Opposition to Roosevelt

Franklin Roosevelt was one of the most popular Presidents of the United States, however like every American president he also had his opponents.

Republican Party (United States)

The main source of critique on Roosevelt was the Republican party. From the beginning they claimed that Roosevelt was making promises he could not keep. They especially questioned his ability of making job creation schemes a success. They argued that decent working Americans could not afford the amount of money Roosevelt intended to spend. The previous American president Herbert Hoover also made several accusations. He attacked Roosevelt for wasting government funds and using the money of Americans to support people without jobs. Hoover lived with the idea that people should not be dependent on the government in any way or else they might take their work less seriously.

Alf Landon

Another dangerous opponent to Roosevelt was Alfred Landon. Landon ran for president against Roosevelt and therefore tried to convince the public that Roosevelt’s ideas were worse than his own. He attacked the New Deal by saying it was “hostile to business”. Further he claimed that it would prove to be inefficient and a terrible drain on funds. Towards the end of the election he accused Roosevelt of corruption in the manner of gaining too much power.

Huey Long

Another prominent opponent of Roosevelt was a member of his own party (the Democratic Party). His name was Huey Long, he was an educated man; a lawyer who managed to succeed in politics. His views were much more socialist than Roosevelt’s and many would even define them as Communist. He believed in sharing of the wealth and promised that if he was president he would take away wealth from people who had over 3 million dollars and give 5 thousand dollars to every poor American. Even though Roosevelt had the same idea that Huey Long had he did not use the same techniques. Huey Long was the most effective critic of the New Deal, he inspired many to see how the New Deal was not doing enough for the lower classes. In 1935 Huey Long was assassinated and his ideas died with him.

Upper-Class

The upper-class population of America was generally an opposition to Roosevelt. This is because Roosevelt was a threat to their wealth. The rich Americans were upset because they had to pay taxes to support people who were not able to provide for themselves. They claimed that this went against the principles of America and liberty. They also accused Roosevelt of converting America into a totalitarian country. They supported these accusations by pointing out the heavy taxations that greatly restricted ones freedom to prosper. Also many members of the upper-class owned businesses, Roosevelt granted workers more rights and therefore again caused a threat to the upper-class’s wealth and dominance.

Father Coughlin

Also a Catholic priest by the name of Father Coughlin gained recognition for his open opposition of Roosevelt. He criticized the massive debt that Roosevelt built up through the New Deal. He accused Roosevelt of not taking enough precautions before spending money. He made a famous radio talk to which 10 million Americans tuned in. In this talk he described the huge amount of labour that the next generation of Americans will have to carry out in order to repay the debt; 70 billion hours of labour to be precise. A famous statement he makes is: “Seven seconds to coin the money and seventy hours to pay it back!”

Workers

Even though most workers were in fact the biggest supporters of Roosevelt, a small portion of workers however opposed him. These workers were not satisfied by the government simply granting them more rights. They wanted the government to support trade unions more actively, particularly when they were on strike. Roosevelt tried to avoid getting involved with trade unions because he feared a potential class struggle between the rich and the poor. This fact angered some workers as they believed he was capable of doing more for them.