Lecture Arguments Regarding the 1930s

During class on Monday, January 24, the class outlined the following characteristics of the 1930s and reviewed some of the following arguments--especially about FDR and the New Deal-- made in lecture:

Characteristics of the Period

• Great Depression, with concomitant economic upheaval
• "Revolutionary" movements focused around new ways to organize society (Communism, for example)
• Migrations of people and ideas
• New social visions (surrounding issues such as race relations, for example)
• Fragmentation of Depression era versus unifying nature of WWII (some argue that the Depression unified, while others contend that unity came with WWII)
• Isolation versus globalism (defining what the U.S.'s role would be in the world)
• Change, especially in the level of government involvement and the way people viewed their relationship with government
• Conflict, with differing visions of what America meant and what its future would be

FDR and the New Deal

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• Characterized as both "people's President" and "aristocrat"
• Used mass media (fireside chats)
• "Cleverly" manipulated opponents' rhetoric
• Expanded executive power (court packing), with actions that drew charges of dictatorship

• Response to Depression that included banking reform, regulation of business, national projects, general relief (unemployment assistance, housing)
• First 100 Days:  Rapid passage of key New Deal legislation
• Conflict between those who supported and opposed the New Deal.  Supporters saw opportunity for "workingman's government," while opponents saw "creeping socialism"