Search Results

In Search of New Beginnings

Kiran Klaus Patel

in The New Deal: A Global History

This chapter focuses on the early New Deal years and explores the Roosevelt administration's initiatives while putting them in global context. The New Deal sought to relativize the culture of ... More

This chapter focuses on the early New Deal years and explores the Roosevelt administration's initiatives while putting them in global context. The New Deal sought to relativize the culture of individualism; social control and the regulation of previously private matters were not foreign to it. Thus, eugenics were broadly compatible with New Deal ideals, and the increased New Deal funding to state agencies is a critical reason why sterilization figures went up in many states during the 1930s. However, eugenics was not a formative element of the New Deal. Roosevelt's agenda instead stood out for its focus on economic regulation. The New Deal aimed at improving individual morality and social behavior, but it did so mainly through the economic lens, whereas many other states also introduced programs directly aimed in this direction.Less

Good Neighbour Diplomacy and Somoza’s Rise to Power, 1934–1935

ANDREW CRAWLEY

in Somoza and Roosevelt: Good Neighbour Diplomacy in Nicaragua, 1933-1945

This chapter discusses Anastasio Somoza's rise to power as an end-result of Washington's good neighbour diplomacy. It tells of the circumstances that facilitated Somoza's rise to power and the idea ... More

This chapter discusses Anastasio Somoza's rise to power as an end-result of Washington's good neighbour diplomacy. It tells of the circumstances that facilitated Somoza's rise to power and the idea that the Somoza regime was an American-created and American-sponsored institution from the outset, that it was the planned culmination of a US design for Nicaragua, has tended to furnish much of its own momentum. In revolutionary Nicaragua, that version of events became accepted history. The chapter presents that Somoza's rise was not the result of machinations on the part of the Roosevelt administration and how he used the Guardia to his advantage. On the contrary, it was in large part a result of their absence. The chapter also determines that the Roosevelt administration cannot be held ultimately liable and solely accountable for his presidency and subsequent excesses without an unrealistically austere interpretation of the chain of causality.Less

Working with the New Deal from Colorado, 1933–1934

Robyn Muncy

in Relentless Reformer: Josephine Roche and Progressivism in Twentieth-Century America

This chapter details events in Josephine Roche's life from 1933 to 1934. Roche's experience at Rocky Mountain Fuel primed her for the New Deal. As Franklin Roosevelt's administration began to grapple ... More

This chapter details events in Josephine Roche's life from 1933 to 1934. Roche's experience at Rocky Mountain Fuel primed her for the New Deal. As Franklin Roosevelt's administration began to grapple in 1933 with the devastation caused by the Great Depression, Roche was asked to serve in several capacities. Early on, the most important was in the National Recovery Administration, an attempt to stabilize the U.S. economy through industry-wide economic planning. Shortly after that, Roche broke through yet another gender barrier by running for governor of Colorado. She took this bold step because the sitting state executive refused to cooperate with the relief programs of the New Deal, and Roche wanted Colorado effectively linked with the national government. She did not succeed, but her gubernatorial bid was nevertheless significant. It demonstrated both the centralizing force that Washington exerted through the New Deal and some of the bases for resistance. It also drew a direct line between progressivism in the early twentieth century and progressivism in the New Deal, highlighting a range of tactics for diminishing inequality that New Dealers brought straight from the Progressive Era into the 1930s.Less

When the Old Left Was Young … and Went to Washington

Landon R. Y. Storrs

in The Second Red Scare and the Unmaking of the New Deal Left

This chapter introduces a group of young radicals, male and female, who ascended with surprising rapidity in the Roosevelt administration. Many of the younger group advocated women's sexual ... More

This chapter introduces a group of young radicals, male and female, who ascended with surprising rapidity in the Roosevelt administration. Many of the younger group advocated women's sexual emancipation and conducted their personal lives accordingly. Women in the younger cohort were less likely to make “maternalist” arguments that stressed women's innate differences from men, and they identified less exclusively with women-only organizations. These women did not call themselves “left feminists,” but the term usefully distinguishes them from nonfeminist leftists and from the “pure” feminists of the National Woman's Party, whose proposed equal rights amendment antagonized advocates of wage and hour laws for women. However, not all women in government were left feminists. Those who were gained force from the fact that they often knew one another, through shared interests in labor, poverty, housing, public health and health insurance, consumer rights, and international peace—interdependent causes that in their vision had a feminist subtext.Less

Debt and Recovery: New Deal Housing Policy and the Making of National Mortgage Markets

Louis Hyman

in Debtor Nation: The History of America in Red Ink

This chapter discusses the New Deal housing policy and the making of national mortgage markets. Though Franklin Roosevelt was sympathetic to housing the poor, his policies aimed, primarily, to grow ... More

This chapter discusses the New Deal housing policy and the making of national mortgage markets. Though Franklin Roosevelt was sympathetic to housing the poor, his policies aimed, primarily, to grow the economy and reduce unemployment. If this could be accomplished through housing the poor, all the better, but that was a secondary goal to restoring economic growth. Unlike the other housing programs of the New Deal, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) promised and achieved this growth. By 1939, investment in residential housing was nearly back to its 1929 levels. The flood of funds, guaranteed profits, and standardized policies initiated through the FHA changed the way banks operated forever, turning mortgages into nationally traded commodities—and in the process changing the way Americans related to banks and debt.Less

Generating a National Debate about Federal Health Policy, 1935–1939

Robyn Muncy

in Relentless Reformer: Josephine Roche and Progressivism in Twentieth-Century America

This chapter details events in Josephine Roche's life from 1935 to 1939. Despite her many other roles, Roche's primary obligation in the New Deal government was oversight of health policy. She ... More

This chapter details events in Josephine Roche's life from 1935 to 1939. Despite her many other roles, Roche's primary obligation in the New Deal government was oversight of health policy. She fulfilled that obligation in two ways. Within the Treasury Department, she took charge of the Public Health Service at a moment of explosive growth, championing a vastly expanded mandate for the agency and building a more effective public health infrastructure in the states. Outside the Treasury, she spearheaded a campaign to elevate health care to the status of a “basic American right.” In the course of that campaign, Roche patched together a national health plan, which she used to generate a nationwide conversation about the role of the federal government in health care.Less

The Occupation of Germany

Aaron Rapport

in Waging War, Planning Peace: U.S. Noncombat Operations and Major Wars

This chapter looks at the United States' occupation of Germany at the end of World War II, which culminated in a democratic West German state that was both an “economic miracle” and a member of the ... More

This chapter looks at the United States' occupation of Germany at the end of World War II, which culminated in a democratic West German state that was both an “economic miracle” and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Professor Carl J. Friedrich, an adviser to occupation forces in Germany, lamented that U.S. policy had produced unnecessary suffering during the occupation and actually hindered the stated goal of democratization. Writing in the same volume as Friedrich, Dale Clark argued that there was essentially no coherent occupation plan when Germany surrendered. The rest of the chapter then traces the creation of U.S. policy regarding noncombat operations in postwar Germany, focusing on the assessments and planning of the Roosevelt administration.Less

The Court-Packing Plan

William Lasser

in Benjamin V. Cohen: Architect of the New Deal

This chapter focuses on Franklin Roosevelt's so-called court-packing plan. The majority of the justices were opposed to the New Deal. To deal with the Court's intransigence, Attorney General Cummings ... More

This chapter focuses on Franklin Roosevelt's so-called court-packing plan. The majority of the justices were opposed to the New Deal. To deal with the Court's intransigence, Attorney General Cummings devised a plan to enlarge the Court, adding a sufficient number of justices to ensure decisions favorable to the New Deal. The plan provided inducements for the justices to retire at the age of seventy, and allowed the president to make one additional appointment for every justice above the age of seventy who did not retire.Less

At the Center of Power

William Lasser

in Benjamin V. Cohen: Architect of the New Deal

This chapter details the movement of Cohen and Corcoran to the very center of the Roosevelt administration. Felix Frankfurter gave Corcoran and Cohen a behind-the-scenes push toward the Oval Office. ... More

This chapter details the movement of Cohen and Corcoran to the very center of the Roosevelt administration. Felix Frankfurter gave Corcoran and Cohen a behind-the-scenes push toward the Oval Office. On March 19, 1935, in the midst of the legislative battle over the Public Utility Holding Company Act, Frankfurter wrote to Roosevelt and urged the president to appoint what later presidents would call a chief of staff. Frankfurter recommended Corcoran rather than Cohen for this sensitive and critical position. Frankfurter knew that once Corcoran had established himself at the center of power Cohen would be right behind him, given the close ties between the two men.Less

The Roosevelt Era: From the New Deal to D-Day

Isser Woloch

in The Postwar Moment: Progressive Forces in Britain, France, and the United States after World War II

This chapter looks at the progressive forces in the U.S. In the U.S., Franklin Roosevelt's presidency became the prime force for progressive gains. In the New Deal's ascendant phase from 1932 to ... More

This chapter looks at the progressive forces in the U.S. In the U.S., Franklin Roosevelt's presidency became the prime force for progressive gains. In the New Deal's ascendant phase from 1932 to 1936, the agricultural and industrial recovery strategies of the “Hundred Days” came first and foundered. Later, Roosevelt's administration enacted social security, inventive new programs for work relief, and the Wagner labor relations act that changed the rules of the game for trade unions. Once the European war began in 1939, the U.S. gradually became “the arsenal of democracy.” However, only on a fraught and twisting path did Roosevelt finally lead America into the crucible of World War II. Meanwhile, a new social movement reinforced the progressive thrust of Roosevelt's presidency—the rise of new trade unions in the mass production industries impelled by the CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations), a new labor federation.Less

The “New Deal” for Veterans

Stephen R. Ortiz

in Beyond the Bonus March and GI Bill: How Veteran Politics Shaped the New Deal Era

This chapter examines veterans' initial reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. The 1933 Economy Act, the second piece of legislation passed in the New Deal's “Hundred Days,” had reduced ... More

This chapter examines veterans' initial reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. The 1933 Economy Act, the second piece of legislation passed in the New Deal's “Hundred Days,” had reduced veteran benefits by more than $400 million. In response to the Economy Act, many veterans immediately broke ranks with the Roosevelt administration and questioned the authenticity of the New Deal's claims to helping the forgotten man. Members of both the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion expressed outrage at this piece of legislation and its implementation by the administration. In their forceful response to the Economy Act, veterans, in particular those in the VFW, joined with other early critics of the New Deal who chastised FDR's unwillingness to reconfigure the nation's political economy.Less

Introduction: The Day They Drove Old Dixie Down

in Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown

This chapter provides a tour of the Roosevelt administration's judicial policy, beginning with an examination of the union between the broad movements of rights-centered liberalism and legal realism, ... More

This chapter provides a tour of the Roosevelt administration's judicial policy, beginning with an examination of the union between the broad movements of rights-centered liberalism and legal realism, and ending with an analysis of specific Supreme Court civil rights decisions. While the 1932 election may have created an opportunity for constitutional change, it did not presage a revolution in the judiciary's attitude toward individual rights. The Court's institutional mission of 1940 and 1950 was a consequence of Democratic Party and institutional politics. A variety of forces influenced the development of this mission, but the combination of Roosevelt's party leadership and his pursuit of the modern presidency, each defined by the three presidential motivations and shaped by his conclusion that southern democracy was inconsistent with his vision for the nation, ensured that the ideal of a more inclusive democracy was woven into the fiber of the Court's midcentury doctrine.Less

Conclusion

Landon R. Y. Storrs

in The Second Red Scare and the Unmaking of the New Deal Left

This concluding chapter argues that the civil servants described here saw themselves as defenders, not betrayers, of fundamental American values such as egalitarianism and democracy. Not only does ... More

This concluding chapter argues that the civil servants described here saw themselves as defenders, not betrayers, of fundamental American values such as egalitarianism and democracy. Not only does acknowledging their presence in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations yield a more accurate history, but a broader understanding of how the right misrepresented and curtailed their influence may contribute to a more informed political discourse. Indeed, correcting the historical record seems especially important now, in the early twenty-first century, when conservatives have returned to arguing that goals such as a more equitable distribution of wealth are alien to the American tradition and to demonizing any deviation from free-market economic policy as socialistic.Less

“Musicians Have Got To Eat, Too!”: The New Deal and the FMP

Peter Gough and Peggy Seeger

in Sounds of the New Deal: The Federal Music Project in the West

This chapter discusses the importance of the New Deal and the Federal Music Project (FMP). The New Deal stands as the Roosevelt administration's response to the catastrophic events during the Great ... More

This chapter discusses the importance of the New Deal and the Federal Music Project (FMP). The New Deal stands as the Roosevelt administration's response to the catastrophic events during the Great Depression, and for many Americans, the support of the Music Projects and the other programs were their solitary lifelines to survival. Though immediate relief and rehabilitation were clearly the primary objectives of New Deal efforts, there remained for the four art projects other unstated objectives. Several contemporary scholars have characterized the wider goals of Federal One as pursuit of a “cultural democracy”—and Federal One would provide not only economic relief for the unemployed but artistic uplift as well. Indeed, many involved with the FMP found new inspiration in the varied indigenous and regional musical traditions of their particular localities.Less

Labor's Counter-Reformation: The American Federation of Labor and the End of Reform

Jennifer Luff

in Commonsense Anticommunism: Labor and Civil Liberties between the World Wars

When the Roosevelt administration restored diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) joined conservative capitalists and farmers in protesting the New Deal ... More

When the Roosevelt administration restored diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) joined conservative capitalists and farmers in protesting the New Deal order. In the late 1930s, it fractured into two hostile camps. Liberal union leaders who opposed the the AFL's conservative leadership split off from the AFL, forming the Committee of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Alienated from the New Deal order and at odds with the CIO, labor conservatives abandoned commonsense anticommunism for calculated red-baiting.Less

The Commitment Continues: Truman, Eisenhower, and the Civil Rights Decisions

in Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown

This chapter analyzes the activities of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations with regard to the expansion of African American rights. The importance of both domestic and international influences ... More

This chapter analyzes the activities of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations with regard to the expansion of African American rights. The importance of both domestic and international influences on the civil rights positions of these two administrations, with a special focus on their judicial policies, is evaluated. Due to the importance of the ideological confrontation of the cold war in pressuring these administrations to advocate an end to Plessy, a scholarly debate was organized. Also, the precedent set by the Roosevelt administration affected the participation of the Truman and Eisenhower Justice Departments in NAACP-sponsored school segregation cases before the Supreme Court was considered.Less

What Happens When Negroes Don’t March?

David Lucander

in Winning the War for Democracy: The March on Washington Movement, 1941-1946

This chapter offers an insider's view of how the Roosevelt administration responded to Randolph's audacious threat to march on Washington. The Roosevelt administration knew of March on Washington ... More

This chapter offers an insider's view of how the Roosevelt administration responded to Randolph's audacious threat to march on Washington. The Roosevelt administration knew of March on Washington Movement's (MOWM) threatened protest since early 1941, but waited until June to address the organization's demands. In the interim, the government monitored MOWM's activities and kept a pulse on the general morale of African Americans. As an executive shepherding the nation through prolonged economic distress and into a global conflict, Franklin D. Roosevelt emphasized in his leadership style what one prominent historian described as balancing the “shared interests and purposes and needs of all Americans.” Thus, he carefully placated MOWM with relatively small concessions that were designed to not be overly offensive to the Democratic Party's segregationist wing.Less

Introduction

Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff

in Black Culture and the New Deal: The Quest for Civil Rights in the Roosevelt Era

This book begins with the argument that the federal government did not completely ignore civil rights. One important method that the Roosevelt administration employed to acknowledge African Americans ... More

This book begins with the argument that the federal government did not completely ignore civil rights. One important method that the Roosevelt administration employed to acknowledge African Americans and to involve them in the president's “New Deal” was through federally sponsored cultural programs. Initially conceived under the Works Progress Administration's Federal Arts Project and then continued under wartime agencies such as the Office of War Information and the War Department, fine art and media-based programs represented an important strand of civil rights policy during the Roosevelt era. Through the publications of the Federal Writers' Project, the plays of the Federal Theatre Project, the endorsement of black celebrities such as Joe Louis, and the production of wartime films and radio shows, liberal administrators demonstrated a sustained commitment to addressing the concerns of black Americans when political pragmatism prevented official support for structural legislation.Less

The Pen as Sword: George Kennan and the Politics of Authorship in the Early Cold War

Hannah Gurman

in The Dissent Papers: The Voices of Diplomats in the Cold War and Beyond

This chapter explores the politics of authorship in the State Department during the early Cold War. In 1924, Congress passed the Rogers Act, which transformed the State Department from an ... More

This chapter explores the politics of authorship in the State Department during the early Cold War. In 1924, Congress passed the Rogers Act, which transformed the State Department from an organization of elites into a meritocracy open to all capable Americans. This expansion had two consequences. While the expansion offered the prospect of increased influence for the institution, it also increasingly diluted the role of individual diplomats. This culture was ingrained in the institution during the Roosevelt administration, as seen from the experiences of Russian specialist George Kennan. Kennan received special training from the State Department in Riga, Latvia. Kennan's education confirmed his existing views that Soviet Union was not a “fit ally” for the United States—a goal former President Franklin D. Roosevelt was optimistic about. The chapter follows the trajectory of Kennan's habit of challenging the status quo in writing.Less