism and criticism of both Americans bishops and Vatican.
Another popular challenger of the New Deal was Francis Townsend, a physician from California. In 1934, he proposed the so-called Townsend Plan, which called for a monthly pension for the elderly (all Americans of 60 years old or older). Townsend popularized his Plan through a letter sent to a local newspaper and the idea quickly gained substantial support. Although its critics noted that its execution would be too expensive, what started as a challenge to the New Deal, pushed Roosevelt to offer his own old age pension plan, which was part of his Social Security program.
ROOSEVELT'S RESPONSE TO CRITICS
In 1934, Roosevelt defended himself against his critics and attacked them in his "fireside chat" radio broadcast:
"Some people will try to give you new and strange names for what we are doing. Sometimes they will call it 'Fascism,' sometimes 'Communism,' sometimes 'Regimentation,' sometimes 'Socialism. ' But, in so doing, they are trying to make very complex and theoretical something that is really very simple and very practical.... Plausible self-seekers and theoretical die-hards will tell you of the loss of individual liberty. Answer this question out of the facts of your own life. Have you lost any of your rights or liberty or constitutional freedom of action and choice?"
Joseph L. Parrish (1905 – 1989), "Oliver Twist," Chicago Tribune, 1937
1937 cartoon by Joseph L. Parrish in the Chicago Tribunes warning FDR's executive branch reorganization plan is a power grab.