"Too Much or Not Enough?": Critics of the New Deal
- Rosie Jayde Uyola
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
Target: I can explain the opposition to the New Deal by comparing the arguments of Huey Long (who wanted more) to the fears of FDR becoming a dictator (Court Packing).
Key Vocabulary
Huey Long: A Senator from Louisiana who criticized FDR. He believed the New Deal didn't help the poor enough. He proposed "Share Our Wealth" to take money from the rich and give it to the poor.
"Share Our Wealth": Huey Long's plan to guarantee every family a home, a car, and a minimum income by taxing millionaires.
Checks and Balances: The system that prevents one branch of government (like the President) from becoming too powerful.
Court Packing Plan: FDR's failed attempt to add 6 new judges to the Supreme Court so they would stop rejecting his New Deal laws. Critics called this an abuse of power.
Part 1: Do Now (5 minutes)
Directions: Read the prompt below and write a 5-8 sentence response.
Prompt: Imagine the principal tries to fix the school's problems.
"Is it possible for a leader to be criticized for doing "too little" and "too much" at the same time? Which complaint is more serious? |
Sentence Starter: It is possible to be criticized by both sides because... I think the complaint about doing "too much" is more serious because...
Part 2: Analyzing the Sources
Directions: Analyze the two documents below and then answer the questions that follow.
Source 1: Senator Huey Long, "Share Our Wealth" Radio Speech (1934)
Context: Huey Long was very popular with the poor. He argued that FDR was trying to save the rich banks instead of fixing the real problem: wealth inequality.
Original Text | Simplified Text |
"God called: 'Come to my feast.' But what had happened? Rockefeller, Morgan, and their crowd stepped up and took enough for 120 million people and left only enough for 5 million of all the other 125 million to eat. And so the millions must go hungry... We propose that no family shall be one-third ill-clad, ill-fed and ill-housed... We propose that no man shall have less than $5,000... We propose to limit the size of big fortunes, so that no man shall have more than $10 million." | "God said: 'Come to my feast.' But what happened? Rich men like Rockefeller and Morgan stepped up and took enough food for 120 million people, leaving almost nothing for everyone else. So the people went hungry... We propose that no family should be poorly dressed, poorly fed, or poorly housed... We propose that every man should have at least $5,000... We propose to limit big fortunes, so that no man is allowed to keep more than $10 million." |
Source 2: Political Cartoon - "Trojan Horse at Our Gate" (1935)
Context: While Huey Long said FDR did too little, others feared he was doing too much. When the Supreme Court stopped some New Deal laws, FDR tried to add more judges to the Court (Court Packing).
Analysis Questions
Directions: Answer the writing questions and the two Multiple Choice questions.
1. According to Source 1, how does Huey Long explain why people are hungry? What is his solution?
Sentence Starter: He says people are hungry because the rich (Rockefeller/Morgan) took... His solution is to limit... and give every man...
2. Look at Source 2. Why were many Americans afraid of FDR's plan to "pack" the Supreme Court?
Sentence Starter: They were afraid because if he controlled the Court, he might become a... This would destroy the system of...
Regents-Style Multiple Choice
3. Critics of the New Deal from the "Left" (like Huey Long in Source 1) argued that:
(1) The government was spending too much money
(2) The New Deal did not go far enough to redistribute wealth to the poor
(3) Labor unions should be banned
(4) The Gold Standard should be restored
4. FDR's "Court Packing" plan (Source 2) was rejected by Congress and the American public because:
(1) It would have cost too much money
(2) It threatened the Constitutional principle of Checks and Balances
(3) The Supreme Court was already too large
(4) FDR was a Republican and Congress was Democrat
Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 minutes)
Directions: Answer the following prompt in a complete paragraph (5-8 sentences).
Prompt: Using evidence from both sources, explain the controversy over the New Deal. Why did Huey Long (Source 1) criticize FDR, and why did the Cartoonist (Source 2) criticize him for the opposite reason? |
Sentence Starter: FDR was criticized by both sides. Huey Long (Source 1) believed FDR did "too little" because he allowed the rich to keep... Long wanted to "Share Our..." instead. On the other hand, the cartoonist (Source 2) believed FDR did "too much." When FDR tried to pack the Supreme Court, people feared he was becoming a... This shows that the New Deal was...
