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1932 › Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) › Overall role and scale of the federal government
An "economic declaration of rights" — the right to make a living and the right to safe savings
pledge_forwarddirectional_stancecandidate_directevidence A Economy & Fiscal PolicyExecutive PowerRelief, Welfare & Social Insurance⚡ The Great Depression similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Government to assist the development of "an economic constitutional order" under which every man has a right to a comfortable living through his own work and a right to the safety of his savings, restricting "the speculator, the manipulator, even the financier" where necessary. The era of expansion is over; the task is "enlightened administration" of existing plant, adjusting production to consumption and distributing wealth more equitably.
Rationale
The frontier is closed, industry is overbuilt and 600 corporations control two-thirds of it; equality of opportunity "no longer exists"; private economic power is "a public trust"; without a redefinition of rights "a rising tide of misery ... engulf us all."
Statements (5)
As I see it, the task of Government in its relation to business is to assist the development of an economic declaration of rights, an economic constitutional order.
Every man has a right to life; and this means that he has also a right to make a comfortable living. He may by sloth or crime decline to exercise that right; but it may not be denied him.
Every man has a right to his own property; which means a right to be assured, to the fullest extent attainable, in the safety of his savings.
The day of enlightened administration has come.
So far as possible, industry should be organized so that it will give every workman the right to earn a living through his own effort. Such influence as the Federal Government may exert should be directed to this end.
Follow-through
keptcontested among sources
Social Security (1935), the Wagner Act, federal relief and securities regulation gave institutional form to the 'right to make a comfortable living' and the 'right to safe savings'; the second inaugural's 'one-third of a nation' restated the unfinished part.
Mechanisms
| Date | Type | Name | Effect | Consistent? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935-07-05 | statute | National Labor Relations Act | yes | Statement on Signing the National Labor Relations Act. | |
| 1935-08-14 | statute | Social Security Act | yes | Statement on Signing the Social Security Act. |
Assessments
A welfare state was committed to in 1935.
Taken together, these programs represented a significant commitment to developing a welfare state in the United States.
Reception (2)
The Commonwealth Club speech is read in retrospect as the outline of the New Deal's expansive federal role.
In a speech in San Francisco, FDR outlined the expansive role that the federal government should play in resuscitating the economy, in easing the burden of the suffering, and in insuring that all Americans had an opportunity to lead successful and rewarding lives.
The Commonwealth Club thesis that the industrial plant is built means Roosevelt believes America's advance has ended — 'the philosophy of stagnation and of despair.'
This philosophy upon which the Governor of New York proposes to conduct the Presidency of the United States is the philosophy of stagnation and of despair. It is the end of hope.
Other positions on this issue
- War on any candidate who makes 'demagogic appeals to the masses' setting class against class — Alfred E. Smith, 1932 directional_stance
- Government as a check on concentrated economic power — "individualism" redefined as equality of opportunity — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 directional_stance
- Remove government from private enterprise except public works and natural resources — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 directional_stance
- "A new deal for the American people" — work and security through liberal, planned government action — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 vague_gesture
- Preserve 'ordered freedom' and equality of opportunity; reject a state-controlled or state-directed economy as 'tyranny' — Herbert Hoover, 1932 directional_stance
- Restore confidence by 'unshackling initiative': steady, open, non-partisan administration that stops 'fumbling with recovery' — Alf Landon, 1936 vague_gesture
- Fair, honest, economical and efficient government; preserve free enterprise against 'amateur economic planners' — Frank Knox, 1936 vague_gesture
1932-fdr-economic-constitutional-order · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed