Roosevelt's Peacetime Administrations, 1933-41

Over half a century after the death of Roosevelt the debate on his presidency and the New Deal remains vibrant. Roosevelt created the modern presidency and he remains the giant of American political history. This book serves as an introduction to his domestic policy during his tenure from the Depression to the outbreak of the Second World War, focusing on the debates and controversies that surrounded the implementation and practice of Roosevelt's New Deal policies. Incorporating archival discoveries at the Roosevelt Presidential Library, this documentary collection situates rhetoric against policy, the words of new dealers against those of their critics and personal against public perceptions of the New Deal. This is a book which will encourage thought and debate on the meaning, nature, flaws and outcomes of Roosevelt's New Deal from 1933 to 1941. Together with an extensive introduction, introductory passages at the start of each chapter and documents, the book reproduces extracts from a variety of sources including government records, public addresses and speeches and the private papers of Roobesvelt and some of his closest associates. It pitches rhetoric against policy, allowing direct comparison of the words of the social reformers against those of their critics, and of personal and public perceptions of the New Deal.