was something else about him. Crippled by polio
in 1921, he had lost the use of his legs. Now, as
president, he personified the fact that adversity
could be triumphantly overcome. Quite possibly
one consequence of his serious disability was that
he developed a new homely touch in politics, a
charisma in the eyes of the mass of the people that
became an invaluable asset to him. The pampered
child of wealthy Americans, privately educated at
the best schools and at Harvard, Roosevelt bore
a famous family name. He modelled himself on
his famous relative Theodore.
His early political career advanced by easy pro-
gression from the Senate of the state of New
York, to a junior place in the Navy Department
in Wilson’s administration. Then to the gover-
norship of New York State when already stricken
with polio. The Republicans seemed firmly in
power in the 1920s, but the depression gave the
Democrats their chance and Roosevelt secured
the nomination in 1932. Roosevelt was happiest
when active. During the first Hundred Days of
his own administration he initiated measure after
measure, backed by a bevy of academics and
politicians who served as his think-tank, or brains
trust as it was then called. One associate who
knew him well described Roosevelt’s mind as ‘fly-
paper’. There was a tremendous array of New
Deal policies, Washington became the centre and
source of new federal powers hitherto undreamt
of, and a vast sprawling bureaucracy administered
the programmes. The public’s thirst for action
was satisfied. This thirst was also slaked by the
twenty-first amendment in February 1933, rati-
fied by the States in December. It was the end of
Prohibition. ‘Happy Days are here again.’
An emergency banking act restored confidence
in the banks and in June 1933 deposits were
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance. In May
1933 the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
tried to raise farm prices by paying federal subsi-
dies to farmers for reducing production; market-
ing agreements were supervised by the federal
authorities. In June 1933 the National Industrial
Recovery Act (NIRA) created corporate commit-
tees representing the public, management and
labour to establish codes on production, prices
and competition. Labour was aided by the laying
down of maximum hours and minimum wages
and by being conceded the right to join a trade
union, which at last gave a great impetus to
the unionisation of the less skilled workers.
Underlying NIRA was a belief in national plan-
ning. But the biggest businesses dominated the
codes, as government supervision was small.
Among the most celebrated early measures was
the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) in May 1933, which established govern-
ment authority over a vast impoverished region
containing a hydroelectric dam and fertiliser fac-
tories. The Authority promoted scientific agricul-
ture, prevented flooding and engaged in a variety
of social programmes to aid the poor. Another
part of the NIRA established the Public Works
Administration with a fund of $3.3 billion. Under
the secretary of the interior, Harold Ickes, it was
set up to promote construction that was in
the public interest, and employed during its first
year 1 million men. But Ickes was cautious in his
approach; not so ex-social worker Harry Hopkins.
Hopkins worked for speedy aid to restore the
morale of the unemployed. The Civilian Works
Administration run by the indefatigable Hopkins
employed 4 million people on public works
schemes and cost $2,000 million in 1933 to- Roosevelt thought this was too much and
abolished it in the spring of 1934. His own pro-
gramme in 1933 was the Civilian Conservation
Corps, which offered American unemployed
young men from the cities work in army-style
camps in the countryside. Over a thousand camps
accommodated 300,000 men planting trees and
working in rural areas. Other New Deal measures
sought to supervise and regulate Stock Exchange
dealings and financiers.
The work of many minds, the New Deal meas-
ures were not intended to introduce ‘socialism’.
Roosevelt attempted to make capitalism work bet-
ter, to use the power of representative democratic
government to secure social justice for all the
people. Despite the measures comprising the New
Deal, the US’s unemployment figures disappoint-
ingly showed only gradual improvement. The rea-
son for this is not now difficult to find. Congress
and the president in 1933 and in 1934 were not
prepared to tolerate large deficit budgets. Funds