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The Second New Deal
Like the proposals of the “first” New Deal, those of the “second” lacked any unifying theme or ideology. However, in many ways, they sought to remedy things overlooked in 1933, or new problems arising from problems in implementing programs of the First New Deal. Thus, FDR and Congress created a host of new agencies and programs—many supplanting old ones.
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)--also known as "Wagner Act"
Also known as the Wagner Act (after its sponsor, Sen. Wagner of New York), the NLRA replaced Section 7(a) of the now-defunct NRA. However, NLRA went beyond the protection of workers’ right to bargain by establishing an enforcement apparatus—the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to investigate “unfair labor practices” and conduct elections between rival unions.
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| President Roosevelt
signing Social Security Act of 1935. Also shown, left to right: Rep.
Robert Doughton (D-NC); Sen. Robert Wagner (D-NY); Rep. John Dingell,
Sr. (D-MI); Unknown man in bowtie; Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins;
Senator Pat Harrison
(D-MS); Congressman David L. Lewis (D-MD). Library of Congress photo,
LC-US262-123278. |
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
| The centerpiece of the Second New Deal, the
Works Progress Administration subsumed earlier federal
relief//work-relief programs, such as FERA and PWA. In contrast
to these earlier programs, the WPA operated directly out of Washington,
bypassing the states. WPA also extended work relief beyond the
usual construction and heavy labor jobs to include arts and culture. |
Right: Agricultural Extension
Bldg. at Louisiana State University, built by the WPA. |
 |
 |
Right: A flier from the WPA's
Federal Music Project, which employed musicians to entertain the
puiblic. Left: A Farmer's Market at Columbus, Georgia, constructed by the WPA. |
 |
The Social Security Act
More important than WPA was the passage of the Social Security Act. Social Security provided pensions for certain categories of workers after age 65, as well as workmen’s compensation and unemployment benefits. By bringing federal benefits directly into the hands of so many citizens, Social Security bound people even more closely to support for FDR and the New Deal.
 Left: A Social Security
Card. |
 Right:
A Social Security Check. |
Public Utitility Holding Company Act
| This act, signed in August 1935, was the
work of anti-trust advocates within the New Deal administration.
This act required integrated utility companies to separate their
investment
and operations divisions. Anti-trusters believed this would
create
more competition by breaking up the worst monopolies and preventing
destructive
concentration of wealth. |
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| The most serious challenge to the New Deal
emerged not from radicals and leftists, but from the right—namely, the
conservative Supreme Court. In quick succession, the Court handed
down two decisions in May of 1935 declaring both the AAA and NRA
unconstitutional. Many feared the programs of the Second New Deal
would not be far behind. In 1935 and 1936, the Supreme Court declared two cornerstones of the New Deal—NIRA (Schechter) and AAA (Butler)—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. |
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