1. The New Deal’s Critics Ch. 16 sec. 2
*Limitations of the New Deal---
-Fair Labor Standards Act only covered ¼ of all gainfully employed workers
--set min. wage at 25 cents/ hour—below what established workers made
--New Deal agencies played favorites to white men over women & minorities
*Women---
-NRA codes allowed lower wages for women in ¼ of all cases
-men had preferential treatment
-domestic services were wide open = no protection…..slave labor, almost

2. *African Americans---
-fed. relief programs in South added to racial segregation
--Afr. Ams. not offered professional jobs---kept out of skilled jobs
--received lower pay than whites for the same work
--Social Security Act----excluded farmers & domestic workers….this is nearly 2/3 of working Afr. Ams.!
*New Deal did not do anything against discrimination practices in the North…..e.g. black neighborhoods had white owners that only employed white workers
--”Don’t shop where you can’t work!”
--lynching still happening……1938—Congress abandoned a bill to make it illegal!!! Why?.....(Southern power in Congress)

4. *Afr. Ams. had highest unemployment rate of any group during the Depression
--However….FDR appointed more Afr. Am. to policymaking posts than any President before him.
*Political Critics--- The New Deal does too much???????????
--Republicans in Congress thought the New Deal went too far
--WEALTHY people felt FDR was their enemy……
--his actions seemed socialistic
--FDR pushed higher taxes aimed at the rich people
--Some workers did not like the Social Security System----they felt it punished hard working people by having to pay into the system
--Soc. Sec. #’s = military dictatorship….
--Felt that the New Deal was “un-American”, limited individual freedom, & reeked of Bolshevism

5. *The New Deal does NOT do enough!!!---
--Progressives & Socialists attacked New Deal
--Upton Sinclair---wanted govt. to take over factories & farms in California = huge socialism
--New Deal had only limited success eliminating poverty
-Progressive & Socialist Parties saw a rise in membership
*Other Critics---
--demagogues---leaders who manipulate people w/ half-truths, false promises, scare tactics
--Father Coughlin---used radio broadcasts in 1930s
--from a studio in Detroit, MI.
--attacked FDR & the New Deal
ordered by Roman Catholic officials to stop broadcasting, b/c his statements became more anti-Jewish & praised Hitler and Mussolini…

6. *Huey Long---
--Louisiana politician
--Gov. of Louisiana U.S. senator-1932
--believed in redistribution of wealth across nation---govt. would take large fortunes
--wanted New Deal & socialism----assassinated in 1935.
*Modern-Day Critics---
-New Deal threatened American enterprise
-hindered economic progress
--created a dangerous federal bureaucracy
--gave way too much power to President
--policy of paying farmers NOT to plant was bad
--market should determine the prices & demands for farm products.
--people opposed deficit spending---paying out more $$ from the federal budget than the govt. pulls in

7. *The Court-Packing Fiasco---
--FDR got criticized for trying to pack the Supreme Court
--wanted to add 6 more justices----all who supported the New Deal……..
--upset people who felt the President was getting too powerful….too much like European dictators (Hitler & Stalin)…
---FDR suffered a little bit, politically, but…..in the end, some S.C. Justices retired & FDR could appoint whom he wanted and his New Deal was still supported……..