The 1930s Government, Politics, and Law: Overview

The 1930s were dominated by the Great Depression, the biggest economic crisis the nation had ever known. Unlike economic crises of the past, the Great Depression was long lasting and touched almost every area of American life. Understandably, the government of the United States was driven between 1930 and 1939 by the need to end the crisis and to make sure it never happened again. Republicans and Democrats each had their own ideas about how to go about achieving those goals. The country also had small, vocal groups of socialists, communists, American fascists, and Nazi sympathizers, all of whom added to the debates. The sheer number of voices trying to be heard made the 1930s a dramatic decade in American politics.

Herbert Hoover became president in 1929. The 1920s had been a period of prosperity, and he inherited an economy that was outwardly strong. But within a few months, cracks started appearing. The stock market crash of October 29, 1929, triggered a chain reaction. Unemployment rose dramatically, prices fell, and banks began to go out of business. At first, Hoover and his Republican advisers believed that the markets would correct themselves. Hoover met with business leaders to persuade them not to lay off workers and not to cut wages. He initiated higher tariffs (taxes on imported goods) to protect American business from foreign competition. But in 1932, with unemployment over 23 percent, and no sign of improvement on the way, Hoover changed his policy. He put in place what was then the largest peacetime spending program in American history. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) made more than $1 billion available to business in the form of loans. Yet even that was not enough to save either the economy or Hoover's presidency. Franklin D. Roosevelt won the election for the Democrats in autumn of the same year.

Where the Republican administration had avoided interfering with the economy, Roosevelt favored taking direct action. For several years the United States had suffered poverty, homelessness, and great hardship. In his inaugural speech, Roosevelt promised a "New Deal" for Americans. The First New Deal (a set of government programs launched between 1933 and 1935) was aimed at the immediate problems of unemployment, homelessness, and the economy. In its first one hundred days, the administration poured billions of dollars into relief programs and job creation schemes, as well as plans to deal with the banking and farm crises. The Second New Deal (1935–37) marked a turn to the political left. At the center of the second phase was the Social Security Act of 1935. For the first time, unemployment insurance, public housing, and social security payments were available for those unable to fend for themselves. In his second term, Roosevelt would encounter problems as the economy continued to falter. But New Deal policies were responsible for lifting the American economy out of the slump and preparing it for the future. Roosevelt built a coalition of labor unions, women, African Americans, ethnic groups, and the middle class that redefined American politics and lasted until the 1960s.

Besides economic and political change, the 1930s also saw a change in attitude toward civil rights. Racism was deeply rooted in many areas of American life, and Roosevelt wanted to solve the growing problem. Unfortunately, the New Dealers had to back down from some proposed civil rights legislation in order to avoid breaking up their fragile political coalition. One area of social reform that did succeed was the repeal of Prohibition. By 1932, the American public had lost the will to maintain a legal ban on alcoholic drinks, mostly because the law had been so difficult to enforce. Although organized crime received less publicity after the 1933 repeal, it continued to spread to areas of business other than the production and sale of alcohol as the Depression took hold of the country.

The major international political issue late in the decade was the start of war in Europe. In 1937 there was widespread support for "isolationism" in the United States. An opinion poll found that 64 percent of Americans favored staying out of the growing conflict in Europe. In the next few years, however, Hitler's Germany became more troublesome, and relations with Japan grew tense. Support for isolationism began to fade. As the 1930s drew to a close, the United States built up its navy and armed forces and prepared for war.