Roosevelt concludes his speech by assuring the population that government intervention would only happen related to specific needs and issues at a particular time: “I prefer and I am sure you prefer that broader definition of liberty under which we are moving forward to greater freedom, to greater security for the average man. Social security was in fact more advanced in England than in the United States in the early 1930s. Roosevelt claims that England did not let “nature take her course,” but that they also supported their economy by government measures like abolishing the gold standard and lowering interest rates for war bonds.
#Fdr fireside chats reagan trial
In Roosevelt’s further speech it becomes obvious that the National Recovery Administration is not laid out as a static branch of government, but rather a dynamic organization based on what could be called a trial and error approach: “We shall watch carefully the working of this new machinery for the second phase of N.R.A., modifying it where it needs modification.” He continues to address his critics who point to England where they consider government less interfering with the industries. Roosevelt explains the quick economic successes with the fact that increased wages or, in case of the formerly unemployed, wages at all create a certain wealth that in return helps the industries thrive because of the people’s ability to consume their goods. These measures put millions of workers back into employment in a very short time. Milestones that are now considered self-evident were taken by the National Recovery Administration when they abolished child labor, introduced minimum wages and set standards for a shorter work week. According to his speech, this is due to the grown market and its mechanisms combining many different tasks and different people, which makes an organization necessary to keep the economy from developing into chaos. This statement shows very clearly that without government intervention Roosevelt does not only consider the national economy at risk, but ultimately the existence of the entire American nation.
Men may differ as to the particular form of governmental activity with respect to industry and business, but nearly all are agreed that private enterprise in times such as these cannot be left without assistance and without reasonable safeguards lest it destroy not only itself but also our processes of civilization. In the 2nd Fireside Chat of 1934, which is the main basis for discussion in this chapter, Roosevelt turned to the national economy and talked about the government intervention that had been taken to get the American economy back on track after the years of the Great Depression.īefore Roosevelt begins to explain the single steps taken by the government, he makes a strong point giving the reason why he thinks he must proceed in the way that he does: Roosevelt made use of the radio to address the American people in his so-called Fireside Chats. Roosevelt’s New Deal and the Resulting Policy Shiftĭuring his presidency, Franklin D. It also helped that Reagan predecessor Carter did not seem to have any means to stop the recession and that independent candidate John Anderson split the vote in the 1980 election. When Reagan promised a “morning in America” many voters gladly turned to this cheerful, persuasive former Hollywood actor. The fear of economic deprivation was rooted deeply in the American people, yet America was far from the desparation of the Great Depression. New technologies had become widely available, economic ills had been almost absent for a vast number of white working and middle class people for the longest period ever in the history of the United States. The middle class had gotten used to an ever increasing living standard in the previous four decades. Yet, in other ways the 1980s were, of course, completely different.
Reagan pushed for deregulation to solve a situation that was in some aspects similar to that of the 1930s – the economy was stagnating, unemployment rose, inflation was threateningly high. Other aspects, such as the support of labor unions, had a weaker standing in the general population and thus were more open for debate. Second, Reagan and his fellow Republicans knew very well that Americans had become very attached to certain aspects of the post-New Deal welfare state, especially health care and unemployment benefits. First and foremost, during Reagan’s presidency the Democratic majority in Congress had the power to block any means going beyond their accepted limits. In this paper I argue that the anti social liberalism critique of the 1980s did not live up to its strong rhetoric.
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