New Deal
New Deal Political Cartoon Gallery
By March 1933, when Franklin Roosevelt took office, America lay in the depths of the Depression with an unemployment rate of 25% of the country's workforce - between 12 and 15 million unemployed Americans (Leuchtenburg, 2005 and Freidel & Sidey, 2006). The nation was thrust deeper into the economic crisis as stocks plummeted 75% from 1929. In the four years between 1929 and 1933 suicide rates had tripled.
Respected modern historian and Professor of History Emeritus at Stanford University, David M. Kennedy, reported on the success of New Deal reforms, “All the major New Deal reforms that endured had a common purpose: not simply to end the immediate crisis of the Depression but also to make America in the future a less risky place.” (Kennedy, 2009). The most significant and enduring policies created under the New Deal included the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), the National Recovery Agency (NRA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and the Social Security Act.
The foundations for FDR’s New Deal Policy were laid in the first hundred days of his presidency, causing sweeping changes and an assembly of programs and policies aimed at “relief, recovery, and reform” (Fishback, 2008). The main goals of the New Deal policies were to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relieve the unemployed, elderly and those in danger of losing farms and homes (Fishback, 2006 and Freidel & Sidey, 2006).
FDR’s first act as president was to declare a national banking holiday in order to evaluate the state of banks around the country, 11,000 of 25,000 of which had already failed by 1933 (PBS, n.d.). Within days of taking office, Roosevelt closed the remaining banks for a ‘Bank Holiday’ in which he avoiding a run on deposits and capitalised on an opportunity to have auditors examine the banks, only reopening banks that were deemed as sound (Leuchtenburg, 2005).
Political cartoons exemplified criticism of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies and actions towards dealing with America’s economical deficits and unemployment at the depths of the Great Depression. Ironically, FDR’s advocation for the Freedom of Speech often resulted in expressions of criticism towards his own actions and policy by the press. Cartoon artists from a plethora of newspapers and magazines depicted Roosevelt, whether critically or in praise of his influence and efforts to recover the nation. Collections of these cartoons created documentation of his presidency: from his inauguration, through the New Deal’s turmoil and triumphs, to the Second World War. The remaining cartoons covering topics other than the New Deal are located in the gallery section.
Some scholars, such as Patrick Maney, criticise the credit given solely to FDR in regard to the New Deal policies of the first hundred days, claiming that, “the early New Deal was hardly a one-man operation.” (Maney, 2009).
By 1935 the nation had achieved some measure of recovery, but businessmen and bankers grew increasingly against Roosevelt’s New Deal program. As a way of funding many of Roosevelt’s projects, the wealthy business communities and citizens earning large salaries were taxed heavily under the 1935 Revenue Act, while the poor received aid prescribed by Roosevelt (Fishback, 2008). Due to this, public sentiment in highly industrial areas and business communities often vilified Roosevelt and his New Deal (PBS, n.d.). An example of this left winged view can be seen through the judgement of Dr. M. Santos, a Cuban-born optometrist, “As to the New Deal, I believe that it has been a failure as it has protected the trusts more than the American people. Today the poor are poorer, and the trusts are richer.” (Library of Congress Santos, 1936-39). This view presented by Dr. Santos demonstrates an alternate telling of the outcomes of the New Deal policies, while Roosevelt, aware of this concern, explicitly assured the public, “no person should try, or be allowed to get rich out of this program; and the principle of tax payments in accordance with ability to pay should be consistent.” (FDR Presidential Library1, 1941). Santos’ statement juxtaposes with the reality of the situation and Roosevelt’s speech, which, supported by vast documentation, demonstrates that the rich ‘trusts’ were in fact heavily taxed based on their wealth to pay for programs which helped the poor. His views were shaped by disagreeable personal experience causing bias and his social position as a businessman, which clearly influenced his evaluation of Roosevelt’s policies and success.
Aspects of the New Deal attracted great controversy and some programs within it were complete failures, however as a collective group of programs and legislation, it brought great national relief, social insurance programs, regulations and procedures that remain a large part of modern American society and government. Stanford Professor and American History specialist, David Kennedy, offered a perspective that correlates with this conclusion, “taken together, those measures (the New Deal policies collectively) laid the foundation for unprecedented economic growth and broadly shared prosperity in the years after World War II.” (Kennedy, 2009). Under Roosevelt’s administration multiple aspects of the American economy had undergone recovery, and the foundations for future stability were laid, including policies and plans for public assistance and federal management of financial markets, banking stability, and financial aid for the elderly and unemployed (Fishback, 2008).
Political cartoons exemplified criticism of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies and actions towards dealing with America’s economical deficits and unemployment at the depths of the Great Depression. Ironically, FDR’s advocation for the Freedom of Speech often resulted in expressions of criticism towards his own actions and policy by the press. Cartoon artists from a plethora of newspapers and magazines depicted Roosevelt, whether critically or in praise of his influence and efforts to recover the nation. Collections of these cartoons created documentation of his presidency: from his inauguration, through the New Deal’s turmoil and triumphs, to the Second World War.