Nothing To Fear by Adam Cohen

Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal Inner Circle and the Hundred Days

Aug 7, 2009

Cohen's book clearly shows that the first one hundred days of the New Deal fueled a progressive shift in attitudes about American government.

In the process of telling the story of "the Hundred Days," Cohen describes the lives of the five people in FDR's inner circle. The result is a work of five mini-biographies of:

Economy Act

In discussing Douglas, Cohen brings up the conservative side of the Hundred Days that perhaps many people don't know about. Douglas, son and nephew of mine operators in Arizona who frowned on the unionizing of their workers, was a Democratic congressman who embraced balanced budgets and laissez faire economics. That was why Roosevelt valued him as his budget director.

That leads to another interesting aspect Cohen covers – the financial conservatism of FDR. Roosevelt brought to the Oval Office his belief in balanced government budgets and its key to repairing the economy. Early in the Hundred Days, Douglas had great influence on FDR, despite being outnumbered by progressives who favored big spending.

Douglas drafted the Economy Act, which gave the president the power to reduce federal salaries by up to 15% and drastically slash veterans' benefits. Congress grudgingly passed the bill because Roosevelt wanted it. Cohen notes that the progressive FDR tried to add a public works program to the bill. Douglas advised against it, but the flexible FDR was bending.

The New Dealers

Douglas was eventually overwhelmed by the progressives of the inner circle as Americans' attitudes shifted from a laissez faire government to an activist government – the major theme of Cohen's book. Frances Perkins was at the forefront of this shift in the industrial sector. Believing in the economic philosophy of "priming the pump," she fought for public works legislation as well as improved labor standards.

On the agricultural side, Secretary Henry Wallace led aggressive federal efforts to raise crop and livestock prices with the domestic allotment program of the American Agricultural Administration, paying farmers to cut production. Again, Cohen highlights the progressive-conservative battle, this time between Wallace and AAA chief George Peek. Peek was against domestic allotment.

Finally, the progressives also got their way when it came to relief. Harry Hopkins was appointed head of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, charged with distributing funds to the needy. Hopkins was efficient and innovative, changing the American tradition of relief through local governments and private charities to federal sources. Cohen's theme of progressive change is complete.

Cohen does a wonderful job of laying out the significant transformation that happened during the Hundred Days through the lives of five people in FDR's inner circle. The book is quite bias toward the progressive/liberal side and stalwart conservatives might cringe if they read it. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating read.

Nothing To Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America

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