Title: The New Deal Definition
Headings: The New Deal
The New Deal
What Was the New Deal?
Key Takeaways
Understanding the New Deal
History of the New Deal
Was the New Deal a Success?

Content: 2 ﻿﻿ It consisted of a variety of government-funded programs aimed at getting people back to work, as well as legislation and executive orders that propped up farmers and stimulated business activity. The New Deal engendered controversy by introducing a number of radical reforms and increasing the government’s role in guiding the economy. Several of its programs were ultimately declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, including two major pillars: the National Recovery Administration (NRA)—which set working conditions, minimum wages, and maximum hours, while guaranteeing the right of labor to bargain collectively —and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), which intended to stabilize farm prices. 3 ﻿ 4 ﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿
Public opinion was for the New Deal, though, and, as a result, in February of 1937 Roosevelt tried to increase the number of Supreme Court justices in order to prevent future programs from being shuttered. 5 ﻿﻿ Though he failed in this court-packing attempt, he succeeded in his objective. In May 1937, the Supreme Court declared the Social Security Act to be constitutional by a five-to-four vote after one of its justices changed his anti–New Deal stance. No other New Deal program was ever again judicially invalidated by the court. 6 ﻿﻿
The New Deal was enacted in two parts: the first in 1933 and the second in 1935.