HIST101 American History to 1877 : American Politics Under the Leaders

John W. Jeffries, Wartime America: The World War II Homefront

Ronald Edsforth, The New Deal: America Response to the Great Depression

Explain how the political order was reshaped during the 1930s. I intend both the functions of government, as well as the whole constellation of forces influencing the government actions.) Â A central question you need to address is: how were the Democrats able to become the majority party during this decade?

 

You should also describe and explain the ways in which the relationship of government to society changed during this period. In particular, you should discuss the new roles that the federal government took on during this time. Finally, make sure you discuss the various political mobilizations of the 1930s: the upsurge in the labor movement, and the protest movements centered on Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and Dr. Francis Townsend.

Two political parties who have been reigning over the country since its freedom majorly dominate the American Political scenario. The political parties are the Republicans and the Democrats. The Republican Party has been a dominating force in American Politics as it has given the country 24 of its last 40 presidents. The American politics under the leadership of these two has greatly strived to develop America into a great country. The country faced a number of difficulties after the World War 1 as the economies around the world suffered. The Great Depression was one of the worst Economic phases in the history of the country, which brought a number of issues in the country (Jeffries).

There were a number of issues that arose due to the Great Depression, most important of which was increasing unemployment among the youth and the extreme inflation.  This has caused extreme distrust in the American society regarding the contemporary government. The constant fall of economy added to President Herbert Hoover’s policies led to the accentuation of the economic downfall of the country. The failure of the policies of Herbert Hoover gave a chance to the Democrats to retain power in the US political situation (Edsforth). The loss of Herbert Hoover too Franklin D. Roosevelt brought about a considerable change in the policies and the political scenario of United States. Franklin Roosevelt brought about a number of changes in the policies to curb the depression plaguing the US, which was a great hit among the people of US and consolidated the Democrats position in the US. The New Deal changes brought about by Franklin Roosevelt brought about a positive change in the society of the US. The set of policies devised by Franklin Roosevelt focused on fighting the depression in the economy by focusing on the countering the basic issues causing the great depression. Roosevelt’s policies focused on 3Rs to be the way of improving the condition of US’s economy (Jeffries). The 3Rs stood for relief, recovery and reform.

The new policies of Franklin Roosevelt had a positive effect on the economy and put it on the path of recovery. The minor changes in the fiscal policies and the banking system, which helped the country on its way of recovery from the crisis it was facing during the great depression. Apart from the implementation of these strategies the decade of the rule of the Democrats in the US is divided into two parts by the analysts, the first New deal from 1933-34 and the second New Deal from 1935-38.  The first new deal focused on mitigating the crisis at hand during the time while the second new deal was focuses more on improving the overall conditions and garnering profit for the country (Edsforth).

The first New deal that was implemented by Roosevelt to focus on recovery of the economy of the country. The various policies such as Emergency Banking Act and the national industrial recovery act implemented by the democrats to prevent the country from going into bankruptcy helped them to build a stronghold in US political scenario. The second New Deal planned in the wake of the Second World War emphasized on strengthening the labor laws of the country along with changing the tax policy (Jeffries). The introduction of the Social Security as the right of all the individuals in America brought about a comprehensive change in the US society. The strategies implemented by Franklin Roosevelt improved the condition of the people in the country and built a strong relationship among the people and the government.

The improving condition of the country’s economy during the rule of Franklin Roosevelt made him a favorite of the common population which made the democrats positions stronger. He is the only president in the US history to serve three terms and to be elected for times. The condition of the country had again deteriorated after the Second World War and the country needed an able leader (Edsforth). His policies and his efforts to improve the economy of America are held in such high regard that he is considered as one of the greatest presidents of United States along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

The policies implemented by Franklin Roosevelt were every conducive for the development of the US economy by recovering from the aftermath of the Great Depression and the Second World War but they were also criticized. The major critics of the policies of Roosevelt were Huye Long, Father Charles Coughlin and Dr. Francis Townsend. They basically criticized the New Deal approach of Franklin Roosevelt in dealing with the Great depression and presented their own ideas on the approaches that should be taken to counter depression. They were important as they had their own followers who could change the power dynamics in the US politics. Huye Long was the most charismatic persona among the critics; the Louisiana Senator had different approach towards fighting depression by improving the social welfare practices in his state (Jeffries). He introduced the “Share our Wealth” program under which every citizen should annually receive $2000, which would be enough for the sustenance.

Father Charles Coughlin on the other hand, saw the great depression as the doing of the greedy bankers and advised Roosevelt that the banks should be nationalized.  Dr. Francis Townsend was one the least direct critics of the policies of Franklin Roosevelt.  He lost his job and was left with little savings, so he went on to give ideas of improving the economy by social welfare (Edsforth). His idea was simple and advised to give the senior population of US a monthly pension of $200 on the condition that they spend the allowance within US and vacate their jobs. The jobs thus vacated should be given to the youngsters, which would stabilize the economy and decrease the unemployment.

Thus, it is evident that the rise of the Democrats, which took place under the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was one of the most positive things to happen to the US during a situation crisis. Under Roosevelt, economy of the country developed and was consolidated which led to the development of a positive relationship among the leaders and the common population. Despite the criticism that Roosevelt faces his policies proved to be effective in the end and he is remembered as one of the greatest presidents of US history.

References:

Edsforth, Ronald. The New Deal: America's Response to the Great Depression. Wiley-Blackwell, 2000.

Jeffries, John W. Wartime America: The World War II Home Front. Ivan R. Dee, 1998.