History 474A

Devine

 

 

Study Questions for Patrick J. Maney, The Roosevelt Presence

 

 

  1. What influence did FDR’s “patrician self-confidence,” “unquestioning religious faith,” and “optimistic world view” have on his public life and his public image?  Did these factors also shape his private life?

 

 

  1. The author argues that FDR was the “right person at the right time.” He may not have been considered a great president had he served at a different point in history under different circumstances.  What leads him to this conclusion?  What evidence does he cite to support it?

 

 

  1. How did FDR’s parents shape his personality and his values? What roles did other family members play (“Rosy,” “Taddy,” “TR”)?

 

 

  1. What role did “timing” and just plain “good luck,” play in FDR’s political career? How did his own political skill also contribute to his success?

 

 

  1. How would you assess the relationship between Franklin and Eleanor.  What role did she play in shaping his public and private lives?  What role did she play once FDR became president? What did they like about each other; what did they dislike? 

 

 

  1. What effect did polio have on FDR?  To what extent and in what ways did it change him?

 

 

  1. What principles and values were at the core of FDR’s political philosophy?  Did he have a fixed political philosophy?  Did he have any core principles?

 

 

  1. What were FDR’s strengths as a politician? What were his weaknesses? As a person, what were his strengths and weaknesses?

 

 

  1. What obstacles did FDR face when he decided to run for President? What did his critics say about him?  Were they right?

 

 

 

  1. How did FDR use religious imagery to “revive the American spirit,” and solidify his own popularity?

 

 

 

  1. Historians have often equated FDR and the New Deal.  To what extent was the New Deal FDR’s own agenda?  Why does the author believe his role has been overstated?  

 

 

 

  1. FDR was particularly effective in communicating his agenda and his political and moral vision to the people. What strategies – tactical and rhetorical – did he use?  How was he able to convey “the illusion of intimacy?”

 

 

 

  1. History has remembered FDR as a great liberal.  Could one argue that in some ways he was also a conservative?

 

 

 

  1. What was the “Roosevelt coalition?”  How did it shape American politics for years to come?

 

 

 

  1. How did FDR’s handling of the “Court Packing” episode erode his political strength?  What mistakes did he make?  How did the very personal traits that had helped FDR succeed in other battles insure his failure in this one?

 

 

 

  1. Describe FDR’s management style.  Was it effective?

 

 

 

  1.  FDR’s second term was not as successful as his first.  What accounts more for the administration’s failures – its own mistakes or structural factors beyond its control?