bai nghe( 28-11-2008)

A number of popular leaders with strong views began to attract support from large numbers of Americans. Roosevelt saw his national unity falling apart. Conservatives were accusing him of socialism. Leftist opponents said he was doing too little to end the depression. He saw that he had to change his path. Roosevelt knew he had little chance to re-gain the support of conservative Americans. His policies were too progressive. So halfway through his first term as president, he began to support new reforms in an effort to win more support from the left.

The Supreme Court made the president's effort easier. Early in nineteen thirty-five, the court ruled that several of Roosevelt's earlier programs violated the Constitution and ordered an end to them. Among them were major programs for farmers and industrial planning. The court's decisions forced Roosevelt to create new programs and try new ideas. One of his first new actions was to support a plan for government controls on companies that produced electricity and water. Another was a bill to give jobs to workers. A third new law forced companies doing business with the federal government to pay workers a minimum wage.