Right Man, Right Time
Instead of a complete biography of FDR, Alter, a Newsweek columnist, has written a slimmer volume focusing on Roosevelt's "defining moment," the first hundred days of his presidency in 1933 that put the New Deal in place.
Things were so bad at the height of the Great Depression that the best minds believed democracy had failed. Alter makes a convincing case that FDR saved democracy with the New Deal. He may well have also saved Europe from the Nazis. One man, in the right place, at the right time, can make a difference.
Worth reading concurrently: Phillip K. Dick's The Man In The High Castle - a fantasy novel that begins with the premise that Roosevelt was assassinated by Giuseppe Zangara days before taking office (it very nearly happened), the US lost the war, and the Nazis and Japanese run the world. It takes place in 1962, after the Nazis have drained the Mediterranean, razed Africa, and split the US down the middle with the Japanese. What might have been had Roosevelt failed.
Things were so bad at the height of the Great Depression that the best minds believed democracy had failed. Alter makes a convincing case that FDR saved democracy with the New Deal. He may well have also saved Europe from the Nazis. One man, in the right place, at the right time, can make a difference.
Worth reading concurrently: Phillip K. Dick's The Man In The High Castle - a fantasy novel that begins with the premise that Roosevelt was assassinated by Giuseppe Zangara days before taking office (it very nearly happened), the US lost the war, and the Nazis and Japanese run the world. It takes place in 1962, after the Nazis have drained the Mediterranean, razed Africa, and split the US down the middle with the Japanese. What might have been had Roosevelt failed.
Comments
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109779/
This is a very believable take on an alternate history that never was but could have been.
Hello Leo! Love your podcasts.
Anyways...
Actually, I find no evidence that FDR brought us out of the Great Depression. (By, for example, forcing farmers not to produce ----- i.e. to destroy food, this goes against all logic when people are starving!) If anything, it seems more reasonable to believe that he made the depression longer and deeper.
(And as far as war goes, WWII probably would never have occurred if interventionist Wilson didn’t get us into WWI. See, for example, the paleoconservative [or paleolibertarian] book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History" by Thomas E Woods Jr. In this book Dr. Woods also talks about how FDR was working towards pushing us into WWII, even when he said he was trying to keep us out.)
Understanding (as a laymen) monetary theory, it is clear that the cause of the Great Depression was the Federal Reserve System.
Leo, may I suggest that you take a look at the book (written perfect for the laymen) "America's Great Depression" by Murray N. Rothbard?
I will read your book, if you read my recommendation. Deal, Leo?
My mind is always open. :)
We agree on matters of, for example, of being anti-war. But being the libertarian that I am, I cannot agree with ideas of socialism for moral (natural rights) and utilitarian (it causes more harm then good) reasons.
Good post! There's something about our times - and the quality of our leaders - that makes true leaders like FDR even more attractive. The same can be said for Churchill - If you ever get to London, make the time to see the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms (http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/). Incredibly well done.
Roosevelt was indeed amazing. Clinton had a pretty extraordinary first 100 days in power, but nowhere near as monumental an impact, because, as you point out, there wasn't the obvious crisis of democratic society...
Maybe next election...