Roosevelt's New Deal Revolution
FDR completely flipped American politics on its head when he became president in 1933. His New Deal wasn't just about fixing the economy - it fundamentally changed what Americans expected from their government.
Roosevelt's approach was dead simple: the federal government was responsible for people's welfare, full stop. He created alphabet soup agencies like the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) to regulate businesses and farming. These agencies coordinated activities across multiple states, something that required massive federal power.
The man himself was a political genius - charming, confident, and brilliant at communication. His fireside chats on radio made Americans feel like he was personally speaking to them about his policies. Congress was so impressed by his early banking reforms that they basically gave him carte blanche to pass whatever he wanted during his first 100 days.
Key Point: The New Deal didn't just address economic problems - it permanently expanded federal power and made Americans expect their government to actively solve their problems.
World War II and Presidential Transformation
WWII properly catapulted America onto the world stage and made the presidency incredibly powerful. Roosevelt had to navigate tricky waters between supporting Britain whilst keeping America officially neutral - at least until Pearl Harbor forced America into the war in December 1941.
FDR's war policies were clever but controversial. The Lend-Lease scheme let him supply Britain with $61 billion worth of war materials "to be returned after the war" (spoiler: they weren't). The destroyers-for-bases deal gave Britain 60 naval destroyers in exchange for military bases.
War production absolutely transformed the American economy. Unemployment vanished as 16 million men joined the armed forces and women flooded into factories. Corporate profits exploded from 1billionin1940to28 billion in 1948, finally ending the Great Depression.
Roosevelt completely revolutionised the presidency itself. He created proper White House staff (Hoover only had 3 assistants!), established the Executive Office of the President, and became the first president to receive thousands of letters from ordinary citizens. However, his attempts to pack the Supreme Court in 1937 showed there were still limits to presidential power - separation of powers wasn't completely dead yet.