The Second New Deal

Why Roosevelt introduced a Second New Deal

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First New Deal had responded to the emergency of the Great Depression in 1933. By 1935, unemployment had fallen but remained high. Many Americans still lacked a dependable income, and the first measures had not given everyone lasting protection against poverty.

The Second New Deal began in 1935. It continued relief for people in immediate difficulty but placed greater emphasis on reform: changing the relationship between ordinary Americans, employers and the federal government. Roosevelt wanted more work for the unemployed, stronger workers’ rights, help for poor farmers and greater security for older and vulnerable people.

Political developments also encouraged further action. The 1934 congressional elections had strengthened supporters of reform. Meanwhile, Supreme Court decisions against parts of the First New Deal showed that some earlier measures needed replacing. For example, the National Recovery Administration was struck down in 1935.

The WPA: helping people through paid work

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was established in 1935. It provided government-funded jobs rather than simply giving unemployed people money. Across its lifetime, it employed about eight million Americans: this was a cumulative total, not eight million people working simultaneously.

Its work included public works projects and employment in the arts. It also employed women on projects such as sewing blankets and clothing for hospitals and relief agencies. This mattered because unemployment affected people with many different skills, not only construction workers.

Paid employment provided immediate relief and could help recovery through pump-priming. A previously unemployed worker could spend wages on food, clothing and other goods. That spending increased demand, encouraging businesses to produce more and potentially employ more workers. Government spending was therefore intended to set a wider recovery in motion.

The WPA’s achievement was substantial, but it did not guarantee equal opportunities. Women faced restrictions on the work available to them, and African Americans experienced discrimination in hiring. Nevertheless, the WPA eventually employed around 350,000 African Americans annually. It brought real assistance without removing racial or gender inequality.

Work relief also depended on government funding. When Roosevelt reduced spending in 1937, another downturn followed. Although its causes are debated, this demonstrated how fragile recovery remained. The WPA could relieve unemployment, but it had not created a fully self-sustaining recovery.

The Social Security Act: protection beyond an immediate crisis

The Social Security Act of 1935 addressed a different problem: people could face poverty because they were too old to work or had lost their jobs, even after the immediate Depression emergency passed.

It established a pension scheme funded by contributions from workers and employers. Workers initially paid 1% of their income into the scheme, matched by their employer. This linked retirement support to contributions made during employment, rather than leaving older people entirely dependent on relatives or charity.

The Act also provided for unemployment support and federal assistance for vulnerable groups, including families with dependent children and very poor older people. It marked an important change: the federal government accepted a continuing responsibility for Americans’ financial security.

However, it was not universal protection. Domestic workers were originally excluded from Social Security coverage. This particularly disadvantaged African American women, many of whom worked in domestic service. The Act’s lasting importance must therefore be weighed against the unequal reach of its original provisions.

The Wagner Act: strengthening workers’ rights

The Wagner Act of 1935 changed the balance between workers and employers. A trade union brings workers together to represent their interests. Without legal protection, an employer could discourage organisation by dismissing workers who joined a union.

The Act protected workers’ right to join trade unions. Employers could no longer dismiss workers simply for joining a union or establish company-controlled unions as substitutes for independent organisations. It also created the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) to help uphold the new protections.

This gave workers a stronger position from which to seek better wages and conditions. Union membership reached about nine million by 1940, evidence of the growing importance of organised labour.

However, legal protection did not remove conflict between employers and workers. Strikes increased, and some became violent. The Act strengthened workers’ rights rather than guaranteeing peaceful relations or automatically improving every worker’s pay.

The RA and FSA: addressing rural poverty

The Depression also exposed the insecurity of people who worked the land without owning it. Sharecroppers paid landowners with part of their harvest, while migrant farmworkers travelled to find work. Families displaced by the Dust Bowl could face both unemployment and inadequate housing.

The Resettlement Administration (RA) aimed to help the rural poor, including helping families settle on their own land. Its importance was that it addressed living conditions and access to land, not simply the prices farmers received for their crops.

In 1937, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) replaced the RA. It offered loans to poor farmworkers and sharecroppers to help them buy land. It also provided camps and temporary housing for migrant workers and people displaced by the Dust Bowl.

These measures addressed different needs. A land-purchase loan could help a family establish a more secure livelihood, whereas temporary accommodation could improve conditions for a family still moving in search of work. However, a loan was repayable assistance, not a free grant of land, and temporary housing was not itself a permanent solution to poverty.

How successful was the Second New Deal?

The Second New Deal combined immediate relief with longer-term reform. The WPA supplied paid work; the RA and FSA targeted rural hardship; Social Security introduced continuing financial protection; and the Wagner Act strengthened organised labour.

Its greatest significance was the broader responsibility accepted by the federal government. Americans increasingly looked to the state for help with unemployment, retirement and protection at work, rather than relying only on private charity or individual effort.

Its achievements were nevertheless uneven. Discrimination and exclusions limited who benefited, and unemployment remained high. The strongest judgement is that the Second New Deal substantially improved relief and established important lasting protections, but did not by itself end the Depression or provide equal security for every American.

Purpose and chronology

From 1935: further relief and reform because unemployment and insecurity persisted. Reform supporters gained strength after the 1934 congressional elections; Supreme Court rulings weakened earlier measures.

Measures to recall

• WPA, 1935: government-funded employment; about eight million people employed over its lifetime. Wages supported demand through pump-priming, but discrimination and dependence on public spending limited its impact.
• Social Security Act, 1935: pensions, unemployment support and assistance for vulnerable groups. Established continuing federal responsibility, but originally excluded domestic workers.
• Wagner Act, 1935: protected union membership; prohibited dismissal for joining unions and company-controlled unions; created the NLRB. Union membership reached nine million by 1940, but industrial conflict continued.
• Resettlement Administration: helped the rural poor and aimed to help families settle on their own land.
• FSA, 1937: replaced the RA; land-purchase loans for poor farmworkers and sharecroppers, plus camps and temporary housing for migrant workers and Dust Bowl victims.

Overall judgement

Relief: jobs and assistance reduced immediate hardship.

Reform: stronger workers’ rights and longer-term financial protection expanded the state’s responsibilities.

Limits: unequal access, continuing unemployment and fragile recovery. The Second New Deal improved security but did not end the Depression.