Franklin Roosevelt: The Great Depression | 5-Minute Videos

a great commander-in-chief abroad does not always make a great president at home that was the case when it came to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1940s President Roosevelt led us to victory in World War II that stunning achievement however obscures Roosevelt's record in the 1930s in the 30s Roosevelt battled the Great Depression at home and met defeat to understand how this happened it helps to remember who Roosevelt was before he became president his passion was the sea an experienced sailor he knew every crack and cranny of the Atlantic coast his first work in the federal government was as assistant Secretary of the Navy where his Mastery of the Seas became evident to colleagues after serving as governor of New York Roosevelt was elected president in 1932 the job confronting him was all land America lay mired in the Great Depression one in four was unemployed Roosevelt made a promise to put Americans back to work he would help the Forgotten man the man at the bottom of the economic pyramid to rescue America the new president decided to steer the country like a ship in a storm with himself as Captain just as a commander calms a nervous crew Roosevelt told Americans to Forget Their Fear the only thing to fear he said said was fear itself Roosevelt also promised to reig the economy and run it tight as a ship Roosevelt called his rig the New Deal and made its military aspect explicit this was a call to Arms he said the Depression was an emergency for which Roosevelt claimed broad executive power the downturn should be treated like a foreign foe perhaps because Roosevelt didn't like economics very much the captain recklessly steered the economy into uncharted waters roosevel opted for a command and control philosophy never before tried in peacetime and he gave himself the broadest possible license a license to pursue as he put it bold persistent experimentation Roosevelt called for government to manage industry new laws ordered companies to raise prices in wages even when they couldn't afford to do so he slammed individual businessmen he called corporations enemies of the peace Roosevelt was a man born into wealth he imagined that he and his Senior Crew his Brain Trust could run the economy better than entrepreneurs for example The New National Recovery Administration decided everything down to how many logs a lumber yard could cut and at what time or how many chickens a butcher might sell but in the storm of the 1930s few dared mutiny maybe this was the way economies were now supposed to work that's what Roosevelt's experts said Roosevelt subsidized farmers and created temporary jobs in the Arts Social Work experienced a boom he promised pensions to seniors that sounded good and the New Deal backed organized Labor's demands for much higher wages the recovery was just around the next Bend Roosevelt promised all Americans had to do was wait for it as the years passed however recovery stayed away for an economy is not like a battleship an economy is more like a human it makes choices you can't command an economy to grow the economy has to feel like growing under the New Deal the economy instead felt like hiding below deck what company would hire up if it couldn't pay the wages today we consider 6% unemployment a crisis then overall unemployment stayed above 10% throughout the decade so if the New Deal broke its own promise why did America give Roosevelt a second term in 1936 one answer was that Roosevelt was indeed a charismatic Captain a man who did Inspire the new medium of radio allowed him to connect to millions of Americans merely by speaking into a microphone second Roosevelt convinced the nation that crisis was indeed The New Normal third money was involved the New Deal systematically rewarded voting blocks whether seniors laborers or Farmers these groups expressed their thanks with their votes and finally Roosevelt was a man of extraordinary personal will confined to a wheelchair by polio Roosevelt did not allow obstacles political or otherwise to deter him if he wanted something he went after it and usually got it that included his new deal by the 1940 election the big issue was a war across the Atlantic here was a real where a Navy man was a strong choice and once Roosevelt turned to work he eased up on business and instead hired companies to build him ships planes and guns still the facts are important to remember we can praise President Roosevelt's War service all we like but there's no way around that New Deal record President Franklin Rosevelt himself put the great in the Great Depression I'm AMD schay author of The Forgotten man for Prager University thank you for watching this video to keep Prager you videos free please consider making a tax deductible donation