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In the most tumultuous and dramatic presidential transition in history, the entire banking structure came tumbling down just hours He did not.
Instead of circumventing Congress and becoming the dictator so many thought they needed, FDR used his cagey political instincts and ebullient temperament in the storied first Hundred Days of his presidency to pull him into cooperating with him to deal with a terrifying crisis. He rescued banks, put men to work immediately, and revolutionized mass communications with pioneering press conferences and the first Fireside Chat. He did not. Instead of circumventing Congress and becoming the dictator so many thought they needed, FDR used his stunning debut to experiment. He rescued banks, put men to work immediately, and revolutionized mass communications with pioneering press conferences and the first Fireside Chat.
As he moved both right and left, Roosevelt's insistence on "action now" did little to cure the Depression, but he began to rewrite the nation's social contract and lay the groundwork for his most ambitious achievements, including Social Security. From one of America's most respected journalists, rich in insights and with fresh documentation and colorful detail, this thrilling story of presidential leadership -- of what government is for -- resonates through the events of today. Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in March of 1933 as America touched bottom. Banks were closing everywhere.
Millions of people lost everything. The Great Depression had caused a national breakdown. With the craft of a political miracle -- the perfect match of man and moment. It deepens our understanding of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in March of 1933 as America touched bottom.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in March of 1933 as America touched bottom. Banks were closing everywhere.
Millions of people lost everything. The Great Depression had caused a national breakdown. From one of America's most respected journalists, rich in insights and with fresh documentation and colorful detail, this thrilling story of a political miracle -- the perfect match of man and moment. It deepens our understanding of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in March of 1933 as America touched bottom. It deepens our understanding of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in March of 1933 as America touched bottom.
He did not. Facing the gravest crisis since the Civil War, FDR used his stunning debut to experiment. Who was this man? Alter shows us how a snobbish and apparently lightweight young aristocrat was forged into an incandescent leader by his domineering mother; his independent wife; his eccentric top adviser, Louis Howe; and his ally-turned-bitter-rival, Al Smith, the Tammany Hall street fighter FDR had to vanquish to complete his preparation for the presidency. "Old Doc Roosevelt" had To revive the nation when it felt so hopeless took an extraordinary display of optimism and self-confidence.
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