The Book's Publication and the Personal Opinions of Betty Smith

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was not published in the time that it takes place in, but about 30 years later in 1943. It is not a large time difference, but it is enough that peoples attitudes had changed and the Great Depression had just ended. At the end of the Great Depression, socialist ideas were popularized again, although not as immensely as they had been in the early 1900s. The book supports socialism, and may be partially responsible for that gain. Since the book was almost instantly popularized and discussed, the ideas in it were spread and were most likely adopted by some.
The Nolans of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are obviously poor, struggling to make the money necessary to make ends meet. They would most likely benefit from socialism, as it creates a more classless society. They are an example of where U.S. government system does not actually work for everyone, much as it seems to. They slip through society's cracks, and are ignored in government because, being poor, they are not given as much power. Despite this, Johnny Nolan still is strictly Democratic. This may be a point that Betty Smith has - that socalism may, indeed, help this country.
"'Anybody can ride in those cabs, provided, the got the money. So you can see what a free country we got here,'"says Johnny Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
"'What's free about it if you have to pay?'" Francie asks.
Francie has a point, one Betty Smith tries to make with her book. Democracy is not free to anyone but the aristocrats. The poor cannot afford to ride the city bus, or to travel at all for that matter, nor can they afford to go to college, or to do much of anything in society. Socialism would allow them to do that. Through this, Betty Smith shows the downfalls of Democracy and the advantages of socialism.