4.10 The Second New Deal
By the spring of 1935, the forces of discontent were pushing Roosevelt to more action, and so was Congress. The 100 days from April until mid-July, the “Second” New Deal, produced a legislative barrage that moved the New Deal toward Roosevelt’s ultimate destination, a little left of center.
To help the many Americans who were still jobless, Roosevelt proposed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, with a record $4.8 billion for relief and employment. Some of the money went to the new National Youth Administration (NYA) for more than 4.5 million jobs for young people. The NYA provided job training and placement for those aged 18 to 25. The lion’s share of the appropriation went to the New Works Progress Act (WPA). The WPA provided jobs for older Americans. This was the largest work relief program in history. Before it ended in 1943, the WPA employed at least 8.5 million people and built or improved over 100,000 schools, post offices, and other public buildings.
The signature piece of the Second New Deal came about in the summer of 1935.
Social Security Act
The Social Security Act was ambitious. It provided old age insurance, and sought to help those who couldn’t help themselves – the aged poor, the infirm, and dependent children. In this commitment to the destitute, which during the Roosevelt administration were actually few in number – it laid the groundwork for the modern welfare state.
Social Security also acted as an economic stabilizer by furnishing pensions for retirees and insurance for those suddenly laid off from their jobs. A payroll tax on both employer and employee underwrote pensions after age 65, while an employer-financed system of insurance made government payments to unemployed workers possible.
Social Security marked a historic reversal in American political values. A new social contract between the government and the people replaced the gospel of self-help and older policies of laissez-faire. At last government acknowledged a broad responsibility to protect the social rights of citizens. The welfare state, foreshadowed in the aid given veterans and their families after the Civil War, was institutionalized, though its coverage was limited.
