What Did FDR Get Wrong?
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What are some common misconceptions about FDR's presidency?
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No, this is a sweeping seven and a half acre landscape divided into four outdoor areas, each representing one of FDR's four terms in office. Water moves throughout, crashing downward to evoke the shock of the Wall Street crash, cascading over stepped granite in tribute to New Deal dams, then bursting outward in a restless spray, a reflection of a world at war. Here stand bronze figures of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the President's beloved dog, Fala, citizens waiting in bread lines, a man bent toward a radio to hear a fireside chat, and Roosevelt himself, memorialized not once, but twice. It is a monument to a life's achievement. But like most monuments, it functions primarily to celebrate, not to question.
Which raises an uncomfortable thought. Should we question Franklin Roosevelt? Did the man have any failures at all? Well, of course he did. He was only human. But this monument, an honestly popular American history, so often seems to suggest otherwise. Hi all, it's Don Wildman here. Welcome to American History Hit. Glad to be with you. It's commonplace in 20th century American history to credit Franklin Delano Roosevelt with so much. He led the nation out of the Great Depression, stabilized a collapsing economy, reshaped the federal government through sweeping reform. Then he turned his attention internationally, confronting and ultimately leading the defeat of fascist regimes threatening to dominate the world.
The New Deal, victory in World War II, elected president four times. It's an impressive resume. But in America, we polished our presidents into monuments. They begin as politicians, power brokers, human beings. Then over time, memory fades as we smooth away the rough edges, the miscalculations, the moral compromises, all in favor of a more reassuring, triumphant image that really reflects how we prefer to see ourselves. Problem is, at some point, we stop asking the questions we can learn from, glossing over decisions that were misguided, off-base, even deeply harmful. And yes, Franklin Roosevelt made plenty of those, too. So today we'll try to do with FDR what we really should do with every president, measure greatness alongside failure, achievement alongside consequence.
What did FDR do wrong? Well, you might be surprised at the list, which we'll discuss today with David Beto, Professor Emeritus of the History Department at the University of Alabama Roll Tide. Professor Beto's newest book, among so many in his distinguished career, was released in November 25, entitled FDR, A New Political Life. Greetings, Professor. Hello, David. Thank you for your time today. Yeah, it's great to see you again. Yeah, as well. Yeah, I did a thing many years ago. We were vaguely trying to we were trying to reconstruct what happened exactly. But it was my life. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this. As a man raised by dyed in the wool FDR Democrats, I could probably benefit from some wider perspective.
But maybe before we go there, let's talk about his general reputation. You see him on every list of the best of worst presidents. He's right at the top, along with Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt. There's FDR. Briefly, if that's possible, why so? How did he reach such a pinnacle? Well, I, too, was raised by dyed-in-the-wool FDR Democrats, so we have that in common.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are some common misconceptions about FDR's presidency?
0:00–5:09
2
How did FDR's policies impact the Great Depression?
5:09–9:16
3
What failures did FDR have regarding civil rights?
9:16–13:22
4
Why was FDR's approach to Japanese internment controversial?
13:22–17:51
5
What led to FDR's court-packing scheme in 1937?
17:51–22:22
6
How did FDR's legacy shape American politics?
22:22–26:52
7
What role did the media play in FDR's presidency?
26:52–31:49
8
How should we evaluate FDR's overall impact on American history?
31:49–50:48