A Commonwealth of Hope: The New Deal Response to Crisis (The American Moment)

Did The New Deal Represent The True American Way Or Was It An Aberration That Would Last Only Until The Old Order Could Reassert Itself? This Original And Thoughtful Study Tells The Story Of The New Deal, Explains Its Origins, And Assesses Its Legacy. Alan Lawson Explores How The Circumstances Of The Great Depression And The Distinctive Leadership Of Franklin D. Roosevelt Combined To Bring About Unprecedented Economic And Policy Reform. Challenging Conventional Wisdom, He Argues That The New Deal Was Not An Improvised Response To An Unexpected Crisis, But The Realization Of A Unique Opportunity To Put Into Practice Roosevelt's Long-developed Progressive Thought. Lawson Focuses On Where The Impetus And Plans For The New Deal Originated, How Roosevelt And Those Closest To Him Sought To Fashion A Cooperative Commonwealth, And What Happened When The Impulse For Collective Unity Was Thwarted. He Describes The Impact Of The Great Depression On The Prevailing System And Traces The Fortunes Of Several Major Social Sectors As The Drive To Create A Cohesive Plan For Reconstruction Unfolded. He Continues The Story Of These Main Sectors Through The Last Half Of The 1930s And Traces Their Legacy Down To The Present As Crucial Challenges To The New Deal Have Arisen. Drawing From A Wide Variety Of Scholarly Texts, Records Of The Roosevelt Administration, Depression-era Newspapers And Periodicals, And Biographies And Reflections Of The New Dealers, Lawson Offers A Comprehensive Conceptual Base For A Crucial Aspect Of American History--publisher Description. Prelude : The Fall Of The American System -- The Shaping Of Franklin Roosevelt -- Landslide -- The Struggle For Financial Stability -- The Recovery Of Industry -- Saving The Farms -- Launching The Welfare State -- Revival Of The Spirit -- Renewing The New Deal Lease -- The Judicial Revolution -- A Rendezvous With Destiny -- The Common Man At The End Of The Decade -- The International Climax -- Epilogue : Another Cycle? Alan Lawson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [253]-271) And Index. Was the New Deal an aberration in American history? This look at its origins and legacy is “truly refreshing... the author makes a good case for his ideas” (Journal of Economic History).Did the New Deal represent the true American way or was it an aberration that would last only until the old order could reassert itself? This original and thoughtful study tells the story of the New Deal, explains its origins, and assesses its legacy. Alan Lawson explores how the circumstances of the Great Depression and the distinctive leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt combined to bring about unprecedented economic and policy reform. Challenging conventional wisdom, he argues that the New Deal was not an improvised response to an unexpected crisis, but the realization of a unique opportunity to put into practice Roosevelt's long-developed progressive thought.Lawson focuses on where the impetus and plans for the New Deal originated, how Roosevelt and those closest to him sought to fashion a cooperative commonwealth, and what happened when the impulse for collective unity was thwarted. He describes the impact of the Great Depression on the prevailing system and traces the fortunes of several major social sectors as the drive to create a cohesive plan for reconstruction unfolded. He continues the story of these main sectors through the last half of the 1930s and traces their legacy down to the present as crucial challenges to the New Deal have arisen.Drawing from a wide variety of scholarly texts, records of the Roosevelt administration, Depression-era newspapers and periodicals, and biographies and reflections of the New Dealers, Lawson offers a comprehensive conceptual base for a crucial aspect of American history.

Did the New Deal represent the true American way or was it an aberration that would last only until the old order could reassert itself? This original and thoughtful study tells the story of the New Deal, explains its origins, and assesses its legacy. Alan Lawson explores how the circumstances of the Great Depression and the distinctive leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt combined to bring about unprecedented economic and policy reform. Challenging conventional wisdom, he argues that the New Deal was not an improvised response to an unexpected crisis, but the realization of a unique opportunity to put into practice Roosevelt’s long-developed progressive thought.

Lawson focuses on where the impetus and plans for the New Deal originated, how Roosevelt and those closest to him sought to fashion a cooperative commonwealth, and what happened when the impulse for collective unity was thwarted. He describes the impact of the Great Depression on the prevailing system and traces the fortunes of several major social sectors as the drive to create a cohesive plan for reconstruction unfolded. He continues the story of these main sectors through the last half of the 1930s and traces their legacy down to the present as crucial challenges to the New Deal have arisen.

Drawing from a wide variety of scholarly texts, records of the Roosevelt administration, Depression-era newspapers and periodicals, and biographies and reflections of the New Dealers, Lawson offers a comprehensive conceptual base for a crucial aspect of American history.

Annotation Did the New Deal represent the true American way or was it an aberration that would last only until the old order could reassert itself? This original and thoughtful study tells the story of the New Deal, explains its origins, and assesses its legacy. Alan Lawson explores how the circumstances of the Great Depression and the distinctive leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt combined to bring about unprecedented economic and policy reform. Challenging conventional wisdom, he argues that the New Deal was not an improvised response to an unexpected crisis, but the realization of a unique opportunity to put into practice Roosevelt's long-developed progressive thought. Lawson focuses on where the impetus and plans for the New Deal originated, how Roosevelt and those closest to him sought to fashion a cooperative commonwealth, and what happened when the impulse for collective unity was thwarted. He describes the impact of the Great Depression on the prevailing system and traces the fortunes of several major social sectors as the drive to create a cohesive plan for reconstruction unfolded. He continues the story of these main sectors through the last half of the 1930s and traces their legacy down to the present as crucial challenges to the New Deal have arisen. Drawing from a wide variety of scholarly texts, records of the Roosevelt administration, Depression-era newspapers and periodicals, and biographies and reflections of the New Dealers, Lawson offers a comprehensive conceptual base for a crucial aspect of American history. Contents......Page 8 Series Editor’s Foreword......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Introduction......Page 20 1 Prelude: The Fall of the American System......Page 27 2 The Shaping of Franklin Roosevelt......Page 51 3 Landslide......Page 65 4 The Struggle for Financial Stability......Page 81 5 The Recovery of Industry......Page 96 6 Saving the Farms......Page 121 7 Launching the Welfare State......Page 134 8 Revival of the Spirit......Page 152 9 Renewing the New Deal Lease......Page 167 10 The Judicial Revolution......Page 183 11 The Rendezvous with Destiny......Page 199 12 The Common Man at the End of the Decade......Page 219 13 The International Climax......Page 241 Epilogue: Another Cycle?......Page 254 Essay on Sources......Page 272 B......Page 292 D......Page 293 G......Page 294 L......Page 295 N......Page 296 R......Page 297 T......Page 298 W......Page 299