In 1928, Herbert Hoover ran for office at the height of American prosperity. He promised "a chicken in every pot," and there was every indication he could deliver. A short four years later, the nation had plummeted to the depths of its worst depression, and the electorate was angry. In spite of scorching criticism, Hoover wanted to see his recovery programs given more time to work, so he sought a second term as president. Indeed, no other Republican was enthusiastic about being drafted into the seemingly hopeless 1932 presidential race.

Hoover found himself pitted against Democratic nominee Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), governor of New York State. Besides being a Democrat, which in this election was a benefit, Roosevelt was blessed with charm, wit, intelligence, and self-assurance. He was also a mesmerizing speaker, which in this era of the radio was crucially important. Roosevelt had a resonant voice and a gift for employing phrases that struck a strong chord with his listeners. In a campaign speech, he used the term "forgotten man," and in his nomination acceptance speech he pledged "a new deal for the American people." These simple descriptors were exactly right for the time and place and contributed greatly to his success.

Although no spendthrift in normal times, Roosevelt's liberal use of government resources to deal with the depression as governor of New York was in his favor. Roosevelt felt the needs of people took precedence over a strict budget in times of hardship. As governor, he had opened the state's coffers in relief of those hardest hit by unemployment and bank closings. After his nomination, Roosevelt went on the stump with speeches and "whistlestop tours" to vigorously campaign for the presidency.

Following a nearly fatal bout with polio in 1921, Franklin Roosevelt had been confined to a wheelchair. He spent years trying to recuperate from the illness and its terrible effects. Though fortunate to be able to afford the intensive and prolonged physical therapy that was successful in restoring a small portion of mobility to his affected muscles, the lingering paralysis in Roosevelt's legs would not allow him to stand on his own or even to walk with metal braces.

Understanding the importance of projecting a strong and vital appearance in the frightening times of the depression, Roosevelt and his staff were careful that voters only see him, whether in person or in a photograph, either sitting in an ordinary chair or standing with unobtrusive support, such as an aide or a podium. A sympathetic press abstained from dwelling on his infirmity, and his political opponents wisely refrained from making an issue of his misfortune. As a testament to his resilience and strength of character, Roosevelt was never prevented from fulfilling the duties of the office of president due to his disability. According to long-time friends and acquaintances, meeting the challenge of polio conferred on him a remarkable degree of tenacity, sympathy, and tolerance—traits that were desperately needed in the depression years and perhaps even more in the war years to follow.

Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor, aided him immeasurably throughout his political career from the time he served in the New York legislature, through his years as assistant secretary of the Navy, and during his governorship of New York. Unstinting in her campaign efforts on his behalf during the presidential election, she later influenced her husband in shaping the programs of the New Deal. Even more than her husband, Eleanor Roosevelt championed the poor, the oppressed, and the dispossessed. Her genuine and heartfelt concern for the plight of unemployed and hungry Americans during the depression endeared her to the American people, while her intelligence and tireless advocacy impressed even her husband's enemies.

The presidential campaign of 1932 was a study in contrasts. Roosevelt was bold, energetic, optimistic, and campaigned vigorously. He promised a new deal, but was vague about the specifics. He assured voters that he would balance the budget, though not how that could be accomplished. Many of his speeches were written for him by the "Brain Trust," a group of young college professors with innovative ideas about the economy and government. Though the path ahead was not clear, even perhaps in Roosevelt's mind, the country was restless for change, and Roosevelt and the Democrats could give it to them.

By comparison, Hoover and the Republicans were overwhelmed by the enormity and intractability of the depression. Until the last several weeks of the campaign, Hoover put in long hours in his office attempting to hold back a complete economic collapse. At last he was persuaded to take time off to campaign, but by then he was exhausted and discouraged. Crowds were either hostile or apathetic toward the measures Hoover had taken and the dangers he perceived in Roosevelt's aggressive approach to spending and relief. Hoover's philosophy of "rugged individualism" seemed to be just empty advice in those times when people needed opportunities to work and help just to survive.

To no one's surprise, Roosevelt won easily, taking even a large portion of the black vote, which had traditionally gone to Republicans in loyalty to Abraham Lincoln. During the lame duck period between election day in November and the presidential inauguration in March, Hoover's hands were tied, preventing him from taking any action as the depression steadily deepened with ever more unemployed workers and closed banks. By the time Roosevelt took office, 25 percent of the workforce was idle—50 percent in many cities—and eight out of ten banks had closed their doors.

Roosevelt began his presidency March 4, 1933, with a ringing speech from the inauguration platform in which he pledged a New Deal for the American people and cautioned them against giving in to fear. Immediately thereafter he began instituting a series of bold, nearly revolutionary reforms. On March 6, 1933, he closed the banks and announced a bank holiday. This gave banks relief from the threat of ruinous runs, but sent anxiety through the country as people wondered how safe their money was and what powers the government might give itself in the name of emergency.

On March 9, Roosevelt called a special session of Congress to deal with the banking crisis. Congress immediately passed the Emergency Banking Relief Act that allowed the president to regulate banking transactions and foreign exchange and to reopen those banks that were still solvent. Several months later, Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act that created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which initially insured deposits up to $5,000.

In the first of his half-hour "fireside chats" via radio, Roosevelt reassured the American people that their money was now safer in a bank vault than under their mattress or in other less-than-safe places in their home. With these kinds of assurances and legislative guarantees to back them up, people's faith in the banking system was largely restored. Banks could now reopen their doors without fear of a run, and individuals and companies began depositing their money in banks again. Even so, many Americans who lived through those times harbored a deep distrust of banks and were slow to resume using a bank as a safe repository for their money.

Next, Roosevelt moved to separate the nation's currency from the stranglehold of being tied to a single commodity—gold. Both the value and the availability of gold fluctuated too much to support a modern economy. During the depression, people hoarded gold as a hedge against the possible failure of the dollar and banks. As gold became scarce, the value of the dollar rose causing deflation, which left debtors to repay loans in more valuable dollars. In addition, goods that had cost a fixed amount to produce now brought in fewer dollars on the marketplace.

Roosevelt's solution was to order all gold to be exchanged at the Treasury for paper currency. In addition, all contracts that contained a payment-in-gold clause were required to cancel that provision. To get more currency into the economy, the Treasury paid a premium price for gold on a sliding scale from $21 an ounce in 1933 to $35 an ounce in 1934. At this high price, people were eager to cash in their gold coins, though conservative economists criticized the president for manipulating the value of money by "running the printing presses" and creating inflation. Roosevelt's aim, however, was reform of banking and the money supply with the goal of a managed currency that would remain relatively stable and dependable regardless of the fluctuations of the precious metals market.

In 1934, the U.S. returned to a gold standard on a very limited basis with regard to international trade. Because foreign sellers sometimes required gold rather than dollars, they could request payment in gold at the rate of $35 per ounce. But within the United States, paper currency became the only legal method of payment for all debts. As the Greenback Party had wanted 50 years before, America was off the gold standard.

Following the Emergency Banking Relief Act, Roosevelt and his advisors crafted a deluge of legislation, which Congress passed with few alterations. Roosevelt retained the "Brain Trust" of his election days as his advisors and cabinet members in departure from the usual president's cabinet that was made up of politicians and businessmen. Notable cabinet members and members of Roosevelt's "inner circle" included Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Secretary of Interior Harold Idkes, Secretary of Labor and first woman cabinet member Frances Perkins, Roosevelt's friend Harry Hopkins, and his wife, Eleanor.

Relief, recovery, and reform were the goals of the New Deal legislation that was passed from 1933 through 1935. Because of the immediacy of need, relief and recovery were the priorities for the first 100 days of the new Congress from March 9 to June16, 1933. Roosevelt did not have a developed plan when he took office, however. His aim was to seek practical solutions to real-world problems, and he did it on a broad scale in departure from the previous practice of legislating either general guideline laws or very specific laws to address closely defined problems. Along with programs of the New Deal, Congress approved legislation that gave the president powers unprecedented in American history.

The creation of multitudes of programs was a wholly new phenomenon in America. To communicate with the American people and reassure them about the blizzard of changes, Roosevelt regularly addressed the nation via radio in his informal fireside chats. This in itself was a novelty, but in these distressed times people took great comfort from hearing the genial FDR tell them that things were on the way to being better.

Due to the haste of their creation, the track record of these first programs was uneven, and some were notably more successful than others. Many of the programs overlapped in their areas of concern, some contradicted one another, and a few produced negative results. From a psychological perspective, however, this flurry of activity was what the country needed. Something was being done, and with new optimism people pulled themselves out of lethargy and things began to happen.

Economists debate whether Roosevelt's programs or the natural progress of the economic cycle played a greater role in getting the country on the road to recovery. But the lasting legacy of the New Deal was to reinstate a Progressive stamp on national politics and to temper traditional American laissez-faire with enough regulation to moderate the boom-and-bust cycles characteristic of capitalism.

Throughout World War I and the booming twenties, Progressives had been forced to keep a low profile on social reform. With the election of a Democratic Congress and president, the Progressives and their liberal heirs were quick to link the economic disaster of the depression with what they saw as social ills. Part of their agenda, including unemployment insurance, a minimum wage, and child labor laws, clearly had both social and economic aspects. In other areas, such as conservation, old-age insurance (social security), and direct relief to individuals (welfare), the benefit was less clearly tied to the overall economic well-being of the nation and more to the social agenda of the movement.

Eager to promote programs that would get more currency into circulation, Roosevelt welcomed the often-expensive Progressive agenda. Critics warned that once these programs were in place and part of the landscape of American life, they would become entrenched. Indeed this has been the case as most Americans now expect unemployment benefits if they are laid off, social security benefits at retirement age, and a safety net of welfare and social services in the event that they should need them. The majority of Americans agree that these measures have generally been for the better, though debate is far from over concerning their ultimate effects. For better or worse, the New Deal irrevocably altered the culture as well as the business of the United States.

Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education