FDR’s Reelection Chapter 10, section 4

1936 Election The New Deal triggered a dramatic shift in party allegiance by African Americans After the Civil War, most A-A voted Republican Starting in 1936, most will vote Democrat

1936 Election A-A had made modest gains because of the New Deal FDR tried to make sure that A-A were not excluded from New Deal policies Eleanor Roosevelt was very popular in the A-A community

1936 Election Woman also will support FDR heavily FDR appointed the first woman to a cabinet position, Frances Perkins as the Secretary of Labor Also assigned many women to lower-level jobs

1936 Election Republican Party nominated Kansas Governor Alfred Landon to run against FDR Roosevelt won in the one of the largest landslides in American history 523-8 in the electoral vote

Court-Packing Plan Although popular, FDR had trouble with the Supreme Court They declared AAA, as well as other programs, unconstitutional FDR was furious

Court-Packing Plan FDR’s “court-packing plan” became his first serious political mistake Sent a bill to Congress that would add a judge for every judge over the age of 70 This would allow him to add 6

Court-Packing Plan Issue split the Democratic Party Many Americans believed this would give the President too much power The bill never passed and hurt FDR’s reputation

1937 Recession 1937 unemployed surged again Caused by Social Security and FDR cutting spending

1937 Recession Enabled Republicans to win seats in Congress FDR not as successful in passing legislation

1937 Recession Fair Labor Standards Act— Abolished child labor Established a 40-hour work week for workers

Legacy of New Deal Depression will not end until WWII Success was limited, but gave many Americans stability and security

Legacy of New Deal New public attitude towards gov’t American people now see the duty of the gov’t to play a larger role to assist in times of crisis The gov’t increased it’s presence and power