Final answer:
Critics of the New Deal argue that it did not end the Great Depression, maintained high unemployment, led to considerable national debt, and possibly delayed economic recovery by favoring larger businesses and increasing federal government intervention in the economy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Despite some successes, there were notable arguments against the New Deal's effectiveness in providing relief during the Great Depression. Critics often point to the fact that the New Deal did not end the economic crisis; unemployment remained high, and by 1939, the US still had not returned to the prosperity levels of the 1920s. Furthermore, the New Deal's reliance on deficit spending led to concerns about the national debt and the long-term economic impact of such policies. Large-scale public sentiments began to question whether the significant increase in federal government's role in the economy was ultimately conducive to financial stability or merely a temporary alleviation.
While programs like the Works Progress Administration (WPA) did provide jobs and infrastructure improvements, they also often favored larger businesses over smaller ones and may have even stifled natural economic recovery through heavy government intervention. As a consequence, the political right argued that these policies discouraged private investment and innovation by imposing higher taxes and regulations that seemed to prioritize labor unions. This, in turn, could have deferred the economic recovery that otherwise might have occurred through the forces of the free market.