DBQ Essay
Held before Franklin D. Roosevelt was the Great Depression, and the many problems with it. As the president, his duty was to do all he could to run the country and fix its problems, and so he created the New Deal. There were many who did not support Roosevelt's new deal, and some who were completely opposed to it. Therefore, the groups and individuals that most strongly opposed the New Deal were Huey P. long, who believed Roosevelt did not do enough, Conservatives, who believed Roosevelt did too much, and Herbert Hoover, who believed that Roosevelt wasted his resources.
Huey P. Long was a man on a mission. He vocally criticized Franklin Roosevelt for his approach towards the Great Depression. In January of 1935, Huey P. Long voiced his thoughts over the radio; "We are in our third year of the Roosevelt depression, with the conditions growing worse...We must now become awakened! We must know the truth and speak the truth. There is no use to wait three more years. It is not Roosevelt or ruin; it is Roosevelt's ruin." Clearly Huey saw Roosevelt as someone who could have done more, for later on in the radio broadcast Huey lists things he would do if he were the president;
"We would give a pension to all persons above sixty years of age[,] we guarantee food and clothing and employment for everyone who should work[, and] we will provide a home and the comforts of home, with such common conveniences as radio and automobile, for every family." Huey is pointedly saying Roosevelt has not done these things, and should have done them. This shows that Huey P. Long, like many others, strongly opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.
The Conservatives are men who value tradition. These said Conservatives view Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal as a law breaking new comer who must go. The political cartoon titled "Pinched for reckless Driving" was published in the Chicago Tribune in 1935; in this cartoon, Conservatives are portraying the Constitution as a policeman escorting the New Deal (a graduate) from his crashed car, the New deal states "No hick cop can stop me! I'll have you fired. I'll I'll", and the Constitution replies "I've heerd thet before!" The Conservatives see Roosevelt's New Deal as something that will not last because of its unconstitutionalism, and something that is too wet behind the ears. This proves the conservatives were deeply opposed to Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.
Rugged individualism led the way for Herbert Hoover, and he seemed to believe that every man should follow it as well. Hoover believed that Franklin D. Roosevelt was wasting his resources, mainly money, on unneeded things. As Hoover states;
"..this New Deal attack upon free institutions has emerged as the [most significant] issue in America. [This attack includes]...coercion and compulsory organization of men...great trade monopolies and price fixing through codes..."economic planning" to regiment and coerce the farmer...national plans to put the government into business in competition with its citizens...currency inflation...[, and] attempts to centralize relief in Washington for politics and social experimentation." Herbert Hoover is accusing Franklin D. Roosevelt of monopolizing the American trade and freedom, and put together, killing business. Herbert Hoover's statements towards Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal show how opposed Hoover was to it.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was opposed by many individuals and groups, including but not limited to: Herbert Hoover who found Roosevelt's New Deal to be a business killer, Conservatives who see Roosevelt as a law breaker, and Huey P. Long who believed Roosevelt did not do enough. These people have strongly opposed Roosevelt's New Deal, and were not too modest when it came time to prove it.
