Summary Of Fdr Advocate For The American People By David Kennedy

In FDR: Advocate for the American People, David M. Kennedy paints Roosevelt in a bright light by stating, “he had a profound feeling for the underdog, a real sense of the critical imbalance of economic life a very keen awareness that political democracy could not exist side by side with economic plutocracy.” Essentially, Kennedy saw Roosevelt as someone who cared for the American Public and placed the needs of the people first. Kennedy is able to show readers that Roosevelt truly cares for the public when he states that, Roosevelt truly believed that the people could not be “self supporting” and that “without the help of thousands of others, any one of us would die, naked and starved.” By referencing to Roosevelt’s speech, Kennedy is able

Kennedy argues that the “New Deal gave to countless Americans who had never had much of it a sense of security, and with it a sense of having a stake in their country. And it did it all without shredding the American Constitution or sundering the American People.” This shows that Kennedy believes the New Deal had benefited the country. He also gives many examples as to why the New Deal was able to help pull America out of the devastating depression. Within the first one hundred days of the New Deal Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as well as the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Therefore, within the first one hundred days Roosevelt had already set America on its path to recovery. Kennedy also talks about the Social Security Act and it’s importance in shaping the modern welfare state. Ultimately, Kennedy argues that the New Deal helped everyone escape from the depression and receive a sense of security for the

In fact, Higgs argued that the New Deal may have actually hindered the recovery from the depression and that Roosevelt’s programs were only used to buy votes. Unlike many historians, Higgs thought that Roosevelt’s presidency negatively impacted the Americans. He criticized many aspect of his presidency such as the New Deal, Roosevelt’s advisor, the vote buying scheme, Roosevelt’s legacy, and Roosevelt’s character. For example, Higgs believed that the New Deal, instead of helping in the recovery from the depression, actually prolonged it. Higgs states “Had Roosevelt only kept his inoffensive campaign promises of 1932-to cut federal spending, balance the budget, maintain a sound currency…the depression might have passed.” Higgs felt that the excessive spending on the New Deal programs led to the prolonging of the Depression. Asides from that, Higgs also believed that the New Deal programs were used basically as a bribe to receive more votes from the public. In exchange for government support the people would give their political support to