By Paul K. Conklin - The New Deal - Book Report/Review Example

Conkin, Paul. The New Deal. New York: Wiley. 1992. Thesis The New Deal was an exceedingly private activity whose unrelated programs were coalesced by Rosevelt Franklin’s personality alone. Arguments Conkin attested that Roosevelt never really comprehended the complications of the economy of capitalism. His acts were as a result of situational searching for fairness rather than watchfully planned political program. Conkin believed that he did not exude the material, the understanding for grand leadership. He actually did not have it, but he had the structure, a structure which appeared to be more significant than substance back in 19325. Roosevelt had no power to control the economic crisis repetition in 1937. Despite the fact that Roosevelt proved his success in regulative laws, work programs and relief actions; he could not prevent the recurrence of an indelible economic crisis. Thus he gave into the free market society pressures5. Leuchtenburg critiqued the New Deal based on the 1930s social and political issues. It all started when Hoover Herbert’s presidency came to an end and the nation went to unrest as a result of industrial collapse, enormous unemployment and crashes of the stock market. Leuchtenburg’s focus was on ‘recreation of the modern president’ of Roosevelt. He argued that Roosevel’s incredible personality, persistence, brevity and optimism glamorized the White House. By this, he agreed with Madden. He more often than not mentioned Roosevelt and his followers proposing and formulating legislation, fighting for measures of relief and consequently altering the American perception of the government. The federal government would then be a facilitator of the economy for the nation-states, an assistant agency for the destitute and a fighter 1of the American workers’ rights2. Leuchtenburg approach of the American history of politics was meticulous and rational, perhaps due to his intensive research. He utilized the use of newspaper articles, memoirs, private interviews and manuscripts to gather information about that history moment2. Leuchtenburg made several insights while demystifying the legislation forms that came to be. He found that the New Deal was scrupulous in nature. The cause-effect relationship was displayed in a way that seemed a reality more than a fairy tale. For instance, the book’s chapter two and three clearly illustrated why the nation-state’s attitude was in a position of turning around hastily after Roosevelt election. The preliminary stages for the newly elected executive seemed difficult; banks of thirty eight states were shut on the day of inauguration, the Stock Exchange of New York closed its doors and the nation-state suffered about ten million unemployment rates. Leuchtenburg explained than this was more than just the speech of Roosevelt at the inauguration, “there’s nothing to fear but fear itself”. Leuchtenburg held that Roosevelt used a number of fiscal advisors of Hoover to establish a measure of banking in order to reopen the shut banks in eight days. This turned out successful since people started depositing more than withdrawing. Some days after, Roosevelt requested for the termination of the prohibition. In a month’s time, the prohibition came to an end and alcoholic sale renewed the motivation of the country. Leuchtenburg argued that the turn-around was emotional rather than economical and that Roosevelt’s measures were more of a depression than his predecessor’s Hoover3. Another justification of Conkin’s private activity thesis entails Leuchtenburg ability of linking supporters, variables, detractors and factors of a particular legislation piece. His detailed research gave the readers a sense f understanding on the functionality of the system. Leuchtenburg stated that Roosevelt was responding to the outcry emanating from unemployed persons and from the elderly concerning pensions and joblessness compensation. E attested that Roosevelt established a rigid foundation of his measure by creating a cabinet committee known as the Committee on Economic Security. After six months the president sent the formed committee to Congress letting Senators who faced difficulties in life to engage in the arguments for the bill. Rebels to the measure would unavoidably be conservatives who believed that the act was violating the customary American assumptions of personal responsibility, self-help and self-denial. Eventually, the act resulted into unemployment compensation and insurance and also established a framework that assisted the blind and the crippled4. Barger discusses his book in critically but holds that it is not entirely a chronology of the New Deal. Besides he discounts President Roosevelt in his role as the president. Barger focused on various aspects including organized labor, politics, agriculture, and industry in their uncontrolled pressures. He also argued that the New Deal was an American society’s holding operation and that World War 11 was the marking event of the turning point for myriads of Americans. Badger outlines the horrors of depression such as starvation, suicides, psychosis, death, disease and infanticides adding to the deprivation of the economy. Badger found that the failures of the New Deal included escalated unemployment, low purchasing power, lack of wealth distribution, flimsy labor policies, and rural indigence, escalated agricultural production surplus, lack of civil rights strategies, segregation and sustained large corporations power. On the other hand he finds the successes of the New Deal including help to farmers, welfare programs, and stabilized security and banking systems1. Evaluation Leuchtenburn agreed with Conkin that Roosevelt established the presidency characterized by his impeccable personality. He demonstrated this by elaborating how Roosevelt utilized the tools of administration efficiently and by highlighting the president’s personality. He also exposed the enormous scaling up of the federal government, specially the intervention in the economy. He also attested that the New Deal was a savior of capitalism designed to assist private ventures and establish an equilibrium that was functional. This system recognized the proletariats including farmers, blacks and industry employees. People may think that the goal was to socialize but that was not the case. However, he believed that the New Deal paved way for new problems despite trying to solve numerous problems. It never demonstrated achievement in peacetime. He also contended that the legislation of the New Deal was only making a transitional step 6. Badger agreed with Conkin and Leuchtenburn that the New Deal led the federal 2government into exceptional link with numerous Americans and outlined the contemporary US’s political economy as a measure of addressing the economic depression. Just like Leuchtenburn, Badger also conducted an intensive research on New Deal and demonstrated an effective assessment of the effect of the great depression and programs of New Deal on industrial workers, the unemployed, business persons and farmers. His work was not a mere narrative too. However, he does not feature Roosevelt very much like Leuchtenburn. He focuses on the activity of the New Deal including welfare, politics and agriculture. Additionally Badger argued that the World War 11 was a marking of the turning point for Americans while Leuchtenburn and Conkin believed that the New Deal was actually the marking of the American turning point. Badger dealt with Hoover Herbert’s role in a small space while the other two focused on the role of Roosevelt. However, Badger did agree that Roosevelt’s intentions were to preserve and save capitalism. Works Cited Anthony J. Badger, The New Deal: The Depression Years, 1933-1940, 2002 (1989), Ivan R. Paul K. Conkin, The New Deal, 3rd ed., 1992 (1967), Harlan Davidson, 978-0-88295-889-7 William E. Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal 1932-1940, 2009 (1963), Harper Perennial, 978-0-06-0183696-1 Read More