They shepherded vociferous anti-New Deal campaigns that articulated resentment and fear of regulations, taxes, and unions (Roark, 800). In the minds of these political leaders and business owners, they were under siege by Socialist reforms that were clamping down on their free will and ideals. Examples of two major business organizations that emerged as leading critics of the New Deal are The National Association of Manufacturers and the Chamber of Commerce (Roark, 800). Their criticisms were augmented by the American Liberty League, blaming the New Deal for undermining basic constitutional guarantees of freedom and individualism. They stated that the AAA was a "trend toward fascist control of agriculture," and that relief programs marked "he end of democracy" (Roark, 800). Another place where the New Deal met resistance among right-wingers was with the AAA. Agricultural processors and distributors were the main complainants, the basis of their argument was that they were being unfairly taxed. They stated that the AAA reduced the volume of crop production, which was the means of their profit, while imposing a tax upon the processed crops that funded the AAA, which was the program that was disadvantaging them (Roark, 801). Yet another Republican criticism was Roosevelt's plan to capitulate income distribution through government intervention. This goes against the long-held Conservative notion of limited government intervention and formed the basis for their criticism of the many New Deal Programs, such as the Social Security Act (Roark, 808). While Republican opposition to the New Deal was prominent, the act was not received kindly by many on the other end of the political spectrum, either. .
The New Deal met with more criticism from the left. Economists and labor leaders both had negative opinions on certain aspects of the New Deal. The basis of their criticism stemmed from their belief that the NRA "stifled enterprise by permitting monopolistic practices" (Roark, 802).