FDR and Hope HS631 Activity Introduction Hey there! (Name) here. You know, the story of our nation s history reads a lot like the script for a blockbuster movie. I m not kidding! Check this out: From the fires of revolution rises a new nation of dreamers. A century later, it is nearly torn apart by civil war. And then, just when it seemed the coast was clear, the American way of life is once again threatened by The Great Depression! Video 1 - Introduction But through the fog of economic struggle and the distant smoke of world war, a new hero rises. His name is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. See what I mean? We ve got revolution, brother fighting brother, financial catastrophe, world war, and, of course, an awesome hero. Let s watch this thrilling video to find out more about the hero of our story: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Video 1 The election of 1932 showed that the country was ready for change, in that the people needed the government's help more than ever before. They were choosing a candidate who would move away from laissez faire, or hands off policies, and provide much needed relief. Desiring change, the country overwhelmingly elected Franklin Roosevelt in a landslide. Roosevelt won the popular vote with 22.8 million votes to Hoover's 15.8 million. Not only did FDR win the race for the White House, but the Democrats also won control over Congress for the first time since 1916. Part of Roosevelt's victory
came from the fact that people blamed Hoover for the problems they were facing. He had unfortunately become the symbol of the Depression. Instead, the election represented the greatest change in voter choice in U.S. history. Think about this: In 1928, Hoover won the electoral vote in a landslide. Only four years later, he would lose the electoral vote by a huge margin, having received only 59 electoral votes to Roosevelt's 472. Roosevelt's victory would represent a rejection of Hoover and a revolution for the people. It consisted of a realignment of voter allegiance that swept New Deal Democrats into power, and it forged the establishment of a new coalition of supporters. These were farmers, industrial laborers, white-collar workers, African Americans, immigrants, women, intellectuals and others who came together to reject Republican leaders and policies and put their faith in a man who promised change, but one of the biggest problems Roosevelt inherited was a banking crisis. While the banking crisis of 1930 and 1931 had been somewhat relieved by help from Hoover's Reconstruction Finance Corporation, another crisis began brewing in the summer of 1932. By 1933, the crisis had become a full-blown panic. People were worried the government would not support the gold standard, which meant that people could have their dollar converted into gold, which was seen as a stable investment during tough economic times, so investors began to withdraw their money and gold from the banks. By February 1933, over $250 million worth of gold had been withdrawn. That led to fear and uncertainty, which resulted in many more banks closing their doors, which led to more factories being closed, and that caused the unemployment rate to climb higher. Hoover had tried to close the banks for a day to assess the situation of each bank, but that didn't work.
Since Roosevelt had won the election and would be inaugurated within a month, Hoover would not move ahead with his plans unless he had the consent of the President elect, so he wrote to Roosevelt about the situation, urging him to go along with his plan. Roosevelt instead chose to ignore Hoover's letters and phone calls. Since action was not being taken, things were only getting worse. The Federal Reserve Board started to panic when it had given up more and more gold. It then demanded that the banks be closed. By the time of Roosevelt's inauguration, most states had closed the banks as they waited for the new President to step in with a plan to save them. While Roosevelt was governor of New York, he had created programs to combat the growing economic problems. To help him come up with ideas for his programs, he sought the advice from several different people. This group of advisors became known as the Brain Trust, which was made up of professors, economists, and various other advisors. Interestingly, they never met as a formal group, but they started working with FDR before the election to help shape the policies that would become the New Deal. Their goal was to use government planning to introduce stability into the market place, and a welfare state to aid the helpless and end poverty. This was a clear deviation from Hoover's reliance on rugged individualism and volunteerism, but faced with a banking crisis and other economic problems before taking office, FDR was forced to come up with answers that could move the country out of the Depression. Time would gauge the effectiveness of this Brain Trust and whether it could generate the right ideas to move the country out of its darkest days. Video 1 Recap
But through the fog of economic struggle and the distant smoke of world war, a new hero rises. His name is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. See what I mean? We ve got revolution, brother fighting brother, financial catastrophe, world war, and, of course, an awesome hero. Let s watch this thrilling video to find out more about the hero of our story: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As you can see, FDR truly was a hero to the American people. During a time when confidence was at an all time low, he gave people something they desperately needed: Hope. FDR s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, is also remembered as an American hero, and for good reason. They were quite a pair. You can watch that awesome video again, or we can move on to a couple of equally awesome questions. Reading Passage Introduction Obviously, before our hero could become our president, he had to get elected! The reigning champion in the 1932 presidential contest was President Herbert Hoover, and he was bent on protecting his title. The challenger was none other than New York governor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Americans were struggling with the Great Depression and their loss of confidence in the banks, the economy, and the nation s leaders. Would the up-and-coming governor from New York be able to translate his personal sense of optimism into a presidential victory? Read here to find out! Video 2 - Introduction
A good hero needs a good plan. Franklin Roosevelt s 1932 presidential campaign centered on a plan called the New Deal. The New Deal involved expansive use of the federal government to help stimulate the nation s economy and provide relief for the American people. In addition to a good plan, sometimes a hero needs a good team. Let s watch this video and see who helped Roosevelt design his New Deal and just how committed he was to making it happen Video 2 Now I know you've probably heard of Social Security, but do you know who's responsible for the creation of it? Well, the person we credit for the creation of Social Security is President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or FDR. You see, during the Great Depression of the 1930s, it was his administration that implemented many government reforms. These reforms were specifically designed to help the poor and improve the economy. Did you also know that FDR was paralyzed from the waist down because of polio, or that he hid his use of a wheelchair from the public? Despite these obstacles, he would become the only U.S. President ever elected to four terms in office. Okay, now I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January the 30th, 1882, to a wealthy, aristocratic family. His cousin was President Theodore Roosevelt. After graduating from Harvard University and entering Columbia Law School in 1905, he married his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and together they had six children. It is important to know that Eleanor Roosevelt became one of the most important people in FDR's political career, and one of the most publicly active First Ladies. FDR admired Eleanor for her intelligence, and he often relied upon her for advice. During and after her term as First
Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt worked tirelessly to promote human rights, but let's get back to FDR's political career. It began in 1910 when he was elected to the office of New York State Senator. Later, in 1913, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Wilson. Roosevelt's rapid political rise, however, would be halted in 1921 when at the age of 39 he became permanently paralyzed from the waist down because of polio. The event might have marked the end of his political career, but Roosevelt had a plan. He knew that if he wanted to run for public office, he would have to convince the people that he was getting better. To implement this strategy, he convinced the press not to show pictures of him in a wheelchair. As a result, he was able to narrowly win the gubernatorial election of 1928 to become governor of New York. As governor, Roosevelt began promoting conservation and scientific farming in order to increase New York's prosperity, but soon after the stock market crashed, Roosevelt felt the government needed to be more involved in the country's growing economic problems, so he began to surround himself with a group of advisors that would become known as the Brain Trust. These advisors would help him generate ideas on what the government needed to do in order to help resolve the economic problems facing the country. With the help of the Brain Trust, Roosevelt instituted programs for the people of New York such as the Temporary Emergency Relief Act, which created the largest state relief program in the U.S. He also created the Commission of Stabilization of Industry in 1930 to reduce unemployment.
However, Roosevelt's belief about the government's intervention in the economy directly conflicted with the ideas of his soon to be Presidential opponent Herbert Hoover, who supported the idea of rugged individualism, which proposed that the people needed to resolve their own problems by themselves without the help of government, and in 1932, Roosevelt was chosen by the Democratic Party to run against President Hoover. Although running against a sitting President put him at a disadvantage, FDR entered the race with several positives going for him. His name reminded voters of former President Theodore Roosevelt. He was one of the most proactive governors in combating the Depression. At his Democratic Convention, he announced his New Deal Program to provide relief for Americans suffering from the Great Depression, and his personal charm and vibrant voice sounded good on radio. Most importantly, he centered his campaign on bolstering the confidence of the American people. As a matter of fact, his campaign song was "Happy days are here again." Unfortunately for President Hoover, his too little too late policies severely weakened his campaign, and he became the scapegoat for all the suffering that was being caused by the Great Depression. In the end, FDR won the Presidential election of 1932 by a wide margin. With victory, it was now time for FDR to fulfill his campaign promise to combat the Great Depression. Video 2 - Recap As you can see, President Roosevelt was a very determined guy! And he wasn t afraid of calling on a bunch of smarty pants like the Brain Trust to help him design his New Deal. It could be said that both Roosevelt and Hoover thought they had the right ideas for the country, but in the end it was the citizens who made the final decision.
Roosevelt understood the importance of a good sidekick. Or group of sidekicks, in his case. He also understood how important it is sometimes to go back and watch a video again to be sure you caught everything. Of course, you can always keep going, if you want to. I won t tell FDR. Reading Passage Introduction Every hero has a moment in which they reach out to touch the lives of others. Franklin Roosevelt s First Inauguration was this moment for many people in the United States. Thousands of Americans gathered around their radios to hear the words of a president they hoped would lead them out of the Great Depression and back to prosperity. Read the following passage to learn more about the inspiring message Roosevelt delivered to the American people with his first inauguration speech.