History 261 Section 9A: Documents on "The Forgotten Man"

 

The assignment for Section 9A includes McElvaine, The Great Depression (xiii-xiv, 90-195), Chapter 9 of the Foner volume, and the primary documents below.

 

Foner argues that the Great Depression "spawned a political revolution" and "elevated 'social citizenship'--a broad public guarantee of economic security--to the forefront of American discussions of freedom" (195-96). According to McElvaine, Franklin Roosevelt's "Forgotten Man" campaign speech of April 7, 1932, marked a key turning point in this transformation. In his radio address, Roosevelt called for national policies "that build from the bottom up and not from the top down, that put their faith once more in the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid." McElvaine also concludes that while Roosevelt was a very effective president, "his leadership explains less about the changes the United States underwent in the 1930s than does a fundamental shift in the values of the American people" (xiii).

 

In reading/listening to the following documents, think about how to characterize the changing relationship between the national government and ordinary citizens during the 1930s. Consider the links between Progressivism and New Deal liberalism: how does Franklin Roosevelt's discussion of capitalism, government, and the people compare and contrast with Teddy Roosevelt's program of action? How does the radio function as a new medium of political persuasion during the Great Depression? And what is the relationship between top-down versus bottom-up political change, between what McElvaine calls "enormous upheaval from below and dramatic innovation from above."

 

              **Franklin Roosevelt, "Forgotten Man" Speech (1932)

 

              **President Roosevelt's "Fireside Chats" (1933-1937) [This link contains audio and transcripts of Roosevelt's major speeches. Listen to the sound recordings of fireside chats # 1, 6, and 10]

 

              **Responses to Fireside Chat #1 (1933)

 

              **Responses to Fireside Chat #2 (1933)

 

              **President Franklin Roosevelt, Second Inaugural Address (1937) [listen to the audio]