UNIT STUDY GUIDES
Unit III
THE SECOND NEW DEAL AND THE COURT FIGHT
Behavioral Objectives (Test Items)
Here are the specific tasks you will be called upon to perform on the Unit III Exam. The information required for mastery of the reading objectives is contained in Chapters 10-12 of The Great Depression: America, 1929-1941. The information required for mastery of the lecture objectives is contained in the lectures for this unit - "Texas Democrats and the Court Fight of 1937" and "The Election of a Texas New Dealer: Lyndon Johnsonís 1937 Race for Congress".
READING OBJECTIVES
"Thunder on the Left: Rising Unrest, 1934-35"
- Be familiar with the general strike in San Fransisco engineered by the International Longshoremenís Association and how the widespread support it received as well as its outcome reflected increasingly militant liberal sentiment.
- Be familiar with the results of the 1934 congressional elections - the magnitude and uniqueness of the Democratic partyís victory and identify the message this sent to the White House.
- Be familiar with each of the following state movements or elections being sure to identify the message being sent to FDR: (a.) the Wisconsin Progressive Party, (b.) Governor Floyd Olson and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, (c.) Upton Sinclair and the E.P.I.C. Movement.
- Identify Father Charles Coughlin and describe in detail his changing position on FDR and the New Deal as well as his proposals on what would be necessary to end the Depression.
- Identify Dr. Francis Townsend and describe in detail his old-age pension plan as well as the level of support it attracted around the country.
- Identify Huey P. Long and describe in detail his criticisms of FDR and the New Deal, his proposals to end the Depression, and the electoral threat he posed to President Roosevelt.
- Identify and describe the reasons suggested by Robert McElvaine why the nation didnít move further to the left given all the "thunder" in the mid-1930s.
"I'm That Kind of Liberal Because Iím That Kind of Conservative: The Second New Deal"
- Identify those groups who founded the Liberty League, describe in detail their criticisms of the New Deal, and evaluate how much of an electoral threat they posed to FDR.
- Evaluate how important - given Rooseveltís 1932 campaign pledge to be a pragmatic experimenter - the failure of the New Deal of 1933-34 to end the Depression was in causing FDR to change course in 1935.
- Identify the particulars of the Wheeler-Rayburn Bill as finally passed by Congress in 1935 and demonstrate the political benefits FDR drew from the fight over the legislation.
- Describe the manner in which the Social Security Act became law and how it coopted the Townsend Movement.
- Identify and describe in detail the four major reasons Robert McElvaine cites that the Social Security Act was a "flawed piece of legislation".
- Identify the provisions of the Wagner Act and describe FDRís attitudes and actions regarding the measure.
- Explain how the Schechter decision invalidating the NRA afforded Roosevelt the opportunity to try another approach to engineer economic recovery and make his turn to the left.
- Contrast FDRís new rhetoric about redistributive taxation in 1935 with the particulars of the Wealth Tax Act of the same year.
- Be familiar with McElvaineís argument that FDRís shift to the left was much more political than ideological.
"New Hickory: The WPA, the Election of 1936, and the Court Fight"
- Identify the goal of the Works Progress Administration and explain why citizens preferred employment under the WPA to the "dole" despite pitifully low wages and restricted hours.
- Identify and describe in detail the problems with the WPA cited by the author.
- Be familiar with the operation and reputation of "Federal One", the portion of the WPA providing federal support for the arts in America.
- Characterize the 1936 campaign waged for the presidency by the Republicans and nominee Alf Landon.
- Describe the formation of the Union Party by Gerald L. K. Smith, Dr. Francis Townsend, and Father Charles Coughlin and evaluate how great a threat William Lemke and the Union Party posed to FDRís reelection.
- Describe in detail the scope of the Democratic partyís victory in the 1936 elections, presidential and congressional.
- Describe in detail President Rooseveltís attempt to "pack" the Supreme Court and thereby alter its decisions being sure to cover each of the following: (a.) the method of the plan, (b.) the reasons it generated such opposition among moderates and liberals as well as conservatives, (c.) the effectiveness of Republicans letting Democrats lead the opposition to the plan, (d.) the new attitude of the Supreme Court towards the New Deal as evidenced by decisions from late March to May, 1937, (e.) how this new attitude reduced the Courtís reactionary image, (f.) the outcome of the court proposal, (g.) how FDR finally got a pro-New Deal Supreme Court, (h.) the costs to FDR and the Democrats of the Court Fight.
LECTURE OBJECTIVES
"Texas Democrats and the Court Fight of 1937" (HIS2613.HUP.22643x)
- Identify and describe in detail the threat posed by the Supreme Court to FDRís New Deal by 1935-36 and explain why he felt it best to deal with them in early 1937.
- Identify particulars of FDRís court reorganization proposal and explain how its passage would have allowed him to change the voting behavior of the Supreme Court.
- Characterize the attitudes and actions of each of the following and their effectiveness in blocking the Presidentís proposal: (a.) Vice-President John Nance Garner, (b.) Representative Hatton Sumners, (c.) Senator Tom Connally.
- Explain how the Court fight demonstrated the ideological split within the Democratic party nationally and how FDR had only limited success in keeping the various factions of the party working together in harmony.
"The Election of a Texas New Dealer: Lyndon Johnsonís 1937 Race for Congress" (HIS2613.HUP.22644x)
- Be familiar with Lyndon Johnsonís political background prior to Feb., 1937.
- Identify and describe the peculiarities of the special election to fill the vacancy created upon Congressman James Buchananís death and how these worked to Johnsonís advantage.
- Describe in detail the political environment in which the election took place - in a solidly Democratic state that supported FDR, immediately following Rooseveltís 1936 landslide victory, and during the Court fight.
- Identify how LBJ sought to take advantage of this environment in terms of strategy and evaluate the effectiveness of his campaign strategy.
- Be familiar with the frenetic "leave-no-stone-unturned" campaign LBJ waged.
- Be familiar with the special electionís outcome
and how it was interpreted by FDR and the national press.
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"Share Our Wealth"Speech to the Little Congress |
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Senator Huey Long |
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Senator Huey Long |
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Secretary
of Interior Harold Ickes |
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Father Charles Coughlin |
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Senator Huey Long |
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Senator Huey Long |
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Senator Huey Long |
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Governor Eugene Talmadge (D.,Ga.) |
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Father Charles Coughlin |
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Gerald L. K.
Smith |
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Franklin Roosevelt |
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Franklin Roosevelt |
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Father Charles Coughlin |
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Father Charles Coughlin |
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Governor
Alf Landon |
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Herbert Hoover |
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Franklin Roosevelt |
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Franklin
Roosevelt |
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Franklin Roosevelt |
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Father
Charles Coughlin |
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Franklin Roosevelt |
© L. Patrick Hughes, 1999
