Franklin D. Roosevelt

::FDR redirects here. For other uses, see FDR (disambiguation).

First term: the New Deal

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Roosevelt's immense popularity in the largest state in the country made him an obvious candidate for the Democratic nomination, which was hotly contested since most commentators believed that Hoover was almost certain to be defeated at the 1932 presidential election. Al Smith also wanted the nomination, and Roosevelt was at first reluctant to oppose his old patron. But the party regulars were convinced that Smith, a Catholic who was closely associated with the illegal liquor industry, was unacceptable, and persuaded Roosevelt to declare his candidacy. At first the delegates at the Chicago convention were deadlocked, but eventually Smith's supporters from the north-eastern states were persuaded to support Roosevelt, and he was nominated on the fourth ballot.

Related Topics:
1932 - Catholic - Liquor - Chicago

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The 1932 presidential election campaign was conducted under the shadow of the Great Depression. Hoover was widely perceived as not doing enough to fight the Depression. During the campaign Roosevelt said: "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people", coining a slogan that was later adopted for his legislative program. Roosevelt and his Vice Presidential running mate, John N. Garner of Texas, won 57 percent of the vote and carried all but six states. In February 1933, while he was President-elect, Roosevelt had a brief holiday in Florida. In Miami an unemployed bricklayer named Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at Roosevelt, missing him but killing the Mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak. Zangara, who was later executed, said he had shot at Roosevelt because "the capitalists killed my life."

Related Topics:
1932 presidential election - Great Depression - New deal - John N. Garner - Texas - 1933 - Florida - Miami - Giuseppe Zangara - Anton Cermak

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When Roosevelt was inaugurated in March 1933 the U.S. was in the depths of the worst depression in its history. Some 13 million people, a third of the workforce, were unemployed. Industrial production had fallen by more than half since 1929. In a country with few government social services, millions were living on the edge of starvation, and two million were homeless. The banking system seemed to be on the point of collapse. There were occasional outbreaks of violence, but most observers considered it remarkable that such an obvious breakdown of the capitalist system had not led to a rapid growth of socialism, communism, or fascism (as happened for example in Germany). Instead of adopting revolutionary solutions, the American people had turned to the Democrats and to a leader who had grown up in privilege.

Related Topics:
1933 - Depression - 1929 - Socialism - Communism - Fascism - Germany

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Roosevelt indeed had few systematic economic beliefs. He saw the Depression as mainly a matter of confidence—people had stopped spending, investing and employing labor because they were afraid to do so. As he put it in his inaugural address: "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He therefore set out to restore confidence through a series of dramatic gestures. He called a "bank holiday" to prevent a threatened run on the banks and called an emergency session of Congress to stabilize the financial system. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created to guarantee the funds held in all banks in the Federal Reserve System, and thus prevent runs and bank failures. Roosevelt's series of radio speeches known as Fireside Chats presented his proposals to the American public.

Related Topics:
Inaugural address - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Federal Reserve System - Fireside Chats

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During the first hundred days of his administration, Roosevelt used his enormous prestige and the sense of impending disaster to force a series of bills through Congress, establishing and funding various new government agencies. These included the Emergency Relief Administration, which granted funds to the states for unemployment relief; the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps to hire millions of unemployed to work on local projects; and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, with powers to increase farm prices and support struggling farmers. Following these emergency measures came the National Industrial Recovery Act which imposed an unprecedented amount of state regulation on industry, including fair practice codes and a guaranteed role for trade unions, in exchange for the repeal of anti-trust laws and huge amounts of financial assistance as a stimulus to the economy. Later came one of the largest pieces of state industrial enterprise in American history, the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built dams and power stations, controlled floods, and improved agriculture in one of the poorest parts of the country. The repeal of prohibition also provided stimulus to the economy, while eliminating a major source of corruption.

Related Topics:
Emergency Relief Administration - Works Progress Administration - Civilian Conservation Corps - Agricultural Adjustment Administration - Farmer - National Industrial Recovery Act - Trade unions - Anti-trust - Tennessee Valley Authority - Dam - Power station - Flood - Agriculture - Prohibition

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In 1933, USMC General Smedley Butler reported to Congress that there had been a failed fascist coup attempt against FDR by capitalist interests in reaction to the New Deal. This alleged attempt was known as the "Business Plot" or "The White House Putsch".

Related Topics:
1933 - Smedley Butler - Fascist - Coup - Business Plot

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After the 1934 Congressional elections, which gave the Democrats large majorities in both houses, there was a fresh surge of New Deal legislation, driven by the "brains trust" of young economists and social planners gathered in the White House, including Raymond Moley, Rexford Tugwell and Adolf Berle of Columbia University, attorney Basil O'Connor, economist Bernard Baruch and Felix Frankfurter of Harvard Law School. Eleanor Roosevelt, Labor Secretary Frances Perkins (the first female Cabinet Secretary) and Agriculture Secretary Henry A. Wallace were also important influences. These measures included bills to regulate the stock market and prevent the corrupt practices which had led to the 1929 Crash; the Social Security Act, which established Social Security and promised economic security for the elderly, the poor and the sick; and the National Labor Relations Act, which established the rights of workers to organize unions, to engage in collective bargaining and to take part in strikes in support of their demands.

Related Topics:
1934 - White House - Raymond Moley - Rexford Tugwell - Adolf Berle - Columbia University - Basil O'Connor - Bernard Baruch - Felix Frankfurter - Harvard Law School - Henry A. Wallace - Stock market - 1929 - Social Security Act - Social Security - National Labor Relations Act - Unions - Collective bargaining - Strikes

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The net effect of these measures was to restore confidence and optimism, allowing the country to begin the long process of recovery from the Depression. The popular belief is that Roosevelt's programs, collectively known as the New Deal, cured the Great Depression. Historians and economists debate over the extent to which this is true. It is widely accepted that the New Deal implemented many of the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes, which advocated an interventionist government policy using fiscal and monetary measures to mitigate economic recessions and depressionss. However, it is unknown whether Roosevelt was influenced by these theories directly, and questionable whether he really understood them. After a meeting with Keynes he once remarked that "He must be a mathematician rather than a political economist."

Related Topics:
New Deal - John Maynard Keynes - Recessions - Depressions

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The extent to which the large appropriations that Roosevelt extracted from Congress and spent on relief and assistance to industry provided a fiscal stimulus to revive the U.S. economy is also controversial. The economy recovered significantly during Roosevelt's first term, but fell back into recession 1937 and 1938 before making another recovery in 1939. While Gross National Product had surpassed its 1929 peak by the outbreak of World War II, unemployment remained about 15%. Some argue that this was mainly because the high tariff barriers erected in response to the Depression were not removed, and without a revival of international trade there could be no full recovery. It took the massive growth in government spending during World War II to fully eliminate the effects of the Depression and reduce unemployment to pre-Depression levels.

Related Topics:
Fiscal - 1937 - 1938 - 1939 - Gross National Product - 1929 - World War II - Unemployment - Tariff - International trade

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