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Difficulty: MediumThe New Deal: Policies, Reforms, and Debates

Herbert Hoover, *The Challenge to Liberty*, 1934:

"We are faced with a decision of whether we shall support the American system of liberty or whether we shall surrender to a system of federal regimentation. The New Deal is attempting to replace our system of individual initiative and cooperative effort with a government-planned economy that controls every detail of production and consumption. This is not reform; it is a step toward autocracy. By setting up government bureaucracies to dictate prices, wages, and output, the administration is subverting the Constitution and destroying the self-reliance that built this nation. The executive branch has assumed legislative powers, bypassing the balance of power established by our founders. If we continue on this path of unchecked federal expansion, we will permanently erode the rights of individual states and the economic freedom of every citizen."

The criticisms of the New Deal expressed in the excerpt align most closely with which of the following arguments?

  1. A
    The New Deal was a continuation of late nineteenth-century laissez-faire policies that rejected government intervention in the economy.
  2. The New Deal represented an unconstitutional expansion of federal authority that threatened individual liberty and the free-market system.Answer
  3. C
    The New Deal programs successfully ended the Great Depression by fully restoring employment through industrial regulation.
  4. D
    The New Deal established a federal welfare state by enacting comprehensive, federally funded health insurance for all citizens.

Answer

The New Deal represented an unconstitutional expansion of federal authority that threatened individual liberty and the free-market system.
The correct answer is correct because the passage reflects mainstream conservative and Republican criticisms during the 1930s, which argued that executive overreach and federal intervention in the economy subverted the Constitution and undermined individual freedom.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document for the author's central point and perspective.
The author (former President Herbert Hoover) criticizes the New Deal as 'federal regimentation' and 'autocracy' that bypasses the constitutional balance of power.
Identifying the author's viewpoint and key vocabulary is necessary to match the passage to broader historical debates.
2
Evaluate each option in relation to the author's perspective and the historical context of the New Deal.
The objection to the growth of federal authority and executive power matches the author's description of bureaucracy subverting the Constitution.
Connecting the source material to the correct historical theme confirms the right response.

Key Concept

Conservative opposition to the expansion of federal power during the New Deal.
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Topics

The New Deal: Policies, Reforms, and Debates

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