The New Deal: The Great Economic Crisis in the United States Essay

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Introduction

The great economic crisis in the United States was of phenomenal proportions. Thirteen million people lost their jobs, tens of thousands of farmers went bankrupt, and the national banking system collapsed. In the U.S., unlike Western European countries, there was no social security system, and people found themselves facing the crisis alone. In the absence in the U.S. of a state system of social protection for victims of economic disasters, the crisis exacerbated social class contradictions and led to widespread labor unrest. America found itself in a pre-revolutionary situation, requiring radical changes in the old way of life. Upon becoming president, Roosevelt began to act immediately. In the first 100 days, Congress adopted 13 new laws on the initiative of the Roosevelt administration, as well as some other measures which greatly expanded the state’s regulation of the economy. Nevertheless, the president’s actions caused mixed reviews in society. In contrast, the programs of Long, Townsend, and Sinclair were very popular with the public.

Discussion

Hugh P. Long was elected to the U.S. Senate from the Democratic Party in 1930 but did not assume his duties as a senator until after his term as governor ended in 1932. Hugh Long said he was a “little fish” in Washington but a “big fish” in Louisiana. His entourage called him to flatter Hugh P. Long and to comfort his ego (Openstax). In the early 1930s, H. Long and F. D. Roosevelt were not irreconcilable opponents. In the 1932 presidential election, Hugh Long supported Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt saw his ideas for getting the United States out of the “Great Depression” that began in 1929 as his “best chance” for doing so. In 1933, Senator Long, agreeing with Roosevelt’s inaugural address and seeking to redistribute the unjust accumulation of wealth, put forward his plan. Hugh posited a capital tax of at least $10 million. This tax was intended to limit capital appreciation to hundreds of millions of dollars. The inheritance tax limited inherited capital to $5 million, and the income tax would not allow more than $1 million of income to accumulate in a year. This provided the economic basis for the future program.

Hugh Long thought Franklin Roosevelt would support his plan. However, Roosevelt did not share this view and was in no hurry to appoint Long to any position in the White House. The main reason why Hugh’s plan began to gain popularity was that he felt that the New Deal measures were not enough to alleviate the social and economic situation of the American people. After that, Long began to develop his activism nationwide. Hugh wrote that he was elected to the Senate for the sole purpose of spreading the wealth of the land to all people. He foresaw a depression in 1929, believed that wealth was concentrated in the hands of a limited number of people, and that only one percent of the population was solvent. The “Share Our Wealth” program meant a 100% tax on all annual income over $1 million and the appropriation of all fortunes over $5 million (United States. Congress). With this money, Long proposed to provide every American family with a comfortable income, which could not fail to find popularity among the population.

Francis Townsend proposed an old-age pension plan that would pay every retiree over the age of 60 $200 a month. The condition must be met that the person spends the money each month to receive the next payment. The purpose of the Tausend plan was to help retirees and stimulate spending to increase production and end the depression (United States. Congress. Senate. Committee On Finance 679). This politician’s program was designed to protect the financially vulnerable and therefore was quite popular.

In 1934 Sinclair ran for governor in California as a Democrat. Sinclair’s platform is known as the “End Poverty in California” movement. With 879,000 votes, he was the most successful candidate for governor, but incumbent Governor Frank Merriam defeated him by a wide margin with 1,138,000 votes (Literary Digest 8). Sinclair’s plan to end poverty quickly became a controversial issue under pressure from the many migrants to California fleeing the Dust Bowl (Literary Digest 8). Conservatives viewed his proposal as an attempt at a communist takeover of their state and quickly opposed it, using propaganda to portray Sinclair as a convinced communist. Sinclair was a member of the Socialist Party from 1902 to 1934, when he became a Democrat, although he always considered himself a Socialist in spirit.

Conclusion

The Socialist Party in California and around the country refused to allow its members to be active in any other party, including the Democratic Party, and expelled him along with the Socialists who supported his California campaign. Nevertheless, Sinclair’s socialist views, amid economic uncertainty and a sense of insecurity among many segments of the population, proved to be a necessary moral support and source of hope for many citizens. Thus, the plans of the three politicians became popular because they offered ideas that protected the economically vulnerable. Long and Sinclair sought to siphon off a portion of the funds from the wealthy population to the insolvent citizens. Townsend conducted programs to protect the interests of pensioners.

Works Cited

Literary Digest. Wahington.edu, Web.

Openstax. “U.S. History” Openstax.org, 2019, Web.

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee On Finance. Economic Security Act. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off, 1935.

United States. Congress. The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States. 1835

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