Over the course of the 1930s, Franklin D. Roosevelt created what became known as the New Deal Coalitionfarmers, workers across the middle classes, labor unions, blacks, and (in varying degrees) progressive business leadersof voters that allowed the Democratic Party to dominate national politics well into the 1960s. In this essay, consider how FDR cultivated such a durable party comprised of traditional Democratic constituents as well as those who had previously been Republican or outside of the political mainstream altogether. Why did each of the core groups (farmers, middling classes and unions, and blacks) give their support to the New Deal? What specific programs appealed to each of them? What social, political, or economic situations necessitated special programs? How did the existence of this bloc of voters change American politics during the 1930s?
