The Appearance Of Fairness In Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Historians disagree as to the extent of New Deal’s effectiveness for African Americans. Franklin D. Roosevelt created a series programs to aid in the recovery of Americans after the Great Depression. The New Deal is a turning point in American history. African Americans underwent both social and politic challenges during the New Deal. The historical interpretations are mainly focused on the government’s role and whether Roosevelt was willing or not to advance African Americans. McMahon Badger Sitkoff are the three historians who focus on this issue. Each of them focuses on a different factor. McMahon asserts that Roosevelt’s political decisions and constitutional strategy were crucial in shaping radical social change. Badger says that Conservatives were blocking progress and refusing to confront southern attitudes. He saw the New Deal primarily as a way to help people survive through World War II, and that was what led to the transformation of American economics.

Sitkoff occupies middle ground and shows the limitations the New Deal had, while also highlighting the progress made after 1935. Roosevelt’s New Deal efforts and Supreme Court helped to give African Americans the legal protection they needed. Badger’s and Sitkoff’s interpretations seem most plausible. Although Roosevelt supported African Americans to a certain extent, WW2 was the catalyst for economic opportunities for African Americans. Roosevelt’s New Deal was not enough to help the Great Depression recover. World War Two brought employment opportunities to African Americans who served in the armed force. A. Philip Randolph’s campaign to desegregate military personnel was also a significant advancement. There are divergent opinions on the extent to which Roosevelt’s administration advanced African Americans in terms of their social, political and economic status.

Historians disagree on the extent to which Roosevelt was involved in the New Deal and his consideration of African Americans. McMahon shows that Roosevelt’s actions were driven more by the internal needs of his administration than by race. McMahon’s focus is to reveal the origins of the court decisions made by Roosevelt in support of African Americans. It is clear that the Justice Department and the Supreme Court were working to protect and extend African-Americans’ rights. McMahon explains that “the selection of Alabama Black and Kentucky Stanley Reed as the first nominees could have potentially affected the development liberalism in the South”. This highlights Roosevelt’s clear agenda to liberalise South politics, which was retaining its power with the lynch and poll tax laws that excluded African-Americans from voting. McMahon outlines a list of nine men that FDR appointed or elevated to a high court. Eight were unquestionably liberals. Roosevelt’s decisions culminated in Brown V Board of Education. It was this case that helped to lay the foundations for Civil Rights, particularly for African Americans. McMahon says that Roosevelt wanted to restructure federal courts for the benefit of racial activists, not promote legislation which would have destroyed his alliance (with southerners) forever. Roosevelt’s clever move to achieve change was hampered by conservatives who were part of his administration. Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff argues against this idea. She claims that African Americans will not be able to perceive the impact of judicial Reform for some time. The Roosevelt administration did not dismiss race, but it was definitely not a priority. In some ways it can be argued Roosevelt was just not sympathetic enough towards race issues in order to make radical changes. McMahon believes that Roosevelt achieved a New Deal and Civil Rights success not by legislation, but through political and constitutional strategies, allowing him the opportunity to advocate racial equity in an indirect fashion, which is questionable.

Badger believes, however, that Roosevelt’s contribution to African Americans was largely insignificant and ineffective. Badger states, “the New Deal, aware of the importance of maintaining southern congressional approval, did little in support of south black rights”. In the South, economic inequality and decline were exacerbated by the New Deal. Badger echoes this, stating that “New Deal programs in South regularly discriminated against Blacks and enforced Segregation”. New Deal agencies including the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the National Youth Administration enrolled a majority of blacks in their workforces. However, they did little for African Americans to recover from the Great Depression. Civil Conservation Corps for instance, did not enroll African American men at the same rate as whites. They were therefore kept in separate camps and denied access to higher-level positions. Federal Housing Act gave new home loan possibilities to white Americans but denied services to African Americans. This was done to segregate African Americans into urban areas. The South, despite Roosevelt’s progressive goals, was not willing to support them as it went against their traditional values and attitudes towards race and politics. Evidently, the conservative opposition of Congress and the reliance that was placed on local authorities, which were seen as acting in an undemocratic, non-New Deal manner, made these programmes ineffective. Badger writes that by 1940 blacks remained economically dependent, political impotent and segregated. African Americans were essentially ‘last employed, first fired’. White Americans had priority, which was reinforced with the popular, degrading slogan: No jobs for [Blacks] till every white man has a position’. McMahon has a different focus on the South than Badger, but both interpret that Roosevelt was not aggressive enough in his advocacy for equality. This is especially true of his New Deal initiatives. McMahon is of the opinion that Roosevelt, by appointing liberals to the Supreme Court, ensured its willingness and ability to support civil rights. Badger believes New Deal policy was not focused enough on the South. It maintained traditional patterns such as racial sexism and economic stagnation. McMahons assertion that Roosevelt sought to liberalise South seemed to contradict Badgers historic investigation, which seems to show that the South continued to be the most economically and racially disadvantaged part in the country.

Sitkoff’s point of view is similar to Badgers, who believes that Roosevelt did little initially for African Americans. Sitkoff says that the First New Deal (1933-35), which was a collection of programs, discriminated against African Americans. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 was designed to combat overproduction through a reduction in farm production, and an increase in food prices. This proved to be harmful to African American farmers. In a similar way, the Tennessee Valley Authority was not willing to hire African Americans in any office or clerical jobs. The TVA employed the lowest percentage of African Americans in comparison to other programmes. It also paid them considerably less than the whites. And it refused to let African Americans live in the newly-built areas. This shows that although the New Deal programs appeared to be a support for minorities, they actually perpetuated discrimination. Sitkoff also believes, as does Badger that Roosevelt failed in his efforts to combat lynching, police violence, and systemic segregation. Sitkoff asserts that ‘Certainly, blacks were as violently affected by racial conflict in the North and the South. Whites killed Negroes across the Mason-Dixon border in many major cities. Sitkoff is aware of the challenges in addressing problems and making significant improvements in the South. Sitkoff says that the NAACP couldn’t do anything to change the racial laws in the Southern states or local governments, nor could it force the federal government to take the corrective measures necessary. It is clear that the anti-lynching bill was an important issue. Between 1882 and 1968, there were 4,743 cases of lynchings committed in the United States. This was done primarily in Southern states in order to intimidate African Americans. Eleanor Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation was not passed despite the efforts of NAACP leader Walter White to influence Roosevelt. Roosevelt heavily relied on Southern Democrats. Roosevelt’s New Deal administration and program allowed segregation and white supremacy to dominate the South. It would take many years to eliminate.

Sitkoff interprets that, during the 1930s attitudes towards race changed, due to the shift of Southerners to the Democratic party and the influence of Eleanor Roosevelt. Sitkoff states that ‘the Black Cabinet established a vital link between New Deal and Civil Rights Movement.’ Mary McLeod Bethune founded Bethune Cookman College and was an important member of Cabinet. She advocated minority rights. Bethune, who was in charge of the Division of Negro Affairs of National Youth Administration and concerned herself with the employment of young African Americans, headed this division. According to Bethune, the New Deal provided African Americans with a unique opportunity to access the White House during Roosevelt’s administration and gain positions within government. Harold Ickes played an important role, too, in the effort to bring about change within the government for African Americans. Ickes ended the segregation between African Americans and whites in 1933 as the Secretary of Interior. Ickes promoted progressive policies as part of Roosevelt’s government, particularly trying to remove barriers for African Americans in terms of employment. Ickes also saw the New Deal, as Sklaroff notes, as a tool to combat discrimination. Sitkoff further discusses Eleanor Roosevelt’s role in helping African Americans gain confidence and their inclusion across all aspects of society, including education, employment and government. Eleanor Roosevelt worked to change the National Youth Administration, Public Works Administration, and National Labour Relations Act by associating herself and other prominent leaders. She championed African Americans’ civil rights and women’s rights. Roosevelt’s government was unable to provide immediate aid, but it did raise awareness of the black community and the gap between blacks and whites that lasted throughout the Civil Rights Movement. David Woolner, historian and author of the book The African Americans’ Experience in America: A History, says that African Americans were able to express their grievances for the first time to their government during Roosevelt’s era. African Americans found employment opportunities in areas they had never before been able to reach, despite the New Deal’s inequalities. Sitkoff argues the New Deal’s later years had a significant impact on African Americans.

Also, the fact that African Americans switched from Republican Party to Democrat is a major factor for why Roosevelt was able gain support for his New Deal policies. McMahon notes that “In 1936, despite the fact that southern support remained strong during the Depression, President Roosevelt and his Democratic Party gained in popularity throughout the North, giving him more freedom to govern as he wished”. Around 75 per cent of black voters voted for the Democrats. African Americans chose Roosevelt in 1936 because of his spending plans, which provided them with some relief from effects of the Great Depression. Sitkoff points out that black voters switched from Republican party to Democrat because they realised the lack of progress. Sitkoff states that despite continuing discrimination, blacks were more affected by the New Deal than whites. Over time, New Deal policies helped to accelerate progress for African American education, economics, and health. “By 1910, only two thirds of African American children between 6 and 25 years old were in schools. By 1940, this number was 20% higher.” Nancy Joan Weiss, an historian, highlights in her book “Farewell to Lincoln: Black Politics during the FDR era” the importance of economic concerns in shaping the black voting behaviour. African Americans came to realise that they were not the victims of government but could actually benefit from it. Weiss confirms that African Americans were more interested in the New Deal because of its economic benefits than their race. While the Republican Party offered little but an oppressive tradition ignoring African Americans and their problems, Democrats were able provide some economic help and the hope of better prospects. Badger, Sitkoff, and all three historians have noted this. However, they also challenge it, pointing out that Democrats did not offer a substantial result, despite their plan. Though black support led to economic growth, other racial problems were not addressed. These included laws about lynchings, police brutality, and other racial issues. McMahon Sitkoff Badger, all agree Roosevelt did not pass anti-lynching bills. Roosevelt’s reasons for not doing so could be that he was unable to gather enough support from conservative southerners or was afraid to alienate them. The New Deal policies of Roosevelt had a limited impact on African Americans, who were still being targeted by the government and lived in fear. This was contrary to what Roosevelt advocated. Roosevelt failed to meet the demands of African Americans despite an increase in their support for Democrats.

Badger makes the argument that WW2 is the main cause of the transformation of rural southern states. According to some, the New Deal hurt millions of poor people. The National Industrial Recovery Act, passed in 1933, cut production and raised wages above the market rate, which made it harder for employers hire people. It is estimated that African Americans lost about 500,000 jobs due to this programme. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 also reduced farm production and put black tenants who were in need of work into a difficult situation. Farmers were rewarded for producing less crops. This led to white landowners expelling black sharecroppers because they were no longer necessary. Social Security Act and Fair Labor Standards Act didn’t cover farmers or domestic workers, occupations that African Americans occupied in large numbers. Badger points out that ‘the number of African Americans working as farmers has fallen from almost one million in 1930, to just six hundred in 1978.’ This reinforces the fact that African Americans were economically and politically helpless under the New Deal. Notably, ‘It was economic forces that would lead to the diversification and restructuring of southern agriculture in the years following the war’. The South’s industrialisation began only after World War Two as government funds flooded into the South.

Badger argues that the New Deal’s influence in the South has been severely hampered by the poverty of the region and the hostility of conservatives. Roosevelt’s hesitation to discuss race with southern congressmen, or even to convince them of the importance of the issue, highlights the difficulty to make a change in African Americans’ lives. This is evident in the racism and violence that plague the south. Badger is right to make this argument, because the South has remained an area of extreme poverty. The South had low-wage and low-skilled workers who made less than their counterparts in other countries. McMahon reveals Roosevelt’s somewhat hostile approach to the South. Roosevelt wanted to destabilise Southern politics in order to further his liberal and progressive agenda. Badger’s view is that New Deal policies were a failure in the South, and African Americans were among the worst affected, something Sitkoff & McMahon fail to mention.