The Politics of Upheaval

The Age of Roosevelt, 1935–1936

Arthur M. Schlesinger

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9780547524252
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Political Biographies
• Index: History

In the third volume of his series on Franklin Roosevelt, the Pulitzer Prize–winning historian focuses on the turbulent final years of FDR's first term.

A measure of economic recovery revived political conflict and emboldened Roosevelt's critics to denounce "that man in the White house." To his left were demagogues—Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and Dr. Townsend. To his right were the champions of the old order—ex-president Herbert Hoover, the American Liberty League, and the august Supreme Court. For a time, the New Deal seemed to lose its momentum. But in 1935 FDR rallied and produced a legislative record even more impressive than the Hundred Days of 1933—a set of statutes that transformed the social and economic landscape of American life. In 1936 FDR coasted to reelection on a landslide. Schlesinger has his usual touch with colorful personalities and draws a warmly sympathetic portrait of Alf M. Landon, the Republican candidate of 1936.

"One of the most important historical enterprises of our time."— Saturday Review

 

"Vividly portrays…the concluding years of Roosevelt's first term…[and] the sweep and excitement of an era more historically dramatic than most."— Time

Index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

Abbott, Edith, 269

Acheson, Dean, on Brandeis, 222; on need for change in attitude of Supreme Court, 492; supports Roosevelt, 634; mentioned, 220, 479, 519

Addams, Jane, 182–83

Adkins case, 457, 479, 480, 481, 482

Adonis, Joe, 132

Agar, Herbert, 71

Aged, the depression and, 29, See also Townsend, Dr. Francis E.

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), under increasing attack, 3; challenges to, 6; Communists in, 201, 201; and NRA, 214; shift in domination of, 386; Negroes under, 431, 433; constitutionality argued, 470–71, 472–74; declared unconstitutional, 488, 490, 504, 505; substitute program devised after death of, 504; Liberty League disapproves, 518

Alabama Power Company, 364, 373, 475

Alabama Supreme Court. 429

Aldrich, Winthrop, favors two-year extension of NRA, 272; opposes banking bill, 298; speaks against excess reserves, 512; and the Liberty League, 523; and Landon, 539; warns of inflation, 571; mentioned, 519

Algren, Nelson, 168

All the King’s Men, Warren, 60

Allen, Florence, 440

Allen, Governor Oscar K., 58

Alsop, Joseph, 227, 442

Altschul, Frank, 604

Amalgamated Clothing Workers, 132, 563

American Banking Association, 297, 301, 501

American Civil Liberties Union, 88, 92, 321

American Commonwealth Political Federation (AFC), 150–51, 548, 549

American Federation of Labor, 87, 269

American Federationist, 283

American Institute of Public Opinion, 283

American Labor party, 593

American Law Institute, 481

American League against War and Fascism, 198–99, 567

American Liberty League, formation, 16, 32; condemns Guffey coal bill, 335; holds Labor Relations Act unconstitutional, 449; erupts into furious activity against New Deal policies, 518; Al Smith addresses meeting, 518–20; wealthy backers of, 520, 522–23; regarded as a political failure, 523

American Magazine, 187–88

American Review, 70, 71

American Socialist Quarterly, 179

American Vigilantes, 82

American Writers’ Congress, 167, 200

American Youth Congress, 199

Amlie, Thomas, 143; ideology, 144–46; and formation of American Commonwealth Political Federation, 150; on the Industrial Expansion Act, 217; sees end of New Deal liberalism, 500; on third-party possibilities, 548; refuses to attend Minnesota Farmer-Labor convention, 549; on the Union party, 560; and the Progressive National Committee, 596; mentioned, 7, 106, 129, 147

Anaconda Copper Company, 136

Anacostia Flats, B.E.F. at, 79

Anderson, Sherwood, 52, 99, 165

Angel!, James W., 297

Anti-Saloon League, 32, 40

Appeal to Reason, 142

Appleby, Paul, 141

Arkwright, Preston, 310

Army Corps of Engineers, 376, 378

Array Intelligence. See G-2

Arnold, Thurman, 451, 487

Arthurdale, W. Va., Negroes barred from, 432

Arvin, Newton, ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Title
• Copyright
• Foreword to the Mariner Edition
• Foreword
• Epigraph
• I. Prologue to Stalemate
• I. The Theology of Ferment
• 2. The Rise of the Demagogues
• 3. The Old Folks’ Crusade
• 4. The Messiah of the Rednecks
• 5. The Dream of Fascism
• 6. Revolt in the Old Northwest
• 7. Utopia in the Far West
• 8. The Melting Pot Boils Over
• 9. Insurgency on Capitol Hill
• 10. Radicalism: American Plan
• 11. Radicalism: European Plan
• 12. Growth of a Conspiracy
• II. The Coming of the Second New Deal
• 13. Ordeal by Indecision
• 14. Roosevelt in Retreat
• 15. The Death of NRA
• 16. Breakthrough
• 17. The Utilities on the Barricades
• 18. Triumph and Tranquility
• 19. The Battle of Relief
• 20. Power for the People
• 21. The Ideology of the Second New Deal
• 22. The Politics of the Second New Deal
• 23. The Roosevelt Coalition
• III. The Crisis of the Constitution
• 24. The Seat of Judgment
• 25. The Supreme Court Takes the Offensive
• 26. Storm over the Constitution
• IV. The Campaign of 1936
• 27. Shadows Ahead
• 28. Dissidence among the Democrats
• 29. Revival among the Republicans
• 30. Mumblings in the Night
• 31. The Democrats on the Brink
• 32. The Coalition in Action
• 33. Saving the American Way of Life
• 34. The People Speak
• 35. “Trustee for Those in Every Country”
• Notes
• Index
• Books by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
• About the Author
• Footnotes