The Hemorrage in the Democratic Party

This, however, created chaos in other public programs for instance, Medicare and Social Security. Reagan was fairly ‘laissez faire’ and delivered on his promise to decrease government-intervention by reducing federal regulations on business and industry, a policy preferably known as deregulation which had begun under Carter’s presidency (Newman and Schmalbach 650). Nevertheless, Reagan opposed labor unions-he once fired thousands of striking air traffics who were against their contracts- and many businesses followed suit by taking strict measures against striking. As a result, labor union membership and striking drastically decreased as the economy grew tough during the Recession of 1982, and foreign competition for American jobs made jobs insecure and negatively affected worker’s wages (Newman and Schmalbach).

Many different arguments emerged from Roosevelt’s New Deal. Some people believed that FDR was against the idea of business, they had no hope for the economy, and thought that the United States would be in debt forever. In the letter to Senator Robert Wagner, the author explains the unemployment rates, and how the government hasn’t done anything to stabilize the economy. In fact, the author believes that communism is arising and everything clashed together will lead to a “disaster to all classes”. Meanwhile, Franklin Roosevelt was creating jobs to decrease unemployment rates, and he created the National Industrial Recovery Act, which proposed fair competition and collective bargaining for workers. The author of this letter is proven wrong because in fact, America did turn around, and FDR’s policies were ultimately extremely effective. The unemployment rate was brought up again in an NBC radio broadcast by John L. Lewis in 1936. This broadcast spoke about the “labor unrest”, the strikes that unemployment has provoked, and the major issue of huge corporations having the right of self-organization and collective bargaining. Once again, Franklin

As the Great Depression rolled in, a cry for the involvement of government in matters of the economy was sent out as the United States reached an all time low. When Wall Street crashed, millions of

Initially, the intent of labor unions was for employed workers to meet together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives and goals. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War, in the United States- responding to the industrial economy boom. Following the war, labor unions finally reached public popularity within the 1930-1950’s, and then again began to slowly decrease, through the 1960’s and on to today’s times. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries.

Throughout FDR’s New Deal acts, the role of the government regarding economic affairs had expanded greatly. With a previous laissez faire mindset, the Federal Government had never interfered in the economic situation of the American citizens. However, with the New Deal policies, the National Government had become involved in the competition with private businesses, greatly angering business owners (Document 1). These wealthy owners had viewed that the Government should focus its resources on fixing areas such as the South and not restrict the rights of their employees for the benefit of the government. During this time, the government had provided jobs to those in need and a steady cash flow for the American economy, however it had left the country with an astonishing six billion dollar debt (Document 3). The American nation began to feel as if the government was

Preceding the Great Depression, the United States went through a glorious age of prosperity, with a booming market, social changes, and urbanization; America was changing. At the end of the 1920’s and well through the 1930’s, America was faced with its greatest challenge yet; the 1929 stock market crash. It would be the end of the prosperity of the “Roaring Twenties”. Now the American government and its citizens were faced with a failing economy. President Herbert Hoover was clueless to how to approach the problem. Hoover believed that government works best when it governs less, and should not intervene in the economy. Traditionally, he stayed out the issue hoping that the economy would fix itself; it didn’t. Hoover’s inaction makes his presidency look ineffective as if he caused the Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) succeeded Hoover as president. Like Hoover, FDR didn’t know exactly how to help the economy. Unlike Hoover, FDR introduced experimental ideas and programs to help solve the issue. These ideas and programs would become a part of Roosevelt 's policies known as the New Deal which sought to fix America’s economic struggles. Despite short term successes, the New Deal implemented during the 1930 's by FDR did not lift the United States out of the Great Depression. Instead by intervening in the economy, and creating huge debt, the New Deal prolonged the Great Depression.

I chose the Democratic National Committee, or DNC, as the political party organization that I want to study. I selected the Democratic National Committee because it sets the core values of the Democratic Party and Democrats in the United States. Political parties, such as the Democratic Party, are a vital way of representing concerns of the public as well as an outlet for voters to express their values and competencies (Stonecash, p. 83 & 84). Therefore, the Democratic National Committee is responsible for creating an agenda and selecting candidates that will uphold the party’s policies. Although committees are important at both the state and local level, the national level is where noteworthy and lasting changes are made for the

On a side note, I'm happy to say that a good portion of Sanders' supporters I've met at campaign events are completely dissatisfied with the Democratic Party. At several events, event organizers have asked those in attendance, "Who will vote for Hillary if Bernie doesn't get the nomination?" More often than not, at least half the room doesn't raise their hands.

Although successful in the end, FDR’s New Deal had some setbacks along the way. A concern of labor unrest and disregard of labor laws was discussed in a NBC Radio Broadcast regarding big businesses. (Doc G)

The role of unions and their importance has changed over the years. A mixture of poor wages, high unemployment, non-existent benefits and insignificant professional stability amongst the more youthful era makes a ready demographic for restoration. The younger era is the slightest unionized section of our general public today by a long shot. Unions are important in today’s society because checks and balances are necessary entities in business and government, so if CEOs are just focusing on themselves and profits, unions are a necessary check to all that corporate power. Today and in the future, labor unions will continue to play an important role in our country 's work force and the quality of life for working families.

While Democrats argued that protective tariffs would be detrimental to consumers, especially from the South, tariff revenues were able to give America an edge over other nations in the market. Even though tariffs would result in more jobs, help eliminate poverty, and protect workers, corporations failed to pass their benefits to workers, and gained monopolistic power. Furthermore, adhering to the gold standard was another critical economic decision for Republicans. In effort to replace “bimettalism,” Republicans adopted the gold standard. While it did attract investment capital from European nations, and led to the exchange of U.S. bonds and currency, the gold standard plummeted the nation’s money supply as silver was more abundant. Thus, the national policies implemented by the Republicans during the Civil War and Reconstruction were able to stimulate economic growth, but also at times hinder growth.

Labor laws were improved as the NLRB and the FLSA established systems to negotiate disputes between employee-employer disputes and set minimum wages, respectively (Danzer 1383). Their effectiveness was subjective, however, as many critics claimed that companies refuse “to deal with their employees through collective bargaining … that leads to widespread labor unrest” (Document G). Many of these reforms were also questioned because, combined with the rest of the problems Roosevelt intended to solve, he turned the federal government into a multi-tasking giant. Document C exposes how, while Roosevelt tries to depict his plans as a natural evolution, it is in fact a staunch change from what the federal government’s actual purpose is. While some of these New Deal programs were cut back by Congress, the increasing power of government can still be observed

The history of political parties in the United States has always hinged upon the key sectarian differences of the times in which such parties were existent. The very foundation of political parties in this country, which began with the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, is demonstrative of this fact as those two groups were largely split on the issue of national versus states' rights and the implementation of a national bank. As the country matured from its initial beginnings in the latter part of the 18th century, the issues of sectarian differences evolved to include key aspects of sectional proclivities between the North and the South, and the impact of those differences on the burgeoning western portion of the U.S. The South favored slavery and the economic prosperity it brought to that region, whereas the North was in favor of the elimination of slavery and a transition to a more industrial economy. These sectarian distinctions were largely manifested in the political parties of the day, and explain the rise and dissolution of the national Democratic Party, which yielded to the Republican Party whose highly influential president Abraham Lincoln's election was integral in the loss of the Union and the beginning of the Civil War.

Many factors that led to the crash of the financial markets in 2008. Liberals and conservatives have differing views on the reasons for this crisis. From 1980 to 2007, deregulation, HUD, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and bank management pushing banks to make high risk loans caused the market to shatter. Hedge funds contributed a humongous portion of the market crash. A commission of conservatives and liberals was established to try get to the bottom of how the stock market crashed. The name of the commission to conduct this study is Financial Inquiry Commission.

The economic crisis that showed all the contradictions of capitalism led to an increase of a deep political crisis in the USA in late 1920?s. October 29, 1929 is known in the American history as the Black Tuesday. It was the date, when the American stock market collapsed. In such economically difficult situation, in November 1932, a regular presidential election took place. The Democrat Franklin Roosevelt, who spoke with the program the New Deal, came to presidency. It was a series of social liberal programs applied in the United States in 1933-1938 in response to the Great Depression. The New Deal was focused on three main principles: relief, recovery, and reform.[footnoteRef:1] They promised to bring the country to prosperity and economically stable future. However, the Conservatives criticized the New Deal during the whole period of the reforms. It was expressed by Herbert Hoover in Anti-New Deal Campaign Speech in 1936 and Minnie Hardin in 1937 in a Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt. [1: (notes)]