American History Hit What Did FDR Get Wrong?
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Mar 5, 2026 David Beito, historian and Professor Emeritus who wrote 'FDR: A New Political Life', offers a critical reassessment of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He questions whether the New Deal ended the Depression. He probes FDR's use of executive power, court‑packing, harms to farmers and workers, and failures on civil rights and Japanese American internment.
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Why Historians Celebrate FDR Despite Flaws
- FDR's high ranking stems partly from historians' favorable view of the expanded welfare/regulatory state rather than unambiguous policy success.
- David T. Beito argues charisma and the appeal of institutional growth boost FDR's reputation despite mixed outcomes.
New Deal Created Fragile Economic Recovery
- The New Deal's recovery was fragile and incomplete, with double-digit unemployment persisting into 1940.
- Beito links policies that propped prices and wages plus high taxes to dampened private investment and slower recovery.
Bank Holiday Might Have Been Avoidable
- Some lauded emergency measures may have been unnecessary; Canada avoided bank failures via nationwide branching while the US suffered thousands of bank collapses.
- Beito notes FDR declined earlier proposals to allow bank branching, worsening the crisis.