Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The New Deal

Throughout history, every president has desired to be remembered as the greatest. Many fail, but a select few succeed. This greatness is determined by not only themselves, but also the world around them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) had to deal with some of the most difficult times in American history. He did not come to office unprepared though; he had a plan called The New Deal. The New Deal was supposedly the United States’ ticket out of the Great Depression, but FDR had to overcome many obstacles and adjust the plan accordingly. Though many politicians, such as Huey Long, fought against President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, the plan resulted in many more positive effects than negative. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a man of

This different approach is known as the “Second New Deal”. The reason for this change is so that the people could become self-sufficient once again and not have to rely on government spending.6 In 1935 and 1936, the Supreme Court destroyed both the National Recovery Administration and the Agricultural Holding Administration. FDR felt that big businesses and the wealthy needed to start doing their parts. Therefore, the Wealth Tax Act of 1936, which increased taxes on the wealthy, and the Banking Act of 1935, which granted more authority to the Federal Reserve, were created.7 He also realized that not everyone was capable of supporting themselves, especially as they became older. As a result, the Social Security Act of 1935 was passed providing old-age pensions and unemployment insurance. In 1937, a recession occurred that not only wiped out most of the gains, but also caused many people, including FDR, to doubt the effectiveness of the New Deal. In order to deal with the situation, FDR needed to rearrange his executive branch. He was given the power to do this through the Reorganization Act of 1939 and also hired additional confidential staff.8 Around this time, World War II broke out, so Roosevelt began implementing defense measures. He had a strong opposition to war and planned on the United

He began to get frustrated and started openly speaking out against the president. Long’s plan was implausible because the government could not simply take money from those who have it and give it to those who need it. Often times, people with large sums of money worked for it at some point in their life. Soon enough, Long was speaking openly about running for president against FDR.16 Long would not have been able to win, but he may have caused an imbalance. Just a year and a half later, Long would be killed in September of 1935. The shooter turned out to be Carl Weiss, the father-in-law of one of Long’s opponents. Weiss was angered because Long had made mean comments, both politically and personally, about his son-in-law. Carl Weiss was killed by a bodyguard immediately after he shot Long. Long died 31 hours later in the hospital.