Summary
This book follows the careers of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, focusing on the second half of FDR’s administration from 1940 to 1945. By this time, Franklin had been the U.S. President for nearly two full terms. During those two terms, he had transformed the federal government to an almost unrecognizable extent, implementing many policies we now take for granted, like Social Security, the FDIC, the SEC, and the 40-hour workweek. These policies were part of a larger platform known as the “New Deal,” which was essentially a labor reform agenda that emerged during the Great Depression.
All the while tension was boiling up in Europe on the verge of WWII. At this point in history of the U.S., the country’s geographical isolation had allowed Americans to feel largely disconnected and protected from whatever was happening in Europe. U.S. involvement in WWI was widely viewed as a misadventure with limited payoff for America’s interests. This meant that, as Germany became increasingly aggressive, there was little public support for the U.S. to get involved in what was seen as “Europe’s problem.” FDR had a much different view of the situation. He was more invested in the ideals of democracy and committed to sending aid to the Allies. For much of the early part of the war, any help sent to Britain had to be sold to the public as “America’s best shot at staying out of the war.”
It cannot be overstated how unprepared the U.S. military was in 1940 leading up to WWII. Thanks to their geographical buffer, investment in research, training, and equipment was almost nonexistent. What America did have was the world’s largest latent productive capacity, but many of the New Deal policies had created an antagonistic relationship between big business and the government. This created another delicate political situation where FDR had to play to both sides, signaling that the government would support big business while also trying to maintain the labor advances secured by the New Deal.
The other major character in the book was Eleanor, she transformed the role of First Lady into a politically active position. Early in FDR’s political career, Eleanor discovered he was having an affair, which seemed to have completely shattered her sense of self. With the help of close friends, she used this as an opportunity to recreate herself, becoming a larger-than-life character who seemed to be everywhere all the time. Her indefatigable energy allowed her to keep a nonstop schedule for the entirety of FDR’s administration, providing him with valuable insights that informed his policies. She often functioned as the angel on FDR’s shoulder, arguing that social and civil progress should not be sacrificed in the face of war.
Thoughts
It occurred to me that, for all the books and content about WWII I’ve consumed, I had never taken a close look at FDR. In most books about WWII, he plays a peripheral character, largely because he placed a lot of faith in his commanders, seldom second-guessing their leadership. A notable example of this was when the date of the invasion of North Africa had to be pushed to after an election. Although it would have been beneficial to move forward, FDR allowed the delay.
The major thing I took away from this book was just how good WWII was for the U.S. We are obviously proud of the roles our veterans played in stopping the Nazis and the Japanese; this effort remains one of the few things that is still almost universally agreed upon as a good thing. What I had never paid attention to was how many advances in our society are directly attributed to the war. WWII marked the beginning of what would be known as the “American Century.” Beyond the immense economic success the war represented for the U.S., it also expedited social justice changes that likely would have stagnated for years otherwise. It was the war that normalized women entering the workforce. It was also the war that elevated the position of Black Americans in the eyes of white Americans in ways that would have been difficult to replicate during peacetime.
The war pulled America out of the Great Depression, representing one of the greatest wealth shifts in history. It created the military-industrial complex but this also generated crowds of scientists and researchers, creating a virtuous cycle of productivity-enhancing technologies that drove unparalleled global growth. Thanks to the G.I. Bill returning veterans could attend college for free, creating a skilled workforce without historic comparison. All of these benefits with only a fraction of the losses experienced by European and Asian countries. I think it would be hard to find a more beneficial geopolitical event in U.S. history.
FDR served more presidential terms than anyone in U.S. history. Defying the traditional two-term limit that his predecessors had respected, FDR was elected to a historic fourth term before succumbing to a cerebral hemorrhage in his twelfth year of office. In many ways, the era of “big government” can be traced back to him. His ideals pushed the U.S. into the global superpower status it has enjoyed for the past seventy years. He represents one of those rare politicians who seemed to have a preternatural talent for creative solutions to difficult problems, balancing idealism with pragmatism.