32. Franklin Roosevelt

Few presidents have had the lasting impact that Franklin Delano Roosevelt has had on American life. Lincoln, with the preservation of the Union and Emancipation Proclamation, and Washington, with his voluntary limitation to two terms and peaceful hand-over of power, come to mind. This impact was due in part to the fact that FDR is the only president to serve more than two terms (Nixon is the only person to spend more time as president or vice president). However, his legacy was pretty secure after his first two terms. After all, he led the nation through two of our most severe crises: the Great Depression and World War II.

Roosevelt entered New York politics with immense family wealth and a famous name. His distant cousin Theodore had been a popular governor of New York and president. As a state senator, he supported women’s suffrage and challenged powerful business interests. These policies led some Republicans to call FDR a “traitor to his class”. This is also the title of the biography that I read on FDR, written by H. W. Brands. Throughout his political career FDR consistently supported the rights of the common man against the interests of business and wealthy elite. I haven’t found anything that explains these views given his privileged background except to say that he knew he was given vast opportunities due solely to his being born into wealth and felt a sense of responsibility to support those that weren’t lucky enough to be born rich.

Early in his career FDR was already considering following in his cousin’s footsteps to running for president. He supported Wilson in the 1912 election (even though his cousin was running on the Bull Moose party). When Wilson won, FDR accepted a position as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (the same position Teddy held during the McKinley administration). In this position FDR advocated for modernizing the Navy and, when World War I broke out, increasing its size. When war did begin FDR briefly considered following his cousin’s script, which would have meant resigning and joining the military to fight. Ultimately he decided against that track due in part to pressure from powerful people who felt that it would be derelict to abandon a job he had proved very good at with the Navy.

After the war he ran unsuccessfully in 1920 to be vice president. The presidential election of 1920 is an interesting one. During that election, six future or former presidents were in the running; Wilson (D), FDR (D), Hoover (R), Coolidge (R), Harding (R) and Theodore Roosevelt (Bull Moose). The election would ultimately be won by Harding.

FDR was stricken with what at the time was diagnosed as polio the following August 1921. He spent much of the next several years convinced that he was not permanently paralyzed and tried everything he could to regain his ability to walk. Eventually he was able to learn how to walk short distances with leg braces. He was always careful to not be seen in public in a wheelchair.

In 1928 he followed the next step in his cousin’s path by running for and winning the governors’ race in New York. During his two (two-year) terms as governor, FDR supported the reforestation of land, regulation of working hours, unemployment benefits and state control of the energy industry.

Due in large part to the continuing depression, FDR won the presidential election in 1932 by a wide margin over the incumbent Hoover. In fact, FDR won all four elections by wide electoral margins; the closest race was 1944 when he won 432-99 over Thomas Dewey.

The election of 1932 surrounded the government’s role in resolving the financial crisis. Hoover followed a cautious approach and believed that communities needed to help each other. FDR promised the New Deal; he defined his plan as series of federal programs to deliver aid to people, increased regulation of the stock market, stopping overproduction of certain crops and more government control of power utilities. He achieved many of these within the first 100 days of his administration.

In March 1933, when FDR took office the unemployment rate stood at 25%, farm prices had fallen by 60% and industrial output was done by half. FDR took office during the worst financial crisis in the nation’s history. On the eve of his inauguration 32 of the 48 states had closed their banks. For a long time I thought that when he stated “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” that he was talking about World War II. Rather, he used this phrase during his first inaugural speech in 1933 as reference to the banking crisis.

The first effort that FDR put forth was to stabilize the banking system. He called a special session of Congress and got to work. Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act to provide assistance to banks in trouble. FDR then cut the wages of federal employees to free up more money that could be sent to the local and state agencies as relief grants.

He then started up a series of programs to include large construction projects, clean-up work and conservation to get people back to work. As confidence began to grow, Roosevelt pushed more and more ideas through. He set up agencies to reform banking regulations, helped negotiations between businesses and employees, established a minimum wage and maximum work hours. The senses of urgency helped him get almost everything he wanted through Congress. Some days the administration would propose legislation, get it debated by Congress and signed into act by the president in the same day!

Historians generally group the New Deal into three categories: Relief, Recovery, and Reform. Relief bills were to get aid to the people that needed it, recovery bills were expected to get the economy moving again and reform bills implemented long-term systemic changes to the system.

A quick look at these bills introduced during FDR’s first term should be familiar:

Relief

Federal Emergency Relief Administration – designed to give aid to state agencies (created under Hoover, but greatly expanded)

Civil Works Administration (CWA) – provided work to a large number of men during the winters of 1933 and 1934

Work Projects Administration (WPA) – included road repair, building schools and libraries

Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) – provided work to men in the areas of land improvement

National Youth Administration (NYA) – funded part-time jobs for high school and college students (Lyndon Johnson took advantage of this program.)

Recovery

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) – purchased surplus crops and paid farmers to reduce production; designed to restore crop prices (ruled unconstitutional)

National Recovery Administration (NRA) – designed to provide assistance to businesses by creating codes of fair conduct (ruled unconstitutional)

Public Works Administration (PWA) – designed to create jobs by building large public infrastructure; dams, irrigation systems and flood control projects

Reform

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – guaranteed deposits into participating banks up to a certain amount

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – empowered to monitor the sale of stocks and bonds

Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act – empowered the president to negotiate trade agreements with other countries to lower taxes (This act created the “most favored nation status”.)

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) – insured home loans up to 80% of the home value.

Tennessee Value Authority (TVA) – created dams, provided electricity to people within seven states for the first time.

Social Security Act – provided a minimum income to people in old age

National Labor Relations Act – guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain collectively

Some of these things were found to be completely or in part unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. This led FDR to an attempt to “stack the court” by increasing the size by as many as six new justices. This radical attempt at a power grab was even resisted by his fellow Democrats. The U.S. Constitution does not set the number of justices that sit on the Supreme Court; rather, it is left up to Congress to decide. They have had as few as six and as many as ten. The Supreme Court has been fixed at nine since 1869.

Most historians generally agree that while elements of the New Deal provided needed relief, the Great Depression did not end until the start of World War II. The United States supported the Allies including the Soviet Union and China through a series of Lend-Lease activities where we, in essence, sold them military equipment (tanks, planes, guns, etc). The deal was that we were not selling them the supplies because that could be seen as an act of war. Instead we expected the equipment returned. Robert Taft’s response was, “Lending war equipment is a good deal like lending chewing gum. You don't want it back.”

Writing about FDR in WWII is an entire post in itself, but he is credited with preparing the country for a war that he felt was inevitable even while he maintained a public neutral stance. He supported Churchill in launching an attack from the south (i.e. through Africa and Italy) instead of Stalin’s plea for a second front in Europe. In the late stages of the war, the decisions and agreements that FDR made with Stalin and Churchill would shape Europe and much of the world for the next 40 years, primarily the division of Germany and the fate of Eastern Europe (including Poland, for whom the British entered the war to defend).

During his inauguration address in 1941, FDR laid out principals that are carved into the monument in Washington DC: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. The last two expanded on the traditional Bill of Rights, but were based on the aftermath of the Great Depression and the ongoing war in Europe.

FDR’s legacy is secure (whether you agree with his policies or not) between the social safety nets, the government projects to try to end the Depression and his part in WWII.

Party Trivia:

• In 1945, because of FDR’s work with the March of Dimes organization, Congress voted to put his image on the coin. (He cofounded the organization in 1938 initially to combat polio.)
• He appointed eight justices to the Supreme Court, and only Washington appointed more (ten).
• By 1941 eight of the nine justices were FDR appointees.
• Teddy Roosevelt was also Eleanor Roosevelt’s uncle in addition to being a distant cousin of FDR’s.
• He was on the losing ticket as a vice presidential candidate in 1920. James Cox was the presidential candidate and lost to Warren Harding.
• FDR was only 38 years old when he was nominated by his party to be vice president, four years younger than his cousin Teddy.
• He is one of only two people to run for president or vice president five times for a major party. Nixon was the other. They both won four times and lost once.
• There is speculation that FDR suffered from Guillain-Barre syndrome, not polio.
• The twentieth amendment to the Constitution changed the date of the presidential inauguration from March 4th to January 20^th, reducing the time for a lame duck president. The longer time was needed in the early years when transportation and communication took longer.
• He issued Executive Order 9250 in October 1942, later to be rescinded by Congress, which raised the marginal tax rate for salaries exceeding $25,000 (after tax) to 100%, thereby limiting salaries to $25,000 (about $356,000 today)

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
• Children: Anna Eleanor (1906-1975), James (1907-1991), Franklin Delano Jr. (1909-1909), Elliot (1910-1990), Franklin Delano Jr. (1914-1988), John Aspinwall (1916-1981)
• Party affiliation: Democratic Party
• Presidency: 1933-1945
• Born: January 30, 1882 (Hyde Park, New York)
• Died: April 12, 1945 (Warm Springs, Georgia)

31. Herbert Hoover

There are two or three obscure presidents (or as my niece Sydney would call them “Forgotten Presidents”) that I don’t think deserve to be swept under the rug of American history. For various reasons I think that these men in their way did great things for the American people. In chronological order I would list James K. Polk, Rutherford B. Hayes and Herbert Hoover. Not that I’m going to try and convince you that Hoover should be considered a great president. I’m not that creative.

Hoover is one of the most accomplished men to sit in the president’s chair. Born in Iowa in 1874, Hoover was the middle child. Unfortunately, both his parents would die before he was ten years old. Various family members stepped up to take in the three children, but the siblings were split up. At the age of eleven he was sent to live with his uncle in Oregon. Hoover then went on to college at the newly opened Stanford University where he earned a degree in geology. Hired by a British Mining company, Bewick, he traveled first to Australia and then China working in mines. In between those two assignments he traveled back to California to marry his college sweetheart, Louise “Lou” Henry, a fellow geology student.

While they were living in China, the Boxer Rebellion put them under siege for several weeks. Hoover helped guide the marines though the town based on his knowledge. Eventually he made a vast fortune from investments in mining. By some accounts he was the second richest man to hold the high office (Washington is considered wealthier). As early as 1910 (at the age of 34) he was earning over $2.5 million dollars a year.

Hoover and his wife were at their home in London when the First World War broke out. When tens of thousands of Americans found themselves stuck in England they turned to the American consulate in London for help. The American ambassador at a loss turned to Hoover for help. Hoover, using in part his personal fortune, helped find shelter, food and ultimately safe passage home for an estimated 120,000 Americans.

Based in part on this success Hoover was next asked to head up the Committee for the Relief of Belgium. Belgium faced a food crisis after the invasion by Germany. Hoover was asked to organize the obtainment and distribution of food to the Belgians. Working with both the Allies and Germans to insure that the food would get to the civilian population, he was able to distribute over two million tons of food to nine million Belgians.

Hoover was appointed head of the U.S. Food Administration by Wilson once the United States entered the war. In this capacity he called on people to conserve food so that it could be used to support the troops. Through his efforts food consumption in the U.S. dropped fifteen percent and helped avoid mandatory rationing. After the war was over, Hoover created the American Relief Administration to support people in many of the Central European countries. His efforts at feeding the starving people of these countries made him a hero in Europe. There were parades in his honor and at least two squares named after him in Belgium and Poland.

As part of this post WWI aid efforts Hoover also provide support for people in Germany and in Bolshevik-controlled areas of Russia. He faced criticism at home for bringing aid to the enemy. Hoover’s response? "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!" After the war, Time Magazine named him one of the “Ten Most Important Living Americans”.

As early as 1920, Hoover was being recruited to run for president. However, in 1920 it was the Democrats, and Hoover was still a registered (and committed) Republican. At this point Hoover believed that his public service was completed and he could return to private life. However, Warren Harding convinced Hoover to join his cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. Over the next eight years under Harding and then Coolidge, he brought his mining background to government. He implemented programs to regulate manufacturing standards for common products like nuts, bolts, and automotive tires.

Recalling his experience during and after WWI, Coolidge called on Hoover to help Americans affected by the severe flooding of the Mississippi River in 1927. (This is an important episode in Hoover’s career because it showed the approach that he would use during the Great Depression.) He took charge of the relief efforts and rallied business leaders to lend the resources needed to help. Probably due in part to his Quaker upbringing, he firmly believed that the public needed to join together to overcome such disasters and that it wasn’t the role of government to jump in and provide support. At the time, he stated, “I suppose I could have called in the Army to help, but why should I, when I only had to call upon Main Street.”

When Coolidge announced that he would not seek re-election in 1928, Hoover was the natural choice for the Republican party. His opponent in the 1928 election was Alfred Smith, the governor of New York. Given his popularity, national reputation and the booming economy, Hoover won in a landslide with 58% of the popular vote and 444 electoral votes (out of 531).

The honeymoon did not last long. Within eight months of taking office the stock market crashed in October 1929. The ultimate crash was not within a single day, taking place over several months. There were multiple tallies, but the Dow would eventually lose 89% of its value by July 1932. It would not get back to its pre-crash levels until November 1954.

Hoover encouraged state and local governments to embark on building projects to get people back to work. During this time, work was started on the Hoover Dam, the largest concrete project that had been undertaken to date. The dam was not completed until Hoover was out of office. FDR dedicated the dam as the Boulder Dam, and it was not renamed the Hoover Dam until 1947.

Still not believing that the federal government should play a role, Hoover was slow to embark on major legislation. His reaction, when it came, was to increase taxes on corporations and the top tax rate from 28% to 64% (the largest peace time tax increase). In spite of heavy opposition, Hoover also signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in June 1930 which raised tariffs on 20,000 imported goods to record levels. The effect of this was that other countries followed suit; U.S. imports declined 66% and exports 61%. It is believed that while this was not the sole cause of the 10-year depression, it didn’t help. Before the tariff was passed, unemployment was 7.8%. In 1931 it was 16.3% and by the time Hoover left office unemployment was at 25.1%. Some historians blame the debate and passage in the House in May 1929 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff for the stock market crash in October 1929.

In June 1932, World War I veterans were camping outside of Washington D.C. to urge Congress to pay out promised bonuses earlier. The bonuses were set up based on how many days the person spent in the Army (different amounts depending on overseas service versus stateside service). The deal was that a veteran would be given a certificate on his birthday in 1925, with payment on his birthday in 1945 (for no apparent reason whatsoever). Most of the veterans left Washington empty-handed, but about 2,000 stayed longer. The police attempted to remove the demonstrators and, in the intervening action, shots were fired. Two protestors were killed and several policemen injured.

Hoover sent in the Army under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Two of his lower ranking officers were Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton. MacArthur, believing that he was fighting a Communist revolution, decided to clear the camp by force. Hoover had specifically sent word that force was not to be used, but MacArthur ignored the order. By the commencement, hundreds of protestors were injured. This was another black mark on Hoover’s record with just a few months before the election. Hoover lost horribly to FDR in 1932.

In his “retirement” years, Hoover remained busy. During World War II, Hoover was called on to head the Polish Relief Commission in a similar fashion to the work he completed during World War I. His work was expanded by President Truman when he was named to head the Famine Relief Commission. In 1947 he headed the Hoover Commission, which was asked to review all aspects of the federal government and make recommendations on improving its functioning. The Hoover Commission made 300 recommendations that were approved by Congress. Eisenhower called on Hoover to head a similar commission in 1953. In total, 71% of the first commission’s recommendations were enacted and 64% of the second commission’s.

Hoover died at the age of 90 in 1964 in New York City. Over time his presidency has been reconsidered and he generally gets higher marks today than in 1932. Many of the things he enacted were precursors to the tools that FDR used during his presidency. In spite of the problem that he had dealing with the Great Depression, Hoover was a remarkable man with many talents and accomplishments.

Trivia:

• Hoover gave his White House servants strict orders to hide from him whenever he passed by. Failure to hide could get someone fired.
• Born in West Branch, Iowa, Hoover was the first president born west of the Mississippi River.
• His first job was picking bugs off potato plants as a child.
• Hoover and Jackson are the only presidents to have been orphaned prior to reaching adulthood.
• Herbert Hoover has the record for longest retirement. He lived 31 years and 230 days after leaving office. Jimmy Carter will pass him on September 7th, 2012.
• Hoover was one of two presidents that were Quakers. (Nixon was the other.)
• There are claims that Hoover was the first student at Stanford University. He was in the first class admitted to Stanford, and claims that he was the first student because he was the first person to sleep in the dormitory.
• Hoover is the most recent cabinet secretary to be elected President of the United States.
• He is one of only two Presidents (along with William Howard Taft) to have been elected without previous electoral experience or high military rank.
• The Belgian city of Leuven named a prominent square Hooverplein in his honor.
• Hoover’s opponent in 1928 was Alfred Smith, the first Roman Catholic to run for president from a major party.
• His vice-president, Charles Curtis is notable for two reasons; he was almost 50% Native American and was born in the territory of Kansas (not the state).
• Hoover was honored with a state funeral, the last of three in a span of 12 months, coming as it did just after the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and General Douglas MacArthur.

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Louise “Lou” Henry (1875-1944, m. 1899)
• Children: Herbert Charles (1903-1969), Alan Henry (1907-1993)
• Party affiliation: Republican Party
• Presidency: 1929-1933
• Born: August 10th, 1874 (West Branch, Iowa)
• Died: October 20th, 1964 (New York, New York)