3. Dr. Francis Townsend and Father Charles Coughlin emerged as major external pressures on Roosevelt's policy-making during the 1930s. Townsend’s popular $200-a-month pension plan for seniors effectively forced FDR to introduce Social Security to neutrali

3. Dr. Francis Townsend and Father Charles Coughlin emerged as major external pressures on Roosevelt's policy-making during the 1930s. Townsend’s popular $200-a-month pension plan for seniors effectively forced FDR to introduce Social Security to neutralize the movement's growing political momentum. Meanwhile, Coughlin, a powerful "radio priest," transitioned from a Roosevelt supporter to a fierce critic after a failed reconciliation meeting at Hyde Park. Coughlin eventually teamed up with Townsend and Gerald L.K. Smith to form a third party, though these "amateur" politicians struggled to gain significant ballot access. (4)

1936 SRRESTING PROTESTERS DC