Former Newsweek
and L.A. Times
political correspondent Shogan (The Double-Edged Sword
), delivers an insightful though not innovative account of how two key events put an end to New Deal advances during F.D.R.'s second term. Election day, 1936, found Roosevelt at the height of his powers and popularity, and contemplating grand strategies for advancing the domestic programs launched during his first administration. But as Shogan clearly shows, militant unionism gained ground nationwide, upsetting industrial output and slowing the rehabilitation of the Depression-plagued American economy. Second, F.D.R.'s ill-starred and widely unpopular attempt to overhaul the Supreme Court cost him precious political capital in Congress. This same misadventure also cost the president vital PR capital with the electorate, hobbling his ability to rally support for other programs. Although Roosevelt was re-elected for two more terms, his capacity for creating, inspiring and passing the type of social programs set in place during his first term remained diminished, some would argue fatally so. Shogan does a good job of painting the times and the men: Roosevelt himself, labor leader John L. Lewis, Roosevelt's aide Tommy Corcoran and his prickly and unpredictable vice-president, "Cactus Jack" Garner, all of whom played vital roles as the New Deal sputtered and stopped. (Sept. 1)
