An excerpt from "History of the American Working Class" by Anthony Bimba, revised edition, 1936
The following main tendencies characterize this period:
(a) Inability of the ruling class to overcome the crisis.
(b) Contradictions in the ruling class over the uneven distribution of profits under the New Deal
(c) Disillusionment of large sections of workers, farmers and petty bourgeoisie with the Democratic and Republican parties, giving rise to the development of a Farmer-Labor Party movement
(d) The struggle for industrial unionism in the trade union movement
(e) Growing menace of fascism
(f) Inner crisis of the Socialist Party -- widening gulf between left-wing Militants and old-guard reactionaries
(g) The growth and influence of the Communist Party and the development of a movement for a united front.
The glowing promises of President Roosevelt to usher in prosperity through his New Deal did not materialize. The country still finds itself in the depression. The National Recovery Act has been ruled out by the decision of the United States Supreme Court which declared the N.R.A. unconstitutional for the simple reason that it was no longer needed by the uppermost strata of the ruling class. The N.R.A. had accomplished its mission. Prices had soared sky-high, the standard of living of the masses had been lowered, the profits of the big bankers, great corporations, and the trusts had been restored and greatly increased, the illusion of the workers that the N.R.A. guaranteed the right to organize and strike had begun to be dangerous. The Supreme Court had to act according to the wishes of the Bankers' Association and the Manufacturers' Association.
