This book by Amity Shales sparked significant controversy. There was praise from Conservatives and attacks from Liberals and Progressives. Conservatives have believed that Roosevelt’s policies extended the Great Depression and the Progressives believe he saved the country. I find the arguments to be misplaced. My family considered themselves Roosevelt Democrats despite the fact their personal beliefs often were what could be called Libertarian. I’ve done considerable reading in attempt to understand this disconnect, and found “The Forgotten Man” to be a balanced presentation of the history of that time. It is full of fascinating information, and I give it a strong recommendation. I admit that I inherited my parents Libertarian beliefs and little of their trust of FDR’s expansion of government.

I think the tension between the two sides of the argument begins with the title. The original definition of “The Forgotten Man” was proposed by Yale Professor William Graham Sumner. He thought the forgotten man was mostly the middle class who is coerced into helping those at the economic bottom. Roosevelt used the phrase in a “fireside chat” to describe the poor who needed the help of government to recover.

There is no doubt Roosevelt attracted political support because of the “New Deal” programs. However, as the book points out, the new policies often froze business people and entrepreneurs into inaction, which suppressed the economy. Some policies and programs confused even ardent FDR supporters. One policy was to stabilize and maybe even increase the prices of farm commodities by reducing the amount of land being farmed and the size of herds. My parents were farmers and wanted higher prices for what they produced, but were quite frustrated with plowing under crops and slaughtering and burying baby pigs while the news reels were showing soup lines in the cities with long lines of hungry people.

One line of attack on the book by Liberals and Progressives is that it endorses the model offered by Wendell Willkie during the 1940 presidential election that businesses would overcome their reluctance for expansion if the New Deal should be scaled back. The book begins with the decade preceding the FDR era, and gives a good introduction to the politics and politicians of that time.  However, its main focus is on the 1937 recession when Roosevelt began budget-balancing that looked quite similar to what Herbert Hoover had been suggesting.

Roosevelt defeated Hoover easily and reveled in his new power.  He enjoyed holding meetings with his advisors while he ate breakfast in bed.  He would smile as he announced the new price for gold.  One day an advisor asked why he had settled on raising the price 21 cents, and was told it was a lucky number, being three times seven.  FDR would eventually take the country off the gold standard, believing that hoarding gold was the reason the economy wasn’t recovering.

There was a flood of “New Deal” legislation in FDR’s first 100 days as president, including declaring bank holidays. Economic experimentation included the National Recovery Administration (NRA).  The NRA would control industries employing 22 million people with 557 codes that stipulated minimum wages and maximum hours and set minimum prices for commodities. The codes were so detailed that they specified, for example, the exact recipe for producing macaroni. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) established minimum prices for farm goods in an attempt to drive prices up. The Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) were both established. The Manhattan Project remained a secret except to the Soviets until well after FDR’s death.

One aspect of the book that I found disturbing was Roosevelt’s persecution of former Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon and the wealthy developer of commercial energy, Samuel Insull. Both had been scrupulously honest in their lives and had donated liberally to various good causes.  They also both had taken advantage of tax laws to shelter income from taxes by using municipal bonds and trusts.  They both said they were uncomfortable with the tax shelters they had used, but the shelters were on the law books and legal.  Roosevelt directed his investigators to go after both men even if what they had done was within the law.  Their story was shared hundreds of other people who were given similar treatment regardless of whether their tax returns were legal or not.  Roosevelt thought some deductions were “immoral” even if they were legal, that the laws should be changed to make the deductions illegal, and those who had used the deductions should be prosecuted retroactively.

It is interesting that people began to take actions separate from the government to deal with the shrinking economy.  A real estate man in Utah, where unemployment had reached 30 percent, organized workers who hired themselves out to farmers, and they were paid with food.  A black preacher who called himself Father Divine held Sunday banquets with an extensive menu at his residence.  On the contrary side, the Federal Reserve continued the money drought.  The resulting deflation punished those who had borrowed money, including homeowners who had mortgages.  Home prices dropped below what people had originally paid and the amounts they owed on their mortgages.  Different groups across the country began to issue alternative forms of money.  In Utah they called their new money the “Vallar.” The Mexican Peso began trading at a premium.  There were 150 barter or script systems being used in thirty states.

One aspect of the book that was of great interest to me was the strong trust FDR had in “Uncle Joe” Stalin until very late in his life and the many Communists and Fellow Travelers in his administration and other parts of the government. (See the Venona Project for a good description of the extent of the Soviet penetration of the U.S in all important strategic areas.)

Roosevelt angered even his supporters by proposing to pack the Supreme Court with justices who would dependably uphold the constitutionality of his programs. He gained strong support from black voters despite his refusal to support anti-lynching legislation. Perhaps the most interesting fact is that FDR’s political successes continued despite everything else.  He casually jettisoned two Vice Presidents.  Apparently the dismissal of Garner was a mutual decision, but the totally loyal Henry Wallace was quite surprised when Harry Truman was tapped to be the candidate on Roosevelt’s last ticket.

I recommend the book to any ardent fan of history.