Grant Larsen

Stone and Kuzinack combine a lot of New Deal procedures and policies, skipping over the names and acronyms of government services, and only discussing their effects on the economy and people. Stone writes his book in favor of nearly all the actions surrounding the New Deal, only critiquing the actions of trying to fill the supreme court with Roosevelt supporters and balancing the budget too early, furthering the recession. Stone frames the New Deal as a massive change for America, and puts it as the government helping the people, going after businesses and trying to restabilize the economy and people in the face of the Great Depression. The Bill of Rights Institute frames the New Deal as a view of extended government reach, also saying how some of their practices may have extended the Great Depression.

Stone challenges American businesses and how they meted out support for or against the New Deal. Stone frames it as a protracted fight, leading to FDR’s line and chapter title, “I welcome their hatred.” This fight includes FDR’s rejection of the gold standard, leading many conservatives, and some democrats to clash and criticize the New Deal. Stone counters many of these ideas though by naming Senator William Borah, a conservative who did support the New Deal. Borah did often say that conservatives should not criticize if they are not coming up with better solutions, and should support the people through the deal or make a better one for people. Stone made this contrast to further support FDR and the New Deal, framing it as the government reaching out to save the working people and the economy. Stone uses the information that despite FDR’s mistake in balancing the budget before it was ready and trying to pack the Supreme Court that was stopping many of his New Deal changes, FDR did a great amount of good and helped America with his ideas and policies.The Bill of Rights Institute made a lesson plan on the New Deal, including a video about three myths about the Great Depression with Stephen Davies, an Economic expert. The BORI focuses more on the Agricultural Adjustment Act, showing how it boosted the economy by growing less food, and bringing the prices up. While the BORI mentions potential plans for a second new deal from the Democratic party, they talk about how this plan was ruined by FDR trying to add six new Justices on the Supreme Court, which divided the Democratic party and caused a lot of work for New Deal programs to slow down. The BORI puts these together to make a more balanced approach to FDR and New Deal programs, giving a small focus to effective and divisive things FDR did, seemingly as a way to bring up debate for classrooms rather than fully one way or another. This contrasts with Stone, where he does not spend much time comparatively to these actions, instead showing how businesses fought against New Deal programs rather than problems from the Judiciary branch. The BORI does minimize the American people though, focusing on things FDR did rather than causes and effects, as well as how most people responded to those programs. The video included brings up interesting questions about how Presidents responded to the Great depression. Stephen Davies talks about myths no longer taught about the Great Depression, about how Herbert Hoover and FDRapproached the issue, and including how WWII did not end the Great Depression, showing how America suffered from the Great Depression longer than other countries. As BORI puts the video at the end of the essay, it is used to promote discussion on FDR and his policies, as well as how FDR was doing to help alleviate the effects of the Great Depression.