What if there was a 2nd Bill of Rights?

Back To The Past: The Alternate History Podcast

The Second Bill of Rights was proposed by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, January 11, 1944. In his address, Roosevelt suggested that the nation had come to recognize and should now implement, a second "bill of rights". Roosevelt argued that the "political rights" guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness". His remedy was to declare an "economic bill of rights" to guarantee these specific rights: • Employment, food, clothing and leisure with enough income to support them • Farmers' rights to a fair income • Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies • Housing • Medical care • Social security • Education. These rights have come to be known as basic economic rights, although not to be enshrined within the constitution, the hope of advocating the policy was that it would be 'encoded and guaranteed by federal law'.

Although some aspects have the law have been considered and implemented, FDR's idea would have guaranteed employment, farmer's right to a fair income, freedom from unfair competition and monopolies, housing, medical care, social security, and education. It was also called the Economic Bill of Rights and would have been one of the largest spending bills in American history.
Today, we discuss what would happen if that bill was passed. How would American society react? How would politicians respond? And how would it impact future foreign and domestic policy? Have a listen and find out!
Shout out to Podchaser! They just released a chart with some of the best podcasts to listen to in November, and Back to the Past is featured!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/back-to-the-past-the-alternate-1415649
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/the-60-best-podcasts-to-discover-for-november-pc!5OvkkR9IR4GmAv65
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials, or join the community on Kloka!

Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG

Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD

Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory

Check out our website! https://kloka.org/backtothepast

Email us if you have any questions or comments! [e-mail]

Or if you have any ideas for Kloka, including potential future podcasts, coverage, or even a book review, email [e-mail]

And if you're interested in guesting with us, email the back to the past email, or [e-mail]!

Check out Kloka, an organization dedicated to providing quality podcasts and other media to you! Come and take a look, and make an account to engage with us and the community! https://kloka.org

Podcast Transcript: https://kloka.org/go/althistranscripts

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rohan-parikh7/message