New Deal - Constituting America

Guest Essayist: Professor William Morrisey

Faithful readers of Constituting America’s 90-Day Study have followed the story of our constitution through each of our presidential elections. We have seen that the moral foundations of both of our constitutions—the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution that replaced it—find their most cogent expression in the Declaration of Independence. There, the Founders held the self-evident truth that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Governments must therefore be framed to secure those unalienable rights. Our God-endowed, or natural, rights—regulated by the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God—find security in our legal or civil rights, defended by a system of government so structured as to channel the ambitions of political men and women toward the guardianship of those rights. This requires a regime designed to empower the government so our rights can be defended effectively against those who threaten them, at home or abroad. At the same time, the powers of that government will check and balance one another, so that no single individual or group of individuals will likely usurp all those powers, setting us on the road to tyranny. America’s early Constitutional conflicts centered on the question of how much power should be placed in the hands of the national government vis-à-vis the states’ governments. But whether Federalists or Anti-Federalists, Hamiltonians or Jeffersonians, all of the principal founders aimed at securing the natural rights of Americans by the means of well-designed constitutional forms.

1984, Ronald Reagan Defeats Walter Mondale: Geraldine Ferraro Nomination As Vice President And The Constitutional Implications Of The Feminist Movement

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, Tony Williams 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 1984 Ronald Reagan Defeats Walter Mondale Geraldine Ferraro Nomination As Vice President And The Constitutional Implications Of The Feminist Movement, Cold War, Great Society, New Deal, Tony Williams

Guest Essayist: Tony Williams

Morning in America: Ronald Reagan & the 1984 Election

In his 1984 State of the Union Address, President Ronald Reagan laid out his principles and vision that had guided his first term and provided the foundation for his re-election campaign. He reminded voters that the economy was growing rapidly and was back on track after the horrific stagflation of the Carter administration. The “crisis of confidence” of the 1970s was conquered by a renewed American spirit. Reagan was proud to report that, “There is renewed energy and optimism throughout the land.” Indeed, he touted, “America is back, standing tall.”

A Different Take On Watergate

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, John Marini 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, A Different Take On Watergate, John Marini

Guest Essayist: John Marini

The American Mind with Charles R. Kesler: Presented by The Claremont Institute. Originally published on Jan 30, 2014 in the third segment with University of Nevada Reno Professor John Marini, Marini and Kesler discuss President Nixon and his losing battle with Washington bureaucracies. Used with permission.

PRESIDENT NIXON VS. THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE. An Interview with John Marini

John: You have to begin to see what Nixon’s plan was after the election, and there you get a better sense of his view that this is the last time that we’re going to be able to take on the centralized bureaucratic apparatus and be able to hold it back.

Charles: John, if Richard Nixon were a character in a western, who would he be? Simon Legree?

1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower Defeats Aldai Stevenson

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, James Legee 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 17. Topics, 1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower Defeats Aldai Stevenson, Cold War, Communism, James Legee, New Deal, Progressive

Guest Essayist: James Legee

The election of 1956 saw Adlai Stevenson again tasked with the unenviable duty of an electoral contest against Dwight D. Eisenhower, which, it will come as no surprise, did not end in Stevenson’s favor. Eisenhower is well known to students of history and government, Stevenson, a one-term governor of Illinois, barely garners a mention in most books on the Cold War. Despite his loss, Stevenson was an important bridge between the New Deal policies of the Roosevelt administration and the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson. He articulated a progressive platform that would guide the Democratic Party for the coming decades in regards to domestic policy. Electoral defeat is quite common for ideologues and intellectuals on both ends of the ideological spectrum, but part and parcel with his intellectual bend came a truly unique rhetoric for the role of government in society.

1948, Harry Truman Defeats Thomas Dewey, Strom Thurmond (“Dixiecrat”), Henry Wallace (Progressive Party): “States’ Rights” And Civil Rights Issues Raised By Dixiecrats

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, William Morrisey, Ph.D. 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 17. Topics, 1948 Harry Truman Defeats Thomas Dewey Strom Thurmond (“Dixiecrat”) Henry Wallace (Progressive Party) “States’ Rights” And Civil Rights Issues Raised By Dixiecrats, Declaration of Independence, New Deal, Progressive, Reconstruction, William Morrisey PhD

Guest Essayist: Professor William Morrisey

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1948: The Dixiecrats

The primary elections of 2016 have invited comparisons to political factions in American politics that haven’t appeared in such clear focus for nearly seventy years. Although the Republican Party of 1948 had papered over its divisions between moderate-to-liberal business interests on the East Coast—represented by New York Governor Thomas Dewey—and Middle-Western conservatives—represented by Robert Taft and, behind him, Herbert Hoover—Democrats split bitterly into three groups. The mainstream of the party nominated President Harry Truman; the left wing (which included democratic socialists and some communists) ran Henry Wallace on the ticket of the Progressive Party; and the segregationist, southern Democrats ran South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond on the ticket of the States’ Rights Democratic Party or “Dixiecrats.” In one of the most famous upsets in American political history, Truman overcame his party’s fracturing and defeated Dewey, although the Dixiecrats won the combined 38 electoral votes of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina. The Progressives failed to win a single electoral vote.

1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Thomas Dewey: Constitutional Implications Of Roosevelt’s Liberal Internationalism, United Nations

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, Tony Williams 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 17. Topics, 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Thomas Dewey Constitutional Implications Of Roosevelt’s Liberal Internationalism United Nations, Bill of Rights, Communism, Great Depression, New Deal, Progressive, Tony Williams, World War II

Guest Essayist: Tony Williams

Global War and Peace: The 1944 Election

In his 1944 State of the Union address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered a “Second Bill of Rights” that redefined the rights of the founding bill of rights. This radical pronouncement promised economic security and “positive rights” guaranteed by the federal government.

1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Unprecedented Run For A Third Term

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, Andrew Bibby 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 17. Topics, American Revolution, Andrew Bibby, Constitutional Amendment XXII, Progressive

Guest Essayist: Andrew Bibby

FDR’s Third Term and the Twenty-Second Amendment

On November 5, 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first and only U.S. president to be elected for more than two terms. A newspaper headline depicted the historic moment with a joke that captured the public’s ambivalence toward Roosevelt’s unprecedented break from tradition: “Safe on third!”

1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Alfred Landon: Administrative Centralization And Its Implications For Constitutionalism

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, Joerg W. Knipprath 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 17. Topics, 1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Alfred Landon Administrative Centralization And Its Implications For Constitutionalism, Civil War, Joerg W. Knipprath, Progressive, Supreme Court

Guest Essayist: Professor Joerg Knipprath

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, running for re-election in 1936, received 60.8% of the popular vote, second-highest popular vote percentage since that method of selecting presidential electors became dominant in the 1830s. Only Lyndon Johnson’s 61.1% over Barry Goldwater in 1964, Richard Nixon’s 60.7% over George McGovern in 1972, and Warren Harding’s 60.3% over James Cox in 1920 are on a similar scale. The electoral vote was even more lopsided, as Roosevelt defeated Kansas Governor Alf Landon 523 votes to 8 (46 states to 2). Only Ronald Reagan in 1984 (525 votes to 13; 49 states to 1 plus D.C.) and Richard Nixon in 1972 (520 votes to 17; 49 states to 1 plus D.C.) enjoyed similarly impressive margins since the modern two-party system emerged.

1932, The “New Deal”

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, Tony Williams 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 1932 The “New Deal”, Tony Williams

Guest Essayist: Tony Williams

In 1932, the U.S. economy reached its nadir during the Great Depression. Unemployment had risen to more than 20 percent, or 11 million Americans, matched by a similar number of the underemployed as factories and businesses closed their doors. Banks were closing at an alarming rates as people instantly lost their life savings. Hundreds of thousands of farmers and urban dwellers alike were suffering forecloses and lost their homes. Breadlines were long and strained the resources of private charities and local governments.

1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Herbert Hoover: How The Great Depression Threatened Constitutionalism

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, Daniel Cotter 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Herbert Hoover How The Great Depression Threatened Constitutionalism, Daniel Cotter

Guest Essayist: Daniel A. Cotter

The 1932 Presidential election took place during the height of the Great Depression. While a number of candidates ran on third party tickets, the main fight for the White House featured the incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover against Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt and none of the other candidates garnered more than 2% of the popular vote. Hoover had won the presidential election in 1928 on a pro-business platform promising continued prosperity. Nine months into Hoover’s term, on October 24, 1929, the stock market crashed, beginning the period that would become known as the Great Depression. The challenges created by the downward economic spiral consumed Hoover’s term and were a main focus of the 1932 presidential election.

1924, Calvin Coolidge Defeats Robert M. LaFollette, Burton K. Wheeler (Progressive Party), And John W. Davis: The Direct Election Of Presidents

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, Joseph Postell, Ph.D. 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 17. Topics, 1924 Calvin Coolidge Defeats Robert M. LaFollette Burton K. Wheeler (Progressive Party) And John W. Davis The Direct Election Of Presidents, Electoral College, Joseph Postell PhD, New Deal, Progressive, Supreme Court

Guest Essayist: Professor Joe Postell

From today’s standpoint, the presidential election of 1924 might appear to be an oddity or an outlier. In 1924 the nominees of both parties ran on a conservative domestic agenda of limited government and tax cuts. For this reason author Garland Tucker calls 1924 “The High Tide of American Conservatism.”

1912, Theodore Roosevelt’s “New Nationalism”

6. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 90 in 90 2016, William Morrisey, Ph.D. 6. Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 17. Topics, 1912 Theodore Roosevelt’s “New Nationalism”, Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, William Morrisey PhD

Guest Essayist: Professor William Morrisey

By August 1910, Theodore Roosevelt had been out of office for a year and a half. He was unhappy with President William Howard Taft’s performance. Although Roosevelt had effectively designated Taft as his successor and continued to esteem him personally, Taft wanted no part of the rising Progressive movement in American politics. By 1910, Roosevelt did, for reasons that remain controversial.

Posts

Constitutional Issues In The 2016 Election

1984, Ronald Reagan Defeats Walter Mondale: Geraldine Ferraro Nomination As Vice President And The Constitutional Implications Of The Feminist Movement

A Different Take On Watergate

1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower Defeats Aldai Stevenson

1948, Harry Truman Defeats Thomas Dewey, Strom Thurmond (“Dixiecrat”), Henry Wallace (Progressive Party): “States’ Rights” And Civil Rights Issues Raised By Dixiecrats

1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Thomas Dewey: Constitutional Implications Of Roosevelt’s Liberal Internationalism, United Nations

1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Unprecedented Run For A Third Term

1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Alfred Landon: Administrative Centralization And Its Implications For Constitutionalism

1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt Defeats Herbert Hoover: How The Great Depression Threatened Constitutionalism

1924, Calvin Coolidge Defeats Robert M. LaFollette, Burton K. Wheeler (Progressive Party), And John W. Davis: The Direct Election Of Presidents

1912, Theodore Roosevelt’s “New Nationalism”