1. Kyle Cogar Final Paper
AHIS 603/630
Assessing the New Deal
The New Deal program, along with it's progenitor Franklin D. Roosevelt, is
credited the most with bringing the United States out of the Great Depression. The
Depression, at the instigation of the New Deal, had already devastated the U.S. economy
and had left thousands destitute. However, with this new program, the hope was that the
United States would recover or at least be at a state than what they were. With
Roosevelt's new program, by the mid-1930s, the recovery of the economy had begun and
steps were being put into place to help avoid or, at least lessen the effects of, another
economic depression. Besides economic reform, the New Deal would also affect the
middle and lower classes of the United States, those most affected by the Great
Depression. The New Deal established social programs such as welfare and social
security. It was also possible for the passing of new legislation such the Wagner Act,
guaranteeing workers' rights such as the right to practice collective bargaining.
Roosevelt's New Deal program greatly helped to bring the United States out of the
Great Depression in more ways than just in the general description mentioned previously.
It is a momentous event in American history that helped to bring the country out of an
economic disaster and helped to lay the foundation for the United States as it is today,
especially through it's social programs. Naturally, with this being a significant event in
United States history, the period of time know as the New Deal Era, the years from 1932-
1940, it has received considerable attention from the 20th and 21st century historians.
Several of these historians, such as the ones being discussed in this essay, have
1

2. contributed significantly to the study of the New Deal era and to the historiography of the
time period. They write about what brought about the New deal, what it was, who was
involved in it, and how it would come to affect American culture and the future of the
country. In this essay, the hope is to demonstrate how each of these different writers and
their works inform on the different aspects of the New Deal policy and the era in which it
was passed.
F.D.R. and the Origins of the New Deal
When discussing the history of the New Deal, it is necessary to discuss what lead
to the policy and who was involved in it's passing. Popular focus usually remains on
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his campaign to bring the country out of the Great
Depression through the implementation of the program but the details of what it took to
get the program are passed make the story slightly more complicated than just that basic
statement. The complex story of what it took to pass the New Deal along with FDR's role
in it is reflected in historiography. William Leuchtenburg's book Franklin D. Roosevelt
and the New Deal is part of this historiography.
Leuchtenburg's book focuses on the history of the New Deal Era ranging from the
Great Depression to the beginning of Roosevelt's third term. The book itself begins with
the beginning of the Depression and the national reaction to the economic crisis. With the
blame for the collapse resting on the Republican government1
and President Herbert
Hoover, the U.S. citizens, especially the working and poor classes, looked to Progressives
and especially the Democrats for help in pulling them out of the ordeal. Here,
1
William E. Leuchtenburg, Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal. Harper Perennial, New York. 1963. P.3-
4.
2

3. Leuchtenburg writes of the Democrats taking advantage of the blame against the
Republicans to run a strong candidate for president, one who would help them where
Hoover failed them2
. Roosevelt, a former New York governor, enters the picture as a
Presidential candidate who completely dominates the election 1932.
After winning the election, Roosevelt and his administration began working on
improving the country by implementing several stages of his New Deal program. With
Congress granting the President more control over federal finance, creating federally
funded organizations such as the National Recovery Administration, and repealing
Prohibition, Roosevelt proved to be a more effective president, one dedicated to bringing
the U.S. out of Depression. However, Leuchtenburg also writes about opponents to his
New Deal program, viewing that the National Recovery Administration and the
Agriculture Adjustment Act in particular to be unconstitutional3
resulting in their repeal
by the Supreme Court. Opponents of Roosevelt also argued that he was removing the
concept of self-reliance from the American citizens and that he was more concerned with
the financial stability of the United States than the citizens themselves.
Lizabeth Cohen's book Making A New Deal, provides evidence that Roosevelt
actually cared for the citizens and, in fact, his New Deal was immensely beneficial to the
U.S. citizens, particularly the working-class. Cohen focuses on the working-class people,
specifically immigrant industrial workers, of Chicago during the New Deal Era. Here, the
citizens are the main focus rather than the politicians, allowing a viewpoint into how the
New Deal would affect the middle and lower classes. The citizens in this book, at least
the politically active ones, are shown to be loyal almost entirely to the Democratic party
2
Leuchtenburg, Franklin Roosevelt. P. 15-17.
3
Leuchtenburg, Franklin Roosevelt. P.168-171.
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4. as it was here that there individual ethnicities were not source for derision but rather a
source for community4
.
By the late 1930s, the ethnically diverse Democrats of Chicago, suffering from
the Depression's effect on their lives as members of the working-class, voiced their
support for Roosevelt and his New Deal program by turning out in droves to vote and
voice their support for the Democrats. The ethnic Chicagoans supported Roosevelt and
his New Deal because of what it promised them as workers5
. Cohen argues that the
industrial workers were in need of a political voice to help them fight for workers' rights,
especially rights as union workers. Seeing that the New Deal was reforming the lives of
the working class, the citizens in Cohens book campaigned for an increase in the
Democratic presence in Congress along with legislation that would benefit them. They
were answered by the Wagner Act of 1935 which established protection and rights for
union organization along with collective bargaining rights6
. The Wagner Act helped to
solidify support for the New Deal through the benefits and aide given to the working-
class, the group that had suffered the most from the Great Depression and would benefit
the most from Roosevelt's policies.
Despite his more conservative opponents arguing that he was concerned with
money more than the citizens, Roosevelt was quite the opposite, as demonstrated
previously. In Neil Maher's work on the beginnings of conservationism in the U.S.
Nature's New Deal, Roosevelt is depicted as someone who cares both citizen and
economy. Faced with thousands of jobless young men while also wanting to expand on
the development of the conservationist and natural resource programs, Roosevelt helped
4
Lizabeth Cohen, Making A New Deal, Cambridge University Press, 1990. P.255-56.
5
Cohen, Making a New Deal, P.301.
6
Cohen, Making a New Deal, P.302-308.
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5. to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps and included it in his New Deal plan. The
CCC, founded in 1932 and headed by Robert Fechner7
, was an organization established
to provide work and living quarters for young, unemployed men in rural areas. The
program would prove an immense success for the New Deal as thousands of young men
became employed by the CCC and performed countless jobs8
for the organization. Maher
writes that the program was successful for Roosevelt politically as it brought him many
new supporters, both Republican and Democrat, both politician and civilian, as well as
establishing the beginnings of modern environmentalism9
.
Similar to Leuchtenburg's book, Maher shows that the New Deal proved to be a
controversial policy and even the conservationist programs were vulnerable to criticism.
Opponents of Roosevelt's policies argued the CCC was doing more harm to environment
than good, despite evidence to the contrary, and that his authority as a president was too
overreaching. Maher writes that many opponents of the Roosevelt presidency and the
New Deal believed that the program itself, along with Roosevelt's growing power, would
lead "to fascism or nazi-ism or an American form of dictatorship."10
While their views
that Roosevelt would become an American dictator seem outrageous, it is also
understandable where they were coming from when one looks at the political situation in
Italy and Germany at the time.
The End of the Depression and the Beginning of War
By 1937, the United States was still going through the Great Depression and
thousands of people were still suffering for it, despite the implementation of New Deal
7
Neil M. Maher, Nature's New Deal. Oxford University Press, New York. 2008. P.18-29.
8
Maher, Nature's New Deal, P.43-47.
9
Maher, Nature's New Deal. P. 176-180.
10
Maher, Nature's New Deal. P.206.
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6. policies. However, despite Roosevelt's policies attempting to reform and bring about a
recovery of the U.S., the economy was still going downhill and Leuchtenburg notes that
the President was becoming more hesitant to implement more legislation that could affect
the economy11
. Roosevelt was also losing support among his fellow Democrats because
of his issues with bringing the economy out of a Depression and with balancing the
national budget. The President, while losing supporters in Congress, continued to gain
thousands more in the public because of his social programs that had been passed over
the years, especially his public works programs12
. Part of these programs were targeted at
farmers and improving the lives of the working class, as noted in Cohen's book as well.
Even with the support of the working class, Roosevelt's position of power was
beginning to weaken and the position of the Republicans strengthen. The Republican
party as well as more conservative minded Democrats believed that Roosevelt's policies
were not providing the economic relief that was needed, resulting in constant
condemnation of the President's programs and of Roosevelt himself, all the while
ignoring the fact that the world was slowly edging closer to war.
By 1939, war in Europe was almost guaranteed. Adolf Hitler's German war
machine had already taken control of substantial parts of Europe and Japan had begun a
bloody campaign against China. The U.S. under Roosevelt was attempting to remain
neutral but by 1940, the President had begun campaigning for the nation to prepare for
war13
. The preparation for the war and the application of the New Deal in a warfare state
is the focus of James Sparrow's book Warfare State. In it, Sparrow writes of the immense
11
Leuchtenburg, Franklin Roosevelt. P.249-250
12
Leuchtenburg, Franklin Roosevelt. P.256-258.
13
James Sparrow, Warfare State: WWII Americans and the Age of Big Government. Oxford University
Press, New York. 2011. P.43-44.
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7. fight by Roosevelt and his administration to turn the United States from the welfare state
of the 1930s into a warfare state. The warfare state is one in which preparation for the
war effort is the most important aspect of a nations economy and culture. Roosevelt's
New Deal during this time period is one devoted not just to helping the nation recover
from the Depression but also to help the country prepare for war. Already a noted public
speaker, Roosevelt helped to use his skill as an orator as well as his skill as a politician to
encourage the public and Congress to accept his proposal for devotion to the war effort14
.
The New Deal stimulation of the warfare effort proved to be an immense success.
Sparrow adds to the discussion on the New Deal by 1942, the program had generated
thousands of jobs for American civilians who wanted them. However, those who were
hesitant to take part in the war effort were verbally manipulated by government officials
into making their contribution15
, furthering the industrialization of warfare in the U.S.
Sparrow ends his book discussing the almost immediate rapid demilitarization
within months after the war's end. The federal government, under new leadership with
Roosevelt's death in 1945 and with the majority of Congress going to the Republican
party, began restricting spending and part of this involved cutting down significantly on
war effort as well as the dismantling of New Deal programs believed to be more harmful
to the financial welfare of the United States16
. Unions, the working class, and ethnic
minorities would begin suffer with the new conservative government taking control and
many of their demands that were met during the 1930s were now being disregarded.
Blacks in particular began suffering under the demands of segregation and a lack of civil
rights, an issue that would continue until the 1960s.
14
Sparrow, Warfare State. P.50-52.
15
Sparrow, Warfare State. P.120-121.
16
Sparrow, Warfare State, P. 242-248.
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8. Historians have treated the New Deal as a beneficial series of programs that
helped to bring the U.S. out of the Great Depression through economic stimulation,
increasing the amount of jobs available to the public, and passing a wide range of social
programs. Roosevelt, the founder of the New Deal policy, is treated in a similar manner,
regarding him as a president who helped the U.S. recover and prepare themselves for war
in Europe, although his detractors would argue that he had dictatorial qualities. The man
and his policies, regardless of opinions of them, are arguably two of the most talked
about, written about, and significant aspects of American history, not just for the events
of the 1930s and 1940s but also how the New Deal has affected the 20th century and how
some policies of the Era continue to effect the 21st century.
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9. Bibliography
1. Cohen, Lizabeth. Making A New Deal, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
2. Leuchtenburg, William E. Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal. Harper Perennial,
New York. 1963
3. Maher, Neil. Nature's New Deal. Oxford University Press, New York. 2008.
4. Sparrow, James. Warfare State: WWII Americans and the Age of Big Government.
Oxford University Press, New York. 2011
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10. Bibliography
1. Cohen, Lizabeth. Making A New Deal, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
2. Leuchtenburg, William E. Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal. Harper Perennial,
New York. 1963
3. Maher, Neil. Nature's New Deal. Oxford University Press, New York. 2008.
4. Sparrow, James. Warfare State: WWII Americans and the Age of Big Government.
Oxford University Press, New York. 2011
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