The reversal of progress occurred when Roosevelt ceased what was working and tried conservative calls to end deficit spending and balance the budget in 1937.
Absolute revisionism.
Why do you think they call it the "Roosevelt Recession"?
No credible historian attributes the budget cuts to anyone but FDR himself. FDR wanted a balanced budget, totally believed in it, and thought the economic battle was over. Morgenthau agreed. But Harry Hopkins raised strenuous objections.
Blowing smoke again?
"The Roosevelt Recession
In 1937, Roosevelt began to scale back deficit spending, because he believed that the worst of the Great Depression had passed and because he was receiving pressure from conservatives in Congress (and even from ardent New Dealers in his own cabinet). The size of the Works Progress Administration, for example, was severely reduced, as were agricultural subsidies.
This decision to cut back spending turned out to be premature, however, as the economy buckled again, resulting in what became known as the Roosevelt Recession. The stock market crashed for a second time in 1937, and the price of consumer goods dropped significantly. Contrary to conservative beliefs, the economy simply had not pulled far enough out of the depression to survive on its own. The embattled Roosevelt only made himself look worse by trying to place the blame on spendthrift business leaders. The American people were not convinced, and as a result, Democrats lost a significant number of seats in the House and Senate in the 1938 congressional elections. This return of Republican power effectively killed the New Deal."
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