US History · 11th Grade · Depression, New Deal & World War II · Weeks 19-27

Second New Deal & Social Security

Investigate the Second New Deal, including the Social Security Act and its long-term impact.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.Eco.13.9-12
• C3: D2.Civ.5.9-12

About This Topic

By 1935, the First New Deal had stabilized the economy without resolving the Depression, and FDR faced pressure from multiple directions. From the political left, Senator Huey Long promoted his Share Our Wealth program, promising radical income redistribution to every American family. Father Charles Coughlin used radio to build a mass audience for increasingly anti-bank and anti-capitalist messages. Dr. Francis Townsend proposed a generous pension for all elderly Americans that attracted millions of supporters. These challengers pushed Roosevelt toward more aggressive action.

The Second New Deal, centered on 1935 and 1936, produced the period's most durable legislative achievements. The Works Progress Administration employed over 8.5 million Americans in public works and also funded writers, artists, and theater companies through Federal Project One. The Social Security Act established unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, and aid to dependent children. The National Labor Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. The Revenue Act of 1935 raised taxes on large incomes and corporate profits.

The Social Security Act represented a fundamental shift: for the first time, the federal government accepted ongoing responsibility for citizens' economic security at structurally vulnerable stages of life. Active learning works well here because the Second New Deal's programs and critics represent genuine competing visions of government's proper role that students can evaluate using evidence.

Key Questions

1. Analyze the goals and key programs of the Second New Deal (e.g., WPA, Social Security Act).
2. Explain how the Social Security Act fundamentally changed the relationship between citizens and the federal government.
3. Evaluate the criticisms of the New Deal from both the left and the right.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the primary goals and key programs of the Second New Deal, such as the Works Progress Administration and the Social Security Act.
• Explain how the Social Security Act fundamentally altered the relationship between American citizens and the federal government.
• Evaluate criticisms of the Second New Deal from both progressive and conservative perspectives, citing specific examples.
• Compare the effectiveness of programs from the First New Deal with those of the Second New Deal in addressing the Great Depression.

Before You Start

The First New Deal

Why: Students need to understand the initial goals and programs of the New Deal to analyze the evolution and focus of the Second New Deal.

Causes of the Great Depression

Why: A foundational understanding of the economic crisis is necessary to grasp the context and motivations behind New Deal legislation.

Key Vocabulary

Works Progress Administration (WPA)	A major New Deal agency established in 1935 that employed millions of job seekers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and also funded arts projects.
Social Security Act	A landmark 1935 law that established a system of old-age benefits, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependent mothers and children, fundamentally changing the federal government's role in economic security.
National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)	A 1935 law that guaranteed the rights of most private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action, including striking.
Revenue Act of 1935	Also known as the 'Wealth Tax Act,' this law increased taxes on higher income levels and corporate profits, reflecting a progressive redistribution of wealth.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Social Security covered all Americans from the beginning.

What to Teach Instead

The original 1935 Social Security Act explicitly excluded agricultural workers and domestic servants, occupations disproportionately held by Black Americans. This exclusion was the result of deliberate pressure from Southern Democratic congressmen who refused to support any legislation that would give Black workers economic independence from white employers. Students who examine the actual text of the original act and the congressional record understand that the exclusion was intentional, not incidental.

Common Misconception

The New Deal ended the Great Depression.

What to Teach Instead

The Depression was not fully resolved until wartime mobilization in 1940 and 1941. Unemployment remained above 14 percent as late as 1940, and a significant recession in 1937 reversed several years of recovery. The New Deal provided relief, reformed key institutions, restored public confidence, and prevented the Depression from deepening further, but full employment required the massive government spending of wartime production, not New Deal programs alone.

Active Learning Ideas

Role Play: FDR's Critics from the Left

Student groups take on the roles of Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and Francis Townsend, preparing two-minute presentations of each critic's position and their proposed alternative. The class then debates: were these critics right that the New Deal did not go far enough, and were their alternatives workable? Groups must respond to each other's arguments with evidence.

45 min·Small Groups

Document Analysis: Social Security Then and Now

Students read brief excerpts from the 1935 congressional debate over the Social Security Act, including who was covered and who was explicitly excluded. Pairs then examine current Social Security structure and benefits. Discussion focuses on: what was the original intent, what major changes have occurred since 1935, and what debates from the original legislation continue today?

35 min·Pairs

Structured Discussion: Left and Right Critiques of the New Deal

Students receive two short readings: a conservative critique arguing the New Deal violated property rights and created federal dependency, and a left critique arguing the New Deal protected capitalism rather than fundamentally reforming it. Small groups identify the strongest point in each critique and evaluate it against evidence from New Deal programs and outcomes. The class builds a matrix of critique types and the evidence for each.

40 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Social Security retirement benefits continue to provide a crucial income source for millions of retired Americans, impacting personal financial planning and national economic stability.
• The infrastructure built by the WPA, such as post offices, bridges, and parks, still exists in communities across the United States, serving as tangible reminders of New Deal programs.
• Labor unions, whose collective bargaining rights were strengthened by the National Labor Relations Act, continue to negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions for workers in industries from manufacturing to healthcare.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'How did the Social Security Act represent a fundamental shift in the role of the federal government?' Ask students to identify at least two specific provisions of the Act and explain how they created new federal responsibilities towards citizens.

Quick Check

Provide students with a short list of Second New Deal programs (e.g., WPA, Social Security Act, National Labor Relations Act). Ask them to write one sentence for each, explaining its primary goal and one specific criticism it faced from either the left or the right.

Exit Ticket

On an index card, have students write one sentence explaining the main purpose of the Social Security Act and one sentence describing a lasting impact of the Second New Deal on American society or government.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Second New Deal and how did it differ from the First?

The Second New Deal (roughly 1935 to 1936) was more explicitly redistributive and pro-labor than the First. Where the First New Deal focused on relief and economic stabilization, the Second established lasting structural changes: Social Security, labor rights through the Wagner Act, and a larger federal role in direct employment through the WPA. It was also shaped by pressure from left-wing challengers like Huey Long and Francis Townsend, who pushed Roosevelt toward bolder action.

What was the Social Security Act and what did it do?

The Social Security Act of 1935 created three main programs: old-age pensions for workers over 65, unemployment insurance administered through the states, and aid to dependent children. It represented the federal government's first permanent acceptance of responsibility for citizens' economic security at vulnerable life stages. The original act excluded agricultural workers and domestic servants, which disproportionately excluded Black Americans from benefits.

What were the main criticisms of the New Deal from the left and right?

Critics from the right argued the New Deal violated property rights, created federal bureaucracy that threatened individual liberty, and fostered dependency on government rather than self-reliance. Critics from the left, like Huey Long and later labor activists, argued the New Deal did not go far enough, protected corporate power rather than challenging it, excluded too many workers from benefits, and should have included more fundamental redistribution of wealth and power.

How can role play and debate help students evaluate competing critiques of the New Deal?

When students take on the roles of Huey Long, Father Coughlin, or Francis Townsend and must articulate those positions using historical evidence, they are forced to understand arguments they may find unfamiliar or counterintuitive, which builds genuine historical empathy and analytical flexibility. Structured debates between left and right critiques of the New Deal also teach students that major policy achievements can be simultaneously criticized from multiple directions, which is a more sophisticated framework than simple approval or disapproval.