FDR in a dress … =

Huey Long, “The Kingfish” Father Coughlin …

# 8 - ** According to what you know of United States History, is George Will correct? Why or why not? Can you think of things the U.S. Federal Government has done in addition to what he has listed?

- Homestead Act (1862) - Pacific Railway Act (1862) - Morrel Land Grant College Act (1862) - Anti-trust lawsuits – Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) - Reclamation Act (1902) - United States Forest Service (1905) – Nationally Protected Forests - Children’s Bureau (1912) - Federal Income Tax – 16th Amendment (1913) - National Park Service – “National Park Service Organic Act” (1916) – Establishing National Parks

# 10 - Major Constitutional Question: George Will claims President Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal were based on flimsy Constitutional grounding, claiming he had “cheerful indifference to detail” citing only the Preamble to the Constitution (listed below): “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” ** Question: Does this mean the New Deal legislation violated the Constitution? Why or why not? Have Presidents ever (or our government in general) done things which have violated the Constitution?

- Louisiana Purchase (1803) - Suspension of Habeas Corpus by President Lincoln during the Civil War - Sedition Act of 1917 & Palmer Raids, Post-WWI - Japanese Internment Camps (During WWII) - McCarthy Trials in 1950’s – Presidents Truman and Eisenhower did nothing to stop them - Wiretapping of dissenters during Vietnam War – by Presidents Johnson and Nixon - Patriot Act by President George W. Bush

Handout – “FDR Met Social Needs and Saved the Profit System” … questions to discuss (1) What evidence is provided that the New Deal saved capitalism and private businesses? (2) From the article, how effective has the Social Security System been in the United States?

Reform Programs - Social Security Act - (1) Monthly retirement benefit to those 65 and older (today you can receive it at 62, 65, or 68) - (2) Unemployment insurance to the temporary unemployed - (3) Modest welfare payments to the needy, disabled, and poor mothers w/ dependent children

New Deal Comes Under Attack - Supreme Court Reacts (1936) … - Court-Packing Plan (March, 1937) … - 1938 Midterm Election & end of the New Deal … Roosevelt “Trying to Change the Umpiring”

Relevant National Statistics Use the handouts on desks to reflect upon these statistics mentioned. Suicide … Mental breakdowns … Alcoholism … Unemployment … Gross Domestic Product … Young people moving away … Migration to California … Farm foreclosures …