About the New Deal (Edited: Found & added something like what I remembered)

[vintx]

Last edited Thu Mar 24, 2016, 07:16 AM - Edit history (1)

I have been told that the Democratic party only adopted the planks which were the foundation of the New Deal after losing a lot of votes to the Populist party.

I have not been able to find any background on this recently, though I am pretty sure I had found something on it before. I was curious if anyone here is familiar with the evolution of the New Deal. Any information would be appreciated.



UPDATE:

Found it!

"Many of liberalism's most important ideas were lifted from these movements. Indeed, Milton Friedman has been heard to describe Thomas's Socialist Party as having been "the most influential party in the history of this country," as every one of its 1928 platform planks had later been enacted." (Friedman was referring to the fact that the New Deal Democrats had borrowed rather liberally from Thomas, just as Woodrow Wilson had borrowed from borrowed from Eugene Debs's Socialists, and Democrats under Williams Jennings Bryan had taken ideas from the Populist Party.)

from Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Most Important Ideals - Eric Alterman

[Hoppy]

1. The Populist Party disappeared by 1900. It began as an offshoot of the Graingers.

By 1912, Lafollette and Roosevelt had established the Progressive Party. It disappeared with the prosperity of the 1920's.

[vintx]

2. Wasn't one of those the party from which these planks were adopted?

Wasn't the reason they were adopted due to votes shifting from Dems to the other party?

[Hoppy]

3. There were several populist planks that became law. Among them, the silver standard to replace gold.

Direct election of senators.

[vintx]

4. Thanks, but I was more curious about what motivated Dems to adopt

those particular planks which were part of the New Deal.

[Hoppy]

6. --- a couple of theories about that...

As you know, the country was in tatters when F.D.R. took office. His campaign platform was that he had plans to set the country right. However, he never said what those plans were. After the election there was a four month delay before inauguration. (Now, there is roughly a two month delay.) Hoover offered to let Roosevelt begin is plans to recover the economy. Again, F.D.R. declined to state any plans nor implement any.

After inauguration, he immediately set to work with his cabinet to decide what plans were needed and how to implement them. Bank closures were a problem. One of the first things he did was to close all banks for three days. Auditors were hired to examine the books of the remaining banks. Those that were sound, were allowed to reopen. Some were closed as being insolvent. That is an example of a specific need and a specific solution.

Other projects were begun to address unemployment: C.C.C., W.P.A.

In the background to this was the escalating and perceived threats of communism and socialism. Some feared that if something were not done to reduce the poverty in the nation, there could be a revolution, similar to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. Remember, that revolution was only 15 years prior and was fresh in the minds of government leaders.

The socialist candidate for President, Eugene Debs got hundreds of thousands of votes when he ran for president -- while he was a U.S. prisoner.

I hope this helps.

[vintx]

8. That sounds similar to what I remember, didn't know irt was 20 years though.

I appreciate your help.

[vintx]

11. Just wanted to add that I managed to find something like what I remember reading before

It does align with what you're saying, except the Debs era planks were not the ones I was thinking of.

[Hoppy]

14. I guess, Google the Populist Party planks and Progressive Party.

Progressives were responsible for income tax, child labor laws, workmens comp laws, food and drug safety among others.

[vintx]

15. Yep, I'm familiar with the laws. The thing I'm curious about is what motivated the Dems

What was it which caused them to adopt so many planks from the Socialist party's 1928 platform

[Recursion]

5. "After" in the sense of "30 years later", yes

However, there was also a populist movement in the 1930s (though it wasn't called "The Populist Party"; to the extent it had a name it was "The Ku Klux Klan&quot that influenced the Democratic party in the 1930s; key figures there include Huey P. Long, Charles Coughlin, and Strom Thurmond.

[vintx]

7. Which planks did the Dems adopt from the KKK?

No idea what you're talking about.

A cite would be appreciated.

[Recursion]

9. The New Deal, for one

If you've literally never heard of the racist foundations of the New Deal (and this seems to be depressingly common) I doubt I'd be able to convince you by sending you a reading list; however, a good start is Ta-Nehisi Coates's "The Case for Reparations" and Ira Katznelson's "Fear Itself".

[vintx]

10. So the only source for your claim is one book.

Got it.

[Recursion]

12. No, as I mentioned those are starting points

Both of which contain pretty extensive bibliographies, which I have read, and which if you are actually interested in the question you might like to read (both are popular works but reference a lot of scholarship).

I'm (perhaps foolishly) taking you at your word that you've somehow actually never heard of this line of criticism on the left over the past two decades, rather than just actively refusing to let it through your filter.

[vintx]

13. You can stop now I found the actual history thanks. nt