FDR

While I was reading my book on FDR one morning, my eleven-year-old son came down the stairs with a book and he said he wanted to join me and read together. That made my heart melt.

With everything on in today's world, I find facts and more important history is forgotten. People want to believe what they want to believe regardless of what history says. Hopefully my blog will inspire you to read, doesn't have to be about an intense topic, just read.

Another issue going on today is the entire us versus them. You see it everywhere. Sports, politics, entertainment, music, movies, etc... For example:

• Sports: Rivalries in sports are too many to list. I went to college at Mississippi State. The hatred between Ole Miss and State cannot be described in this blog. It is intense, and it ends up being an entire us versus them. Bama/Auburn, Red Sox/Yankees, Saints/Falcons and Cowboys versus anybody.
• Politics today; The environment today is toxic. Democrats vs. Republicans. Build a wall don't build a wall, Medicare for all versus to the hell with you, get you own damn health insurance.

If I haven't lost you yet, you’re probably asking yourself, what the heck does this have to do with FDR being President. FDR was elected in November 1932. he was sworn in March 1933. (The switch to January inaugurations would occur a few years later.) FDR was voted in overwhelming over Herbert Hoover as the depression sunk the country to financial despair and ruin. After the election, FDR worked on forming his cabinet and knew he had to hit the ground running. His cabinet was a mix of Democrats and Republicans. There was no straight party line cabinet that you tend to see with modern day Presidents. He was willing to work with Republicans.

FDR inauguration speech lasted 15 minutes. It was a memorable speech

• The only thing we have to fear is fear itself
• This is a day of nation consecration
• This great nation will endures it has it endured

Five days after that famous speech, legislation was introduced to get the nation’s banks back open and running. From the time the bill was introduced to the house on March 9th, until FDR signed the bill took six hours. Could you even image that today. Our country just ended a thirty-five-day partial shutdown of the federal government. President Trump signed the same bill he had thirty-five days ago. This is to keep the government open for three weeks. FDR and Congress took six hours to pass legislation to get banks back open and get our country back on its feet.

Need to rewind a bit and talk about FDR's life and how he got to be President. As I have mentioned previously, my opinion has changed of all the Presidents after reading the books. Some for the better, some for the worse. I had no idea that FDR was from a wealthy family. The Roosevelts were very well off, but FDR's mother Sara Delano had more money that the Roosevelts. This combined to give FDR a very privileged upbringing. FDR had a trust fund and was educated at an exclusive boarding school Groton and eventually Harvard. He made some lifelong friendships at Harvard that helped him personally and professionally.

FDR and Eleanor (ER) were fifth cousins once removed. Not sure if I could figure out on my family tree (made need some help from my Uncle Joe) on who my fifth cousin once removed is, but I'm confident it's not my wife. In reading the book, I learned a lot of FDR and ER personal life that I was unaware of. I knew of the paralysis that left FDR in a wheel chair for good portion of his adult life. I was unaware of the affairs that both FDR and ER had. I truly believe they loved each other early as they had five children. Their wealth allowed them to travel extensively, send the children to boarding schools and live significant time apart. When FDR was trying to find a cure for paralysis, he spent a lot of time in Warm Springs, GA while ER was back at their Hyde Park home in New York.

In 1910, FDR ran for his first political office as State Senator in New York and won. Some of closet relationships were formed in his early political days. He served as state senator until 1913.

From 1913 to 1919, FDR was assistant Secretary of the Navy. WWI took place during this time. FDR spent time in Washington, D.C. away from his family. This is when he had his affair. The family knew, social circles in D.C. knew and the press knew. It was not reported by the press. Could you image that happening with today's media? I think that would be a big fat no. ER had her own affair with her bodyguard. My conclusion was in the 1920s, FDR and ER basically formed a business partnership and they each had their own career goals. FDR wanted to be President. He had an amazing cast of characters to help him achieve this goal. ER worked with some close female friends on advancing women's rights. ER was not a big fan of FDR becoming President as she had to give up some of her career goals.

FDR and ER had five children. Their children did not have the best track record when it comes to marriage. 

• Anna- married three times
• James - four
• Elliott - five
• Franklin, Jr. - five
• John - twice

It's safe to say, with their parents being apart and not having the perfect home life may have contributed to the multiple marriages. As a parent of two children, I understand parenting and being a husband can be difficult. I'm not judging but it's worth noting.

1920, FDR ran as the VP on the Democratic ticket for President and lost.

In the 1920s FDR used his connections from Harvard and his law degree from Columbia to form some business relationships in New York City. His business career took a turn on July 27, 1921 when he visited a boy scout camp in New York where he contracted Polio. In the FDR book by Jean Edward Smith that I read, there is a picture from that day which is the last photograph of FDR walking unassisted. For the next few years he spent significant time trying to improve his condition and walk.

In November 1928, FDR was elected Governor of New York and served until winning the Presidency in 1932.

Presidential campaigns were different in 1932 than they are today. There was no TV, internet and social media. No PACs and Super PACs spending tons of money on advertisements. The campaigning consisted of speeches, mainly traveling by car and train. FDR had an advantage due his family money and connections he made at Harvard and through the New York social scene. FDR continued to use radio with his fireside chats. He started this when governor, continued while he campaigned and famously used them while President.

To secure the Democratic nomination, FDR team used some great negotiation tactics at the national Democratic convention. The delegates from the states controlled the power and would switch votes based on the back-room deals made. FDR never forgave some of the Democratic powers who were against him. These individuals were left out of key cabinet positions when he won the election over Hoover.

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First 100 days

Now back to FDR presidency. When you read what was accomplished in FDR's first 100 days in office, you can only be amazed. Fifteen historic pieces of legislation was passed. Fifteen. Let that sink. The Democrats overwhelming controlled both the House and Senate. On quite a few of these bills, some Democrats voted against the bills, but enough Republicans voted yes. Think about that for a minute and see if that would happen in 2019. Many of these bills we take for granted today and were ultimately challenged in court and upheld by the Supreme Court.

Some of the bills passed were:

• Emergency Banking Act - March 9, 1933
• Civilian Conservation Corps - March 31
• Tennessee Valley Authority - May 18 
• Glass-Steagall Banking Act - June 15

You can spend a significant amount time discussing the economic decisions made by FDR. Less reliance on gold was hotly debated. I don't claim to be an economy expert, but these decisions were well thought out, made quickly to have an immediate impact on stopping foreclosure on homes, creating jobs, establishing FDIC insurance on banking deposits. Eighty-six years after these bills have been passed, there is still an impact felt today. The TVA alone had an impact on at least seven states and help generate electricity for homes and create jobs.

1935 saw two significant bills passed: Social Security and Works Progress Administration - WPA.

Social Security was an interesting concept at the time. How do you fund it? At the time the federal government had no money to contribute. Social Security works on a combination of employee and employer contributions. It was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1937 by a vote of 7-2.

As I kid growing up in New Orleans, I used to hear stories about all the construction that took place after WPA was created. In the first year alone, 3 million people were put to work pumping $11 Million into the economy. Schools, parks, playgrounds, hospitals and highways were just some of the construction that took place.

In 1936 FDR won an unprecedented 60.79% of the vote and winning the electoral college 523 to 8 by winning 46 of the 48 states. Democrats increased control of the House to 331-89 and 76-16 in the Senate. LBJ would have a similar victory over Goldwater in 1964.

His second term did not get off to a great start in 1937. He secretly worked on a plan by trying to stack the Supreme Court with two justices. He wanted to introduce legislation to add two justices to the highest court in the land. This bill was defeated soundly and left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of members of Congress. 1937 was much different from 1933 as not much significant legislation was passed.

When George Washington finished his second term, he decided he did not want to run for a third term. That precedent was followed for over a hundred years. There is some debate among historians if Grant technically ran for a third term (teaser for the Grant blog). Campaigning in 1940 was quite different than it is today. As I type this in January 2019, there are a handful of Democrat candidates actively campaigning for an election twenty-one month from now. In 1940, the conventions controlled who was going to be the party nominee.

FDR held off a challenge from his VP John Nance Garner to win the Democratic nomination. Garner had served as VP for the first eight years of FDRs presidency. FDR went on to defeat Republican Wendell Wilkie to win a third term.

In the spring of 1941 the United States had not entered WWII. The British were having financial trouble in addition to having inadequate guns, tanks and planes to fight the Germans. The Lend Lease Act was passed which was a combination of money and equipment loaned to our Allies.

December 7, 1941. A date which will live in infamy. A lot has been written about Pearl Harbor. Movies have been made. I won't go into detail about the horrific events that occurred and change the course of the war. One of the things I learned in the book was that the Army and Navy commanders in Hawaii had a warning an attack could possibly occur in Hawaii. In 1941, the United States and Japan spent significant amount of time negotiating. The negotiations were unsuccessful. Many warning signs were missed. The Roberts commission investigated the events of Pearl Harbor and led to the demotion of the Navy and Army commanders in Hawaii.

One of the unintended effects of reading the presidential books are the references to other books written. In the FDR book, Jean Edward Smith mentions a Jon Meacham book about Winston and Churchill. I really enjoyed Meacham's book on Andrew Jackson (future blog post) and will also read his book on Bush 41. After Pearl Harbor, Churchill came to Washington and addressed a joint session of congress on December 26, 1941. Churchill was the first foreign leader to address a joint session of congress since Lafayette in 1824. The relationship between WC and FDR would prove pivotal in defeating the Germans and Japanese.

On February 19, 1942, FDR signed an executive order called for forcible evacuation of persons of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast. A lot of these individuals were US citizens. This order was not one of FDRs better decisions. Some say it's like Andrew Jackson's decision to move the Indians during the Trail of Tears.

D Day. June 6, 1944. In the next four months a lot will be written and discussed about this day as the 75th anniversary is this year. D Day was called Project Overlord. Dwight Eisenhower was chosen to lead the invasion of the Allied troops (more to come in future blog post on Ike).

1944: FDR decided to run for a fourth term. His health was declining rapidly. His doctor misdiagnosed his heart condition and ultimately destroyed his medical records after he died. FDR was able to secure the Democratic nomination. The biggest intrigue would be who would be his running mate. His current VP Henry Wallace was dumped in favor of Harry S. Truman. Not that Truman was qualified, he was the VP candidate who would hurt FDR the least.

FDR defeated the Republican nominee Thomas Dewey to win his fourth term. It won't be the last time we hear of Dewey as he will resurface in 1948 when the newspapers famously claimed Dewy Wins. His fourth term would only last eighty-two days when he died at his cottage in Warm Springs, Georgia.

FDR led a very complicated life. He made some mistakes. We all make mistakes. He was man who led a privilege life but was considered a common man. He devoted most of his adult life to public service. He led the country out of the depression and was able to successfully pass legislation that helps this country almost eighty years later.

This is the ninth presidential book I have finished. A total of 5,093 pages. Thirty-five books to go.

 

George Washington

As I start this journey on recapping the books, I wanted to provide some insight. This is not meant to be a book review. While I have enjoyed some books better than the others of the eight I have finished, I won't be providing a critique of the authors. This blog is more designed to provide my insights on what I learned. 

When I started this crazy idea about a year ago, I had no perceived goals except for reading a biography on all 44 Presidents. If you think of the number of citizens this country has had, its a pretty exclusive club. It's not meant to start a political debate of party versus party. What I am looking to get out of all the books has evolved while reading the eight books so far. After reading a few books, I quickly realized there are common themes.

• Challenges All Presidents face unique, difficult decisions that have impact on people's lives.
• Mistakes and Second guessing. It's very easy to sit back many years later and judge these men that have led this country.
• Leadership style. The job as commander in chief has more demand of being a leader potentially more than any job ever invented.
• Common themes. Times change, years go by but there are some familiar themes that surface close to 200 years apart.
• Family and friends. There is a cast of characters surrounding all the Presidents.
• Backgrounds. The Presidents are from various parts of the country and different job prior to becoming Commander in Chief.
• Military background. Quite a few presidents have served our country in the military. Only three, Washington, Grant and Eisenhower, held the highest command in the military and became president.

As we go along in the process I will be providing insights and my thoughts on these qualities.

                                                                                                            

George Washington

Mount Vernon

As most know, this is Washington's residence. He inherited the property at the age of 22 after his brother died and his sister in law moved away. The house that most know today as Mount Vernon was only one building on the property. Washington owned hundreds if not over a thousand acres during his lifetime.

• Washington did not attend college. His formal education ended at 15 as his parents could not afford to send George to school
• He had no children of his own. he married Martha and raised her children as his own

Starting in the 1760s he was actively involved in Virginia politics. He frequently participated in the House of Burgess in Williamsburg.

Washington excelled at surveying the lands. In 1770 he went west and explored of what would become Ohio. he understood the importance of moving westward. Washington understood the importance of living and working near water. These qualities would come in handy as he picked the site of our capital in 1790 which would become Washington D.C.

His leadership keeping the troops together during the American Revolution is unbelievable. Most know about his extradoniary efforts leading the troops at Valley Forge. There are many more instances of his leadership excelling. This was not the current military of today. Thirteen colonies with different militias. Each of the states had different agendas. Washington was able to keep the troops going and defeat the British. There is a reason after the thirteen colonies ratified the Constitution there was little debate on who the electoral college would choose to be the first President of the United States of America. John Adams may disagree with that statement. (Teaser for the blog post on John Adams presidency.)

Four of the first five Presidents were from Virginia. Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. Twenty-four of the first twenty-eight years of our country's existence were led by men from Virginia. Have you ever thought of the reason? I had not. The reason is the way the electoral college was set up. Slaves counted as 3/5 of a person for counting population in states. Even though the slaves had no voting rights, they were counted in the population totals. This fact swayed to the electoral college totals towards the South and in particular the state of Virginia.

                                                                                                            

Slavery

This is one topic you can not avoid with any of the founding fathers and early presidents. George Washington owned slaves. There is no hiding that fact. Defenders of Washington will say this was critical to his survival as a businessman on his plantation. His critics will counter to him and all of the founding fathers, how can it be stated in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal but slavery was allowed. This was ongoing discussion from our country's founding until the Civil War. More on that in future blogs, as quite a few of our early presidents deserve credit from preventing a civil war.

Allies
This is a common theme that repeats often during US history. During the Revolutionary War, the colonies could not defeat the British by themselves. They needed it help and it came from France. Lafayette was a very successful leader and worked closely with General Washington to defeat the British. Money was also key to success. John Adams was sent to Europe and ask for a loan to finance the war. This is depicted well in the HBO series John Adams. Good relationships with our Allies will come into play during WWI, WWII and the cold war of the 1950s during the Eisenhower administration.

Soft spoken
During his inauguration in becoming the first US President, Washington could not be heard. The crowd could barely hear him speak.

At the end of each blog, I will use one word or phrase to describe each of the Presidents. The word I choose for Washington is pretty easy. Leader.

First blog on US Presidents books

When I informed friends, family and coworkers I am reading a book on every US President, the most common question is why. It creates some interesting conversation. The purpose of this blog to interact with people and have discussions concerning American History. This is my first time blogging and it is very intimidating. Any feedback is appreciated. Here is the story how I started on this journey. I hope you will join me and it will inspire you to do some reading about history.

After the 2016 Presidential election, I found myself asking questions about our country and how we handled political crises. All the Presidents Men seemed like a good place to start. As most of you may know, the book details the Nixon administration handling of the Watergate investigation. Woodward and Bernstein do a masterful job of detailing what transpired after the Watergate break in.

Not sure the reason, my next book was Hamilton. Most know Hamilton as a very successful Broadway musical. Not just a musical, but a hip hop musical about an illegitimate immigrant from the West Indes who became a close confidant George Washington, fought in the Revolutionary War and became a founding father. He became the first Secretary of Treasury and developed our financial system. The book was written by Ron Chernow. More on Ron later as has he wrote two books (Grant and Washington) which I have read. The fact that Lin-Manuel Miranda read this book and was able to create a Broadway musical is unbelievable. That could the topic of an entire other blog. Maybe if I go see Hamilton and become good at this blog thing, I will give my thoughts on Hamilton. After reading Hamilton, I was hooked. I was on a mission to educate my myself on American history. Specifically, the founding fathers and the Presidents.

Next was an obscure book that Ron Chernow references in Hamilton, titled Miracle at Philadelphia. written  by Cather Drinker Brown. The book covers Constitutional Convention in 1787 ultimately leading to ratification in 1789 by the thirteen colonies. The book was eye opening to me. The title sums it up pretty well. It's a miracle this country was founded. North versus South. How to handle slavery. State debts from fighting the Revolutionary War. The branches of government. Presidential powers. How to handle impeachment. At times, in 2019, we take things for granted on how this country was founded. Significant importance has been placed on signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. We even have a national holiday celebrating America's birthday,  Fourth of July. However, the importance of signing of the constitution gets lost.  If these men at the constitutional congress did not push forward, we may be a completely different country or set of countries.

Then I decided to read a book on every US President. Call me crazy. I was on a mission. I found a list from Barnes and Noble titled Ideal Biography on every US President. When reading the list, there we only 44 books listed. I know Trump was the 45th president. I was stumped. How are there 45 presidents but only 44 books. Did B&N mess up? After some quick research, I must not have been paying attention in US History class, Grover Cleveland served two terms. These terms were not consecutive terms. Cleveland is referred to as the 22nd and 24th President. It was a good starting point. I have not stuck to list but overall have been pleased with the recommendations.

To date I have read 4,457 pages. These pages have covered from Washington and his phenomenal leadership to LBJ handling civil rights upheaval and the Vietnam War.

To date, I have read books on the following presidents and author is listed:

• Grant - Chernow
• Washington - Chernow
• John Adams - David McCullough. Currently watching the HBO series based on the book
• Jefferson- Joseph J. Ellis
• Madison - David O. Stewart
• Andrew Jackson - Jon Meacham
• LBJ - Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Eisenhower - Stephen Ambrose
• Currently reading FDR - Jean Edward Smith

My opinion has changed on these men. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes for the worse. Over the coming weeks I will recap the eight books I have read and will blog for the remaining.

Let's get going.