Question 4
Study sources E, F and G. Are these cartoons for or against Roosevelt? Explain your answer with reference to the cartoons.
Source E is blatantly against Roosevelt. It shows Roosevelt trying to work a pump by pouring a lot of water into it, but no matter how much he pours into it the pump won’t work because it leaks. This represents Roosevelt pouring all of America’s money into trying to solve the problems, instead or fixing the source of the problems. The pump is leaking the $16 billion that Roosevelt has already spent on the New Deal, showing that FDR is not spending the money wisely. A man is carrying a basin of water, representing the taxpayers meekly handing over all their money so FDR can pour it all away.
Source F is in favour of Roosevelt, showing Hoover leaving and Roosevelt coming into power. FDR is throwing out all Hoovers old policies of rugged individualism and Laissez-faire where the government didn’t believe it right to interfere with businesses. He is trying to get the forgotten men back to work, the ordinary people. He has put all the old policies in a rubbish bin so he can replace them with policies of action. Roosevelt is doing the work himself, and he is willing to get his hands dirty and work hard to help the country. He isn’t shown as a rigid politician like Hoover is, but he’s shown like a more ordinary, but very strong person. Hoover had the kind of attitude of “ignore it and it will go away”; Roosevelt wanted to make things happen. This can be seen in the one hundred-day period where he set up a lot of the alphabet agencies (9th March to 16th June), but the cartoon just says that it was published in 1933 so we can’t tell if it is before or after he had done this. The caption at the bottom says, “Getting Rid of the Rubbish”. This means all of Hoovers policies of saying that everyone will become rich, “prosperity is just around the corner,” and that Americans will have everything, are thrown away because things like that don’t happen without hard work, which is what FDR was willing to give.
Source G is both for and against Roosevelt. It shows him desperately trying to solve the depression, although none of his measures worked. He is shown as a doctor bringing in remedies for America, represented by an ill Uncle Sam, who is sitting down, looking at what is going on around him and twiddling his thumbs – as though he is just waiting patiently, possibly for death. There are many medicine bottles in the cartoon, showing that FDR has tried many different ways to help America but nothing has worked yet, although Roosevelt is shown as still being very positive. With Roosevelt is a maid representing Congress, looking at Roosevelt in a way to say that it will do anything he wants. This agrees with source C, where it says that Congress gave up much of its power to Roosevelt in 1933, which he supposedly used ruthlessly.
Source F was published in 1933, just as Roosevelt came into power, therefore it is likely that it would be supporting FDR because America was in very bad times and they were desperate for any change – they didn’t think it could get worse. Sources E and G however, are drawn in the mid 1930’s when Roosevelt’s New Deal had had a chance to work and the republican Supreme Court thought it was not working, and banned many of the alphabet agencies. This meant that the outlook for Roosevelt would not be as good as it was in 1933.
Question 5
Study Source H and I. Which source is the more useful as evidence about public opinion towards the New Deal? Explain your answer.
Source H is a letter to Roosevelt saying how wonderful he is. It is quite convincing in making us believe that Roosevelt was a good man who was concerned about people so much that he was prepared to help individuals. In this case the help was quite extensive and on a personal level, because Roosevelt had helped one of his many countrymen from being thrown out of his home. The letter may just represent the views of one family, but it suggests that many others were also helped, as they were “joining millions of others praying” for Roosevelt every night. Also, source H could have been propaganda, as Roosevelt published it as part of his election campaign. It could have been a manipulation of public opinion. The letter makes you think that this is the general feeling of everyone, but maybe FDR had been unsuccessful since he got elected in 1933 and felt he needed to be re-elected to try and prove himself to America and to himself. Source H is probably not very reliable because of this.
Source I is also praising Roosevelt in a “popular song”, however, we have no way of knowing how popular the song was; whether it was just a couple of states or all of them. The caption for source I states that it was a popular song, so many people in America must have liked it, therefore liked and supported Roosevelt. The fact that the song was written means that the writer knew people would like it, so Roosevelt’s popularity was known. It also mentions specific benefits such as improved employment and prosperity. One thing we cannot tell from source I is whether there were other songs popular at that time which criticised the president.
Overall, I think that source I was more useful and reliable as a source for public opinion, as it is a reflection of the public rather than one person’s view as in source ‘H’. Source I indicates that the public are happy that Roosevelt got back into power and they are hopeful and positive about how he will help them.
Question 6
Study sources J and K. Why do you think these two people disagreed about the New Deal? Explain your answer.
Fuller, writing source J, is fully against the New Deal. He was a self-made businessman at the time of the New Deal and resented being treated like a charity case and having things such as soup and welfare handed out to him. He says “men lost confidence in themselves” because of this. I think that he may have been worried that when the charity was taken away and men were left to fend for themselves again, they wouldn’t be able to – they would grow used to the handouts and come to rely on them. Businessmen were probably against the New Deal in general because it was in favour of paying fair wages, charging fair price, not using child or sweated labour, and basically causing them to make less money. Their profits would have been cut down and they didn’t want that, so they would have been supporters of Hoover and his Laissez-faire attitude because it let them get on with their businesses without interference. Because of this, Fuller is likely to be very biased.
Source K was in favour of the New Deal, she liked the fact that ordinary people could be given a “better chance in life” because they had lost everything in the depression. Even though the rich had also been hit hard, they still had something left to live on. However this source is not entirely reliable because Perkins worked for Roosevelt and was in charge of employment. She would not work for him unless she was a supporter of his. This means she would say that the New Deal was good and effective because if she did not then she would be saying that she was not good at her job.
In source J Fuller says Roosevelt didn’t realise that he was hurting men by giving them charity, but source K says that they realise the rich were hit hard but they still had something left. If the rich still had something left then Roosevelt would have no need to give to them. Another difference is that Fuller says that welfare kills a mans initiative, and they do not need donations, but Perkins says that the ordinary people were desperate and did need it.
Question 7
Study the following interpretations of the effects of the New Deal.
- The New Deal helped many Americans and by doing this it gave them self-respect. It gave them confidence to lift the United States out of the Depression.
- The New Deal wasted a lot of money; it made people dependent on the government and led to the government becoming too powerful. It did not solve America’s economic problems – the Second World War did that.
What interpretation is best supported by the evidence in the sources and your knowledge of American history? Explain your answer.
Many of the sources supported the first interpretation of the New Deal; they are as follows:
Source A is part of a speech made by Roosevelt. It supports the first interpretation because it is saying that the promise of the New Deal is accepted with confidence. The speech was before Roosevelt came into power so is full of hope, but is very bias as it is part of his election campaign so he would be promising that everything would get better. He promises to take action, and is very enthusiastic, using powerful words to reach to the people for support such as “pledge” and “war”.
Source B mentions the restoration of self-confidence and how much things had changed, from the discouragement of 1933, to the hope that there was when Roosevelt was in power. It also disagrees with the second interpretation when it denies charges that FDR was a dictator and that the government did not have much power as it could be voted out. An American historian wrote this source in 1945 – the year Roosevelt died in office, so there would be no gain in being bias either towards or against Roosevelt. This shows that the source is probably quite reliable.
In Source F Roosevelt is portrayed as being very strong and enthusiastic, although he was disabled and was very rarely seen standing. The cartoons caption says “Getting Rid of the Rubbish” as FDR is throwing out all of Hoover’s policies and speeches. This source is clearly in favour of Roosevelt, saying that he is the way forward for America. As in source A, this was drawn before Roosevelt came into power, so it is very hopeful of good things happening rather than backing up the first interpretation by showing the good effects of the New Deal from what has actually happened.
Source H is a letter thanking Roosevelt for all he did for an old couple, but it also implies that others were helped, as he says millions of people pray for FDR. This is similar to the first interpretation where it says how many Americans were helped by the New Deal, however it was published as part of Roosevelt’s re-election campaign so it my just be propaganda.
Source I is a song, again supporting the first interpretation. It says how everyone has been helped by Roosevelt coming back into power, and that there are no more breadlines and people have started to get jobs again. Many people would have agreed with the first interpretation in 1936, as the song was a popular one.
Source K also supports the first interpretation by saying that it gave the forgotten man a better chance in life, because at least rich people had something left to live on. This source may have been biased because the author had worked for Roosevelt so might exaggerate.
There are also sources that support the second interpretation:
Source C is biased from the beginning, the title “The Roosevelt Myth” means that Roosevelt wasn’t for real, a myth isn't true. It says that one in four people depended on the government. This is mentioned in the second interpretation, as well as how the government had too much power. The source also supports this interpretation by saying that the Second World War saved Roosevelt and America rather than his New Deal.
Source E is defiantly supporting the second interpretation because is says Roosevelt was throwing money away. There is a weak looking taxpayer watching Roosevelt pour the money into the New Deal, although we can see that however much money he poured in, it would still leak. It shows that he had too much power, because otherwise someone would have been able to stop him from wasting the money. This source shows clearly that the New Deal didn’t solve America’s problems.
Source J backs up interpretation two because the speaker was a businessman who would be against the New Deal because by offering better salaries and working conditions, the businessman would make less money. Businessmen would have supported a more laissez-faire government because it meant he could run things his own way. He was saying that it is a bad thing to have to depend on the government.
Other sources show signs of supporting both interpretations:
Source D is a photo supporting the second interpretation in that there is a breadline, with lots of people depending on the Government for handouts. However, the large poster behind them says that America has the world’s highest standard of living. Although the photographer was most likely pointing out the irony, the poster shows that America still had quite high moral and still had its pride, which backs up the first interpretation.
Source G shows Roosevelt trying hard to lift America out of the depression, making many remedies (alphabet agencies) which supports the first interpretation. It also supports the second because it shows that the remedies were not working, and although Roosevelt was still positive and wouldn’t give up, the picture portrays that “Uncle Sam” is dying. Congress is represented as being meek with no power, therefore Roosevelt has too much as it says in the second interpretation.
It is clear that there was a big difference of opinion concerning the success and failure of Roosevelt’s policies. Opinions probably differed so much because a lot of what was reported was partly true, and partly false. Some of the writes obviously had very real criticisms of Roosevelt’s actions and if they were alive today they would have probably thought America would have been better off without Roosevelt. On the other hand, history has shown us that America has never had such poverty as those years following the Wall Street Crash and from that point of view you can argue that Roosevelt must have been successful. Overall I think that interpretation one is best supported by the evidence given in the sources A-K.
Use the sources and your knowledge of American history to explain why there has been so much disagreement in the USA over the effects of the New Deal.
Source A is a very positive source, but if you compare it to source C is makes you wonder how truthful they both are, having such varied opinions. Source A is a speech made by Roosevelt in preparation for the upcoming election and Source C is from a book called “The Roosevelt Myth”. It looks as though both of these sources are biased. In the run up to the election campaign Roosevelt most likely embellished the truth in hope to get voted in, and the title of source C is biased – the contents even more so. In Source A Roosevelt says he will restore America, but according to source C the cities were filling up with unemployed workers. He also says that Roosevelt’s reputation was sinking in 1938, although gives no conclusive proof for this. However, source B is a judgement written after Roosevelt’s death, therefore there is no need or reason for it to be biased. As a reliable source agrees with source A, A may be reliable as well.
Source D shows people having different experiences. It shows that while the white population were prospering, with a car and a happy family, supposedly hiving the world’s highest standard of living. The black population were the first to be fired and the last to be hired, and still queuing for government relief. Generally, black people also got paid less than white people. Therefore, if the photographer may have been trying to portray the unfairness of it all, or he may have been trying to point out the irony. He was probably looking for some controversy.
Sources H and J also disagree. Source H is just one families view because they benefited from the New Deal, but we do not know if this is a common situation or a one off. Source J is written by a businessman, complaining about the New Deal because it ultimately forced him to cut his profits. These people would have different views of the effects of the New Deal, because they experienced different aspects of it, such as businessmen having to cut profits by paying workers more, and poor people getting dole money and being able to keep their houses as in source H.
Sources E and F strongly disagree, but this time I think it is because of the time they were drawn rather than the types of people that drew them. Source F was drawn in 1933 just as Roosevelt was coming into power, so everything was hopeful because things couldn’t get any worse, whereas source E was drawn in the 1930’s, probably after Roosevelt had taken over as President. This means source E would have been analysing the New Deal when it had started, rather than assuming and hoping for greatness.
In the mid 1930’s, the New Deal had started taking affects and there were mixed feelings towards it. In 1936 the Supreme Court (republicans that didn’t support Roosevelt) banned many of the alphabet agencies – this made some people lose faith in the New Deal and think it was failing. This was when source G was drawn, and that could be why it had such mixed feeling about Roosevelt’s attempts at lifting America out of the depression.
The Secretary of Labour in Roosevelt’s New Deal government in the 1930’s wrote source K, so she would be biased in favour of Roosevelt’s New Deal because if she were not, then she would not have been working for him.
Different groups of people got treated very differently, especially in the 1930’s. People disagree if they have different experiences of life than each other, like employers and employees, or different races and genders of people. Businessmen would generally be against the New Deal because of the NRA which stopped sweated labour, got fair pay for workers, and charged reasonable prices for customers and inevitably cut employers profits. These are also the reasons employees were in favour of the New Deal – they were treated better for it. Black people on the other hand were not treated as well as white people - there were no special agencies for them. Time also changes peoples opinions, for example there was generally a lot of hope around during the hundred days when Roosevelt was taking action, getting ready to become President, but a few years later when things were not aspiring to these hopes, peoples views changed. Places of employment changed people’s views too - if someone was working for Roosevelt then they would most likely support him, however unemployed people may not support him as they had hoped for jobs and been let down by him.
