American Liberty League
The American Liberty League was a short-lived U.S. political organization formed in 1934 to oppose major elements of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The American Liberty League was an American political organization established in Washington, D.C., in August 1934 by a coalition of conservative Democrats, Republicans, business leaders, and prominent former politicians. It presented itself as a nonpartisan association dedicated to defending the U.S. Constitution, private property, individual rights, and private enterprise. In practice, it became one of the most visible organized opponents of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and was widely identified with wealthy industrial and financial interests. Jouett Shouse, a former Democratic political leader and prominent anti-Prohibition advocate, became the league's first chairman. Its executive committee was deliberately constructed to suggest bipartisan legitimacy. Members included former Democratic presidential nominees John W. Davis and Al Smith, former New York governor Nathan L. Miller, Republican representative James W. Wadsworth, and industrialist Irénée du Pont. John Jacob Raskob, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former General Motors executive, was an important force behind the organization's creation. Its broader leadership included figures such as General Motors chairman Alfred P. Sloan Jr. and Sun Oil executive J. Howard Pew, alongside a smaller number of public figures from outside the corporate world. The league argued that federal economic intervention threatened constitutional government and individual economic freedom. Its criticism was not always absolute: Shouse acknowledged that the National Recovery Administration had achieved some useful purposes while objecting to what he viewed as excessive federal regulation. The organization was more consistently hostile to the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which it characterized as a movement toward authoritarian control of agriculture, and to Social Security, which it claimed endangered democratic government. Its lawyers also challenged the constitutionality of the Wagner Act, although the Supreme Court upheld the law in 1937. Communication and education were central to the league's operations. During its most active period, it issued more than one hundred pamphlet titles, circulated speeches and radio addresses, distributed monthly bulletins, supplied material to newspapers and libraries, and operated a syndicated news service that reportedly reached approximately 1,600 newspapers. It also sought members among college students and developed hundreds of chapters, particularly at state universities. Membership expanded rapidly, reaching a reported peak of about 125,000 in 1936, although only a minority contributed financially. The organization became especially prominent during the 1936 presidential campaign. Roosevelt supporters portrayed it as an instrument of wealthy industrial interests and as an ally of conservative Republicans, despite its repeated claims of nonpartisanship. Republican leaders themselves urged the league to avoid too close an association with Alf Landon's campaign, but that request reinforced the perception that the league was functioning as a partisan anti-Roosevelt force. James Farley mocked it as the 'du Pont Liberty League,' while another contemporary taunt called it the 'Cellophane League,' a reference to DuPont's commercial products and the belief that the league's political motives were transparent. Roosevelt's landslide reelection in 1936 sharply reduced the league's influence. It withdrew from mass public activity, closed its state and local offices, and retained only a small staff to review legislation and communicate assessments to members of Congress. The du Pont brothers remained its principal financial supporters until they redirected their resources toward Wendell Willkie's 1940 presidential campaign. The league closed its Washington office in September 1940 and ceased to operate as a significant organization. Historians have since treated it both as a major business-backed conservative mobilization against the New Deal and as a politically vulnerable opponent whose elite composition helped Roosevelt's supporters present the president as independent of traditional conservative Democratic and corporate networks.
History
The league emerged during the political conflict surrounding Roosevelt's first New Deal. Its founders joined conservative Democrats who had lost influence within the Democratic Party with Republicans and corporate leaders concerned about federal regulation, labor protections, agricultural policy, and social insurance. The announcement on August 22, 1934, emphasized constitutional principles rather than a direct electoral objective. That framing was intended to make the organization appear broader than a traditional party committee, although observers quickly questioned its independence from anti-Roosevelt and pro-business politics. Shouse served as chairman, while Raskob helped supply the organizational impetus. The executive committee included Davis, Smith, du Pont, Miller, and Wadsworth, creating a deliberately bipartisan public face. A much larger advisory council drew heavily from the upper levels of American business, including Sloan and Pew. The league's social and financial base shaped both its message and its vulnerabilities: it possessed substantial resources and access to national publicity, but opponents could portray it as an elite project disconnected from ordinary voters. Its principal activity was political education. The league published pamphlets based on speeches and radio broadcasts, circulated bulletins, provided material to newspapers and public institutions, and used a syndicated service to disseminate arguments against New Deal policies. It also cultivated college audiences and established hundreds of chapters. Its rhetoric centered on property, individual initiative, and limits on federal authority. The organization objected to what it regarded as excessive regulation under the NRA, attacked the Agricultural Adjustment Administration as authoritarian, criticized Social Security, and supported legal challenges to the Wagner Act. The Supreme Court's 1937 decision upholding the Wagner Act weakened one of its principal constitutional arguments. The 1936 election was the league's high point and its political turning point. Roosevelt's campaign treated it as a useful symbol of entrenched wealth and conservative opposition. Republican leaders, meanwhile, attempted to prevent the league from becoming too closely identified with Landon's campaign, but those efforts did not restore its nonpartisan reputation. The league's rapid growth before the election was followed by an equally rapid decline after Roosevelt's decisive victory. After 1936, the league abandoned most mass organizing. It continued reviewing legislation and sending assessments to Congress, but its local infrastructure disappeared. The three du Pont brothers became its principal remaining financial backers. When they shifted attention and money toward Willkie's 1940 campaign, the league lost the support needed to maintain its national office. It closed that office in September 1940. Later observers described it as both an important early business-backed conservative campaign and an unusually effective foil for New Deal Democrats, who used its elite coalition to frame Roosevelt's politics as independent from older conservative establishments.
- 1940
Organization disbands
[1]The league closed its Washington office in September and ceased operating as a significant national organization.
- 1937
Wagner Act challenge fails
[3]The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Act, rejecting a major legal position advanced by league lawyers.
- 1936
Membership and publicity peak
[1]The league reached its reported membership peak, operated hundreds of chapters, and conducted an extensive anti-New Deal communications campaign.
- 1936
Post-election retrenchment
[1]After Roosevelt's landslide reelection, public campaigning was sharply reduced and local offices were closed.
- 1935
National organization expands
[1]The league created a national executive committee and advisory council and reported membership growth, although contributing members were a minority.
- 1934
Organization announced
[1]The American Liberty League was announced in Washington, D.C., on August 22 as a purportedly bipartisan organization defending constitutional government and private property.
- 1934
Butler allegations become public
[2]Smedley Butler testified about an alleged plan to mobilize veterans against Roosevelt; the league denied that its officers were involved.
Products and positioning
A conservative, ostensibly bipartisan political organization defending private property, individual liberty, constitutional limits on federal power, and private enterprise against the New Deal.
Political education · 1934
Political pamphlets
The league produced a large pamphlet library explaining its constitutional, economic, and political objections to the New Deal. Many pamphlets adapted speeches or radio addresses by league officers and prominent supporters and were distributed to newspapers, libraries, government agencies, Congress, and political organizations.
Political communication · 1934
Monthly bulletins
Shorter bulletins presented the league's arguments in a more accessible format while extending the reach of its legislative commentary and policy messaging.
Media service · 1934
Syndicated news service
The league used a syndication operation to distribute material to newspapers without relying solely on content visibly branded as organizational propaganda. The service reportedly reached about 1,600 newspapers before ending near the close of 1936.
Controversies
1934
Business Plot allegations
Smedley Butler alleged that Gerald C. MacGuire had sounded him out about leading a veterans' movement against Roosevelt on behalf of powerful interests. The league rejected the accusation, MacGuire denied a plot in congressional testimony, and historians remain divided over the allegations and the league's possible connection.
Marketing campaigns
- 1936Presidential election opposition campaign
United States
The league opposed Roosevelt's reelection by criticizing the New Deal and warning that federal programs threatened property, business autonomy, and constitutional government.
Outcome. Roosevelt won a landslide victory, after which the league greatly reduced its public activity.
- 1934Constitutional rights and private property campaign
United States
The league promoted a program focused on constitutional limits, property ownership, individual liberty, and protection of private enterprise. It presented federal intervention as a potential threat to representative government and economic initiative.
Outcome. The message established the league as a prominent conservative critic of the New Deal but did not prevent the expansion of Roosevelt's program.
- 1934Anti-New Deal education campaign
United States
Through pamphlets, bulletins, radio material, newspaper syndication, and college chapters, the league sought to shape public opinion against New Deal regulation and social policy.
Outcome. The campaign achieved substantial reach during 1935–1936, but its influence declined after Roosevelt's 1936 victory.
Brand decisions
1940
Close the Washington officeStrategyBackground
The du Pont brothers, the league's principal remaining financial supporters, redirected resources toward Wendell Willkie's presidential campaign.
Action taken
The league closed its Washington office in September 1940 and ceased national operations.
Aftermath
The American Liberty League became defunct, although later politicians and historians continued to invoke it as a symbol of business-backed opposition to the New Deal.
1936
Withdraw from mass public campaigning after election defeatStrategyBackground
Roosevelt's 1936 landslide victory demonstrated that the league's intensive public opposition had not displaced the New Deal coalition.
Action taken
The league closed state and local offices, retained a small national staff, and concentrated on reviewing legislation and communicating assessments to Congress.
Aftermath
Its membership and financial support declined rapidly, leaving the organization dependent on a small number of wealthy backers until its eventual closure.
Recent events
- 1940
League closes Washington office[1]
Other
The organization closed its Washington office after several years of reduced activity and ceased to function as a major national political force.
- 1936
League membership expands during New Deal opposition[1]
Campaign
The organization reached its reported membership peak during its campaign against Roosevelt's policies and sought support through chapters, pamphlets, newspapers, and radio.
- 1936
American Liberty League retreats after Roosevelt's reelection[1]
Other
Following Roosevelt's landslide victory, the league sharply curtailed public activity and closed its state and local offices.
- 1934
American Liberty League is formed in Washington, D.C.[1]
Other
Conservative Democrats, Republicans, and business leaders announced the creation of the league to defend constitutional government, property rights, and private enterprise.
Sources3 sources
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