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Franklin Delano Roosevelt's rise to the Presidency
- FDR was born in NY to wealthy parents in 1882. He was home schooled until the age of 14.
- He attended a private high school, got good grades, and eventually was admitted to Harvard University in 1900.
- FDR got heavily involved with the school newspaper and became the chief editor.
- FDR met his eventual wife (and his 5th cousin... creepy) Eleanor. They got married in 1905 and had 6 kids within 11
years.
- Later in 1905, he went to Law School. He passed the NY State Bar Exam in 1907 and went to work in a law firm.
- In 1910, he decided to run for and was elected to the NY State Senate.
- In 1913, he was asked by President Woodrow Wilson to be an Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He served in this position
until Wilson's presidency ended in 1920.
- in 1920, he was the Vice Presidential running mate of Democrat James Cox. They lost the election to Harding. FDR went
back to practicing law.
- in August of 1921, FDR caught the polio virus (for more information on how you catch the virus, click here. There was no
vaccine back then (1st developed in 1955). It became very severe, eventually causing paralysis from the waist down. The
following is an excerpt from a website on how polio affected FDR...
Roosevelt refused to be limited by his disability. To overcome his lack of mobility, Roosevelt had steel leg braces created that could be locked into an upright position to keep his legs straight. With the leg braces on under his clothes, Roosevelt could stand and slowly walk with the aid of crutches and a friend's arm. Without the use of his legs, Roosevelt needed extra strength in his upper torso and arms. By swimming nearly every day, Roosevelt could move himself in and out of his wheelchair as well as up stairs. Roosevelt even had his car adapted to his disability by installing hand controls rather than foot pedals so that he could sit behind the wheel and drive. Despite the paralysis, Roosevelt kept his humor and charisma. Unfortunately, he also still had pain. Always looking for ways to soothe his discomfort, Roosevelt found a health spa in 1924 that seemed to be one of the very few things that could ease his pain. Roosevelt found such comfort there that in 1926 he bought it. At this spa in Warm Springs, Georgia, Roosevelt subsequently built a house (known as "the Little White House") and established a polio treatment center to help other polio sufferers.
- in 1928, FDR became the governor of NY. He was very popular for trying to provide direct relief to those affected by the
Great Depression in his state. This effort really helped him gain the Democrat nomination and eventually become
President.
One Note - Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt are distant cousins. They both were Assistant Secretaries of the Navy and Governors of NY before becoming President.
- in 1932, FDR won in an absoloute landslide election over Herbert Hoover. In addition to winning the Presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate became overwhelmingly Democrat. This was important for what occurred next. FDR would not have been able to get a lot of the New Deal plans put into effect without having Congress approve of it. Since they mostly were of the same political party as him, that wasn't a problem.
The New Deal
- Over the course of his first 2 years in office, several programs were developed by FDR, his Cabinet, and the Congress
to try to help out the ever worsening conditions of the Great Depression.
- These programs mainly helped out Banks, the Stock Market, and Poor, Unemployed People.
Help to Banks (a combination of 2 actions restores confidence in the banking system)
- His first action was to close down all banks (Emergency Banking Relief Act) and have govt. agents inspect them.
- Good ones (little to no debt) were allowed to reopen
- Bad ones (too much debt) stayed closed until the govt. could make sure they had enough $$$ to operate.
- Next, Congress established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which provided a govt. guarantee that if people put their $$$ in a bank and it failed... the govt. would pay them back their $$$.
Help to the Stock Market (a combination of 2 actions restores confidence in investing)
- The passage of the Federal Securities Act required all companies that issued stock to turn in regular reports to the
govt. If these reports were found to be inaccurate, those responsible for issuing the reports could be fined or even put
in prison.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created to read through these reports and conduct
investigations of any suspected wrongdoings.
Help to Poor, Unemployed People (combination of 2 actions helps people that were having a difficult time)
- Create a whole bunch of jobs and put people to work doing things the national govt. wanted.
Agricultural Adjustment Act - (AAA) paid farmers to replentish their land and not grow food (controversial)
Tennessee Valley Authority - (TVA) paid people to repair or construct 25 dams in the Southern U.S.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) paid young men to plant trees, build roads, etc... mainly in rural areas
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) gave $$$ to states so they could hire people to build schools, libraries, city
halls, police stations, roads, etc...
- Provide Direct Relief to people
Home Owners Loan Corporation helped people stay in their homes by loaning $$$ to them so they can make their
mortgage payments to banks.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) helped people refinance their existing loans with lower interest rates, making
it easier for people to make mortgage payments.
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) Provided half a billion $$$ to state and local governments so they
could provide food, clothing, and jobs to people that needed it.
to try to help out the ever worsening conditions of the Great Depression.
- These programs mainly helped out Banks, the Stock Market, and Poor, Unemployed People.
Help to Banks (a combination of 2 actions restores confidence in the banking system)
- His first action was to close down all banks (Emergency Banking Relief Act) and have govt. agents inspect them.
- Good ones (little to no debt) were allowed to reopen
- Bad ones (too much debt) stayed closed until the govt. could make sure they had enough $$$ to operate.
- Next, Congress established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which provided a govt. guarantee that if people put their $$$ in a bank and it failed... the govt. would pay them back their $$$.
Help to the Stock Market (a combination of 2 actions restores confidence in investing)
- The passage of the Federal Securities Act required all companies that issued stock to turn in regular reports to the
govt. If these reports were found to be inaccurate, those responsible for issuing the reports could be fined or even put
in prison.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created to read through these reports and conduct
investigations of any suspected wrongdoings.
Help to Poor, Unemployed People (combination of 2 actions helps people that were having a difficult time)
- Create a whole bunch of jobs and put people to work doing things the national govt. wanted.
Agricultural Adjustment Act - (AAA) paid farmers to replentish their land and not grow food (controversial)
Tennessee Valley Authority - (TVA) paid people to repair or construct 25 dams in the Southern U.S.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) paid young men to plant trees, build roads, etc... mainly in rural areas
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) gave $$$ to states so they could hire people to build schools, libraries, city
halls, police stations, roads, etc...
- Provide Direct Relief to people
Home Owners Loan Corporation helped people stay in their homes by loaning $$$ to them so they can make their
mortgage payments to banks.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) helped people refinance their existing loans with lower interest rates, making
it easier for people to make mortgage payments.
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) Provided half a billion $$$ to state and local governments so they
could provide food, clothing, and jobs to people that needed it.
Critics of the New Deal
The Supreme Court - Judges are supposed to be fair and not have political leanings, but the reality is that most do. A majority of the Supreme Court judges that were in place at the time of FDR's inauguration in 1932 had been appointed at some point during the previous 12 years under a Republican President. FDR was a Democrat. 5 of the 9 judges on the Court had different beliefs about what the national government should get involved with. Since Congress was mostly Democrat and was likely to go along with whatever FDR suggested, these 5 judges viewed themselves as the only way to keep the President and National Government in check. In the mid 1930s, they declared 2 major New Deal Programs (the NIRA and AAA) unconstitutional. Their reasoning was that many of the things listed in the Acts should be done by state governments and not the national government. FDR was ticked off and threatened to propose a change to the Constitution that would have allowed him to replace any Supreme Court member that he wanted to with a replacement of his choosing. Congress and U.S. citizens both thought this was going too far, so it never occurred. By 1937, 1 of the 5 Supreme Court judges that opposed many of FDR's actions decided to retire and FDR legally replaced him with someone that believed his policies were right. From that point forward, the Supreme Court didn't pose a threat to any further New Deal actions.
Father Charles Couglin - Before the Depression, this Catholic priest had a national radio audience that reached a few million people every week but was mainly about religion. Once the Depression hit, his sermons became increasingly about changing the entire economic and political structure of the U.S., wanting every worker to get a guaranteed annual income above the poverty level and having the U.S. Government directly operate every bank. He believed FDR didn't do enough to change the country around with his New Deal Programs. At the height of his popularity, one-third of the nation(roughly 50 million people) was tuned into his weekly broadcasts, making him one of the most influential men in America. Although his main message was focused on economic and political issues, his sermons also included attacks on famous Jewish people --attacks that many people considered evidence of anti-Semitism. His broadcasts became increasingly controversial for this reason, and in 1940 his superiors in the Catholic Church forced him to stop his broadcasts.
Dr. Francis Townsend - Once the Depression, Hoover and FDR put several measures in place to get people back to work and... eventually... provide direct relief (food, housing, etc...) to poor people. What about old people? This was Dr. Townsend's main concern. He proposed a plan to help out the elderly and severely criticized FDR for doing nothing during his 1st two years in office to help them out. FDR and Congress eventually pass the Social Security Act that addresses this issue. Townsend wasn't happy with the way that it was laid out, but much of the popularity he had gained during the early 1930s began to disappear once the national government addressed this issue.
Huey Long - He was a former Governor and Senator from Louisiana that had intentions of running for President in 1936. Long basically believed that rich people and wealthy businesses needed to "Share their Wealth" with the rest of the people in the country. He had a large following and probably would have posed a serious threat to FDR getting reelected in 1936, but was assasinated in 1935 before he could announce his candidacy. The scene below is taken from a 2006 movie called All the Kings Men that is loosely based on Long. These speeches (him running for political office during the Depression in the South) were typical of the style and tone of Long. Does he remind you and bit of a German leader that was rising to power at around the same time? Scary...