I didn't know there was anyone who disliked FDR. Do you?
At the time (and, largely, still), there was almost no common understanding of what FDR did to the country. Most everyone thought he was doing for.
That started coming apart thirty years after his inauguration, nineteen years after he died, when Friedman and Schwarz began unraveling the causes of the Depression. Further experience and analysis adds to the case that he was a misguided louse with Acton's disease, following another from the Republican side.
Some of his legacy left substantial benefits. The Coulee dam and TVA for example. Still, a powerful case can be made those should have been accomplished by other means.
He did have mighty mojo though, and served as an exemplary war leader.
There's been nastier executives, but few, perhaps none, who did more lasting damage.
Seems a safe bet you've had no exposure to the "conservative" arguments. You might try Shlaes recent The Forgotten Man, see if you can poke holes in her evidence. |
