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Politics of the New Deal: Triumph and Trainwreck
Election of 1936
With Huey Long in his grave, and the Second New Deal in the books, FDR was set to take his party's nomination for a second term in 1936. However, the Supreme Court's two decisions against the First New Deal, as well as ongoing court challenges to programs of the Second New Deal, generated sufficient concern over challenges from within and without the Democratic Party to foment lasting change in Democratic Party rule
Two-Thirds Rule. Riding high on the wave of national approval for the New Deal, Southern Democrats allowed Party leaders to change the nominating rules at the Democratic National Convention in 1936. Until then, any nominee needed two-thirds of all convention votes to gain nomination. This is what had given Southern Democrats their leverage. Now, the rules change permitted a nominee to win with only a simple majority. This simple change spelled the end to the dominance of the “Solid South.”
As the party of Hoover, Republicans could provide only feeble opposition to Roosevelt and the Democrats during his first term. In 1936, they nominated Alf Landon of Kansas for president. FDR trounced Landon and the GOP, and the Democrats increased their majority in both houses of Congress.
"Court Packing"
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In 1935 and 1936, the Supreme Court
declared two cornerstones of the New Deal—NIRA and
AAA—unconstitutional. More cases involving the Social Security
Act and the NLRA were wending their way to the nation’s highest
court. Roosevelt feared that, given the Court’s conservative
leanings, the New Deal might be destroyed by the judiciary. Roosevelt responded with a proposal to “reform” the Supreme Court. Claiming the justices were “overburdened” with work, FDR suggested making retirement from the Court mandatory at 70. If a justice refused, then Congress should grant him the power to appoint an “extra” justice to help carry the load. In reality, this was all a pretext to appoint more liberal judges to the Supreme Court who would look more favorably on the New Deal. After over seven months of conflict in the press, the Supreme Court surprised everyone by ruling the NLRA and Social Security acts constitutional. Whether or not these decisions resulted from FDR’s threats, we don’t know. In the end, FDR withdrew his “court reform” bill. He lost the battle, but won the war. …or did he? |
"The Roosevelt Recession"
During the court packing crisis, FDR hoped to gain support from conservatives by heeding their calls to cut the size of government—which had grown enormously during the New Deal. So Roosevelt announced a cutback in funding for emergency programs, telling the Americans the economy was now sound enough to begin functioning on its own. The stock market promptly plunged, and millions of Americans lost their jobs.
Break With Congress
In his months-long battle over “packing” the Supreme Court, FDR failed to consult with any of his Democratic leaders in Congress. This failure not only signified a fatal political error by the president, it insured a break between FDR and a number of Democrats—especially Southerners—who harbored qualms about the direction of the New Deal.
"A Bridge Too Far"
Angered by the opposition of Democrats in Congress, FDR determined to rid himself of his political opponents in Congress by campaigning against conservative Democrats running for re-election in 1938. Among those slated for defeat by FDR were Sen. Walter George of Georgia and Sen. “Cotton Ed” Smith of South Carolina. FDR personally campaigned for their opponents, but they won anyway.
Conservative Coalition
Just as the New Deal produced a new “liberal” coalition, opponents of Roosevelt and the New Deal coalesced into a new, conservative coalition. Republicans often combined with conservative Democrats to block new legislation offered by the White House. As a result of FDR’s political missteps, the New Deal more or less came to a halt after 1938.
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