THE AMERICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY OF AGRICULTURAL POLICY DURING FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT’S NEW DEAL

Abstract. The purpose of the article is to analyze the main approaches to the assessment and interpretation of the agricultural policy of the New Deal in American historiography.

The research methodology is based on a combination of historiographical analysis and comparative method. The historiographical analysis enabled the evaluation, examination, and synthesis of scholarly contributions by American authors who have studied New Deal agricultural policy. The comparative method was applied to contrast right-wing, left-wing, and centrist (liberal) interpretations of the effectiveness of government intervention in the agricultural sector.

Scientific novelty. The article is the first comprehensive study in Ukrainian historiography that analyzes American studies dedicated to New Deal agricultural policy.

Conclusions. The analysis of the American historiography indicates a prolonged debate regarding the appropriateness and effectiveness of the measures implemented by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration in the field of agriculture. The author analyzed three key interpretive frameworks – right-wing, left-wing, and centrist (liberal) – each offering distinct perspectives on the efficacy of government intervention in agriculture during the Great Depression. The findings of this historiographical analysis indicate that New Deal farm programs contributed to price stabilization for agricultural products and helped mitigate the overall effects of the Great Depression on the farm sector. Liberal scholars viewed these outcomes as a positive result of agricultural policy. However, the impact of these measures proved limited and uneven across different U.S. regions and among various social groups within the agricultural population. This disparity prompted strong criticism from both left-wing and right-wing ideological perspectives.

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