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Franklin Roosevelt
was the president
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who had to face the Great
Depression and World War II.
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The only thing we have
to fear is fear itself.
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He was ambitious and active.
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Incredibly privileged,
but he suffered.
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You've contracted
infantile paralysis.
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And he's had setbacks.
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But through pain
can come wisdom.
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The country is on
the edge of a cliff,
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but we're not going
to let it fall.
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What do you plan to
do with this policy?
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He has a vision to change
the very soul of America.
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I pledge myself to a New
Deal for the American people.
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American democracy was literally
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resting on his shoulders.
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This was zero hour.
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Get everybody in here.
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He knew that he needed
to project real strength.
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He is the dealer in hope
for the entire free world.
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An invasion of France
is courting disaster.
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He took risks.
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Again and again, you see
these moments of great daring.
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Success may not come
with rushing speed,
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but we shall return
again and again.
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Roosevelt led the grand
alliance to victory
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over fascism.
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This was a tumultuous,
complicated period of time.
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It's a mistake to think that he
somehow got everything right,
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but there was something
about that voice,
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there was something
about that smile.
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That empathy, that
humility, that resilience,
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all those qualities that
FDR just had triumphantly
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built into his character.
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Take a deep breath, Franklin.
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It's perfectly natural
to feel anxious.
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Oh, I'm not anxious
about getting married.
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I'm very lucky.
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So what has you so nervous?
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He does.
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Take care of her.
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I will, Mr. President.
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Call me Uncle Ted.
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It's March 17th, 1905.
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The Roosevelts are probably
the most prestigious
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of the New York elite families.
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Teddy Roosevelt is president
of the United States.
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His niece, Eleanor, is
marrying Franklin Roosevelt.
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Eleanor and Franklin are
fifth cousins once removed,
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and they are so in
love at this point.
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She's 20 years old.
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He's 23 years old.
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And he tells his mother that
he's the happiest man alive.
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Eleanor wasn't simply part of
the debutante world that he was
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used to.
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She was working in a
settlement house in New York,
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finding a sense of
great fulfillment
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by helping other people.
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She had ambitions to do
something with her life,
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and he too had them,
but there's no question
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that knowing Teddy
Roosevelt was her uncle
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was part of his
attraction to Eleanor.
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The rock star in the United
States was Theodore Roosevelt.
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Every minute of
his adult life, FDR
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was always modeling himself
after Theodore Roosevelt.
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We see FDR as this
iconic, universally
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beloved, majestic
figure, but he was a man
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before he was a monument,
and Franklin Roosevelt
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did have something to prove.
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He wanted to achieve, but
it wasn't foreordained.
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Franklin Roosevelt is
born on January 30th, 1882
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during the Gilded Age.
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It is a time of massive
economic expansion marked
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by incredible
technological innovation.
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The great expansion
of the railroad,
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the telegraph, the
introduction of electricity.
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It was an age of progress,
progress, progress.
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And Franklin Roosevelt's
family is wealthy, privileged,
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and he has two parents,
James and Sara Roosevelt,
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who absolutely adore him
and surround him with love
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and affection and attention.
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To call Sara Delano Roosevelt
a doting mother is an insult
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to doting mothers everywhere.
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She was an extremely
stubborn and willful mother,
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who gave orders all the
time, loved him dearly,
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which he knew, but
at the same time,
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unless he developed
a will of iron,
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he was going to grow
up being her vassal.
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He grew up on this magnificent
property in Hyde Park, New York
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right on the Hudson
River, where he
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could walk through the woods.
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He was a naturalist.
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He loved birds.
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He was very, very
curious as a young boy.
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Franklin later said
that, "All that is in me
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goes back to the Hudson."
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And he meant the
unbounded love that he
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got from both of his parents.
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It's where his confidence
came from, his trust in people
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came from, his
optimism came from.
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But when he was eight, his
father had a heart attack.
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After the heart attack,
it was very important
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that he not trouble his father.
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He would put it facade on so
that his father wouldn't know
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that anything was wrong, and I
think this is something that he
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carried on later into his life.
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There's no question that
that projection of confidence
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and optimism and things
are going to be all right
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later became an enormous part
of his leadership strengths.
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But for a man who
became the greatest vote
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getter in the history of
the American presidency,
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he was not a universal favorite.
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Some people thought
he was too fancy.
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Some people thought of
him as a lightweight.
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When he goes off to
Harvard, he's pretty bright,
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but it's not like he's
particularly studious.
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He was a flirt.
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He was a good golfer.
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He was a Harvard pretty boy.
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After Harvard, he goes
to Columbia Law School.
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He ends up practicing
law for a while,
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but he's not all that
interested in it.
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He's sort of bored, not
sure what his next step is
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going to be, fantasizing about
following in his cousin Teddy's
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footsteps.
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In 1910, there's a
group of law clerks
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that are sitting around his
firm when he's 28 years old
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and they're all speculating what
they might want to be in life.
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Franklin comes up with,
I'd like to I think become
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a member of the
state legislature,
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and then maybe I'd like
to be Assistant Secretary
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of the Navy, and
then maybe governor,
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and then maybe if I'm
lucky, I could be president.
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Exactly the path that
Teddy Roosevelt had taken.
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Franklin believed he'd
been born to serve.
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Someone who believed that
who much is given, much
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is expected.
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And I think that's a key
part of Roosevelt's ambition.
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And for Franklin Roosevelt,
the Roosevelt name was useful,
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because at that point in 1910,
it's the most potent name
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in American politics.
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Because of his name, the
Democratic Party in New York
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comes to him and says, we
want you to run for the state
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legislature.
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It wasn't because the
Democratic bosses saw in him
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the makings of a leader.
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They saw in him somebody
whose mother was wealthy
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and who could
support the campaign
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and maybe fund the
Democratic Party.
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His mother is
horrified at the idea
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that he's going to
become a politician.
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Sara thinks that Franklin should
just be a landed gentleman
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in Hudson Valley.
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In 1910, he runs for
state senate in New York.
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And it's at the time
not the sort of thing
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where people are, you
know, knocking on doors,
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but he gets himself this
big Maxwell touring car
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and starts campaigning.
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He was the first person to
use this newfangled gadget,
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the car, during the campaign.
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He loved to break precedent.
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Franklin Roosevelt ran on
a campaign of cleaning up
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the government, having
an honest government.
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But what he's really
out there doing,
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he's just convincing people
that he cares about them.
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Hello there.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
running for state senate.
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Eleanor said when he
first started speaking,
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he spoke so slowly
that there were
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big pauses between
everything he said,
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and she was afraid he would
never go on with the speech.
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Hello. How are you?
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- This is my niece.
- Your niece?
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Hello.
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But then after a while,
when he got comfortable
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and he kept talking
and talking, she
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was afraid he'd
never stop speaking.
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Hello, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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He
not only found his voice
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in that campaign, but
he found his vocation.
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He knew there was something
inside of him that
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wanted to make other
people's lives better.
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Roosevelt managed
to win as a Democrat
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although this was a very
conservative Republican area.
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Roosevelt was not expecting
to serve in the New York State
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Senate for the next 40 years.
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What he was doing was following
in the footsteps of Uncle
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Teddy.
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Roosevelt realized that to be
successful in American policy,
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you have to show that
you can do something
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for the national party.
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So in 1912, when Woodrow Wilson
has running for president,
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in those pre-radio,
pre-television days, when
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candidates required
proxies, Franklin Roosevelt
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is promoting Woodrow Wilson.
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And he's campaigning against
his cousin Teddy, the man
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that he idolizes.
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He realized this was a great
opportunity for the Democrats
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to win the election, but more
importantly, that this would
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give him an inside track into
getting it into Washington
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and getting out of
the state legislature.
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In 1912, there were
three candidates.
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William Howard Taft, who
was the incumbent president,
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former president Theodore
Roosevelt, and governor
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of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson.
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The Democrats win the
election, Woodrow Wilson
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becomes president, and
now Franklin D. Roosevelt,
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having supported Wilson,
gets a slot in the Wilson
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administration.
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FDR supports Woodrow Wilson
without infuriating Uncle Teddy
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and pleases Wilson
to such an extent
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that Wilson is willing
to give him his wish
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to become Assistant
Secretary of the Navy.
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That's political talent
at a very young age.
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As the Assistant Secretary of
the Navy, the same position
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his cousin Teddy
Roosevelt had, Franklin
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is elevated to the national
stage at a crucial point
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in history.
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In August 1914, World War
I breaks out in Europe.
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And it's hard to imagine in
1914 that the US would ever
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get involved.
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As Assistant
Secretary of the Navy,
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Franklin is
perpetually impatient.
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He's convinced during the
early years of World War I
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that America in general, and the
Navy department in particular,
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are just not doing enough
to get ready for war.
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Franklin is constantly
pushing to expand the Navy,
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sometimes going around his
superiors' instructions
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to do so.
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In 1915, the Germans
sink the Lusitania,
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one of the most famous and
luxurious passenger liners
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of the time, and there's
nearly 2,000 people onboard,
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and nearly 1,200
of those perish,
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including 123 Americans.
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This almost causes
war, but there's,
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you know, a real pushback
inside the United States
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about going to war.
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Then in 1917, the Germans send
a telegram to the government
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of Mexico, saying, if you
declare war in the United
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States, we will give you support
to take back the lands you lost
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in the Mexican-American War.
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Woodrow Wilson finally was
out of options for neutrality,
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and the United States joined
World War I in April of 1917.
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But there's a lot of pressure
on FDR to go to war the same
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way Teddy Roosevelt had done
during the Spanish-American
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War.
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Franklin wanted desperately
to be a soldier himself
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and went to Wilson and asked
the president, can I go?
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And he said, no, you're more
important than staying here.
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So even so, he wanted at least
to be able to go over and visit
250
00:13:20,501 --> 00:13:21,501
the troops.
251
00:13:24,251 --> 00:13:26,019
When Franklin and Eleanor
Roosevelt move to Washington
252
00:13:26,043 --> 00:13:30,543
D.C., Eleanor was a
little overwhelmed.
253
00:13:30,668 --> 00:13:34,293
Eleanor had to take care of
five very dynamic children,
254
00:13:34,418 --> 00:13:38,585
so she decided to hire a social
secretary, a young woman named
255
00:13:38,751 --> 00:13:40,168
Lucy Mercer.
256
00:13:40,251 --> 00:13:43,626
She's very organized, she's very
pretty, the children loved her,
257
00:13:43,751 --> 00:13:46,043
but Eleanor's own
insecurities came out,
258
00:13:46,168 --> 00:13:49,376
and Eleanor eventually
ended up firing Lucy.
259
00:13:49,460 --> 00:13:52,376
And then Lucy went to work
in the Navy department.
260
00:13:52,501 --> 00:13:53,501
Oh, wait, your tie.
261
00:13:53,585 --> 00:13:57,376
Working under Roosevelt.
262
00:13:57,460 --> 00:14:00,710
Let me, Eleanor.
263
00:14:00,835 --> 00:14:03,168
What would Franklin
do without you?
264
00:14:03,251 --> 00:14:05,251
Be wandering the
streets, I think.
265
00:14:10,168 --> 00:14:13,960
So in 1918, FDR
arrives in France
266
00:14:14,085 --> 00:14:16,793
and tours a number
of these battlefields
267
00:14:16,918 --> 00:14:22,043
and was immersed in
the horrors of the war.
268
00:14:22,126 --> 00:14:23,311
And saw
with his own eyes
269
00:14:23,335 --> 00:14:25,255
and heard with his own
ears the savage onslaughts
270
00:14:25,293 --> 00:14:28,960
of the Germans
against the allies.
271
00:14:29,085 --> 00:14:30,936
There are a lot of weapons
systems that are introduced
272
00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:32,668
in World War I for
the first time.
273
00:14:32,751 --> 00:14:39,793
Airplanes, tanks, machine guns,
and the other artillery pieces,
274
00:14:39,918 --> 00:14:42,210
which are so powerful
and so destructive
275
00:14:42,335 --> 00:14:46,501
that they can literally
vaporize people.
276
00:14:46,585 --> 00:14:49,751
It's an unprecedented level of
killing and an unprecedentedly
277
00:14:49,918 --> 00:14:52,918
gruesome level of killing.
278
00:14:53,043 --> 00:14:55,626
He describes being
on the battlefield
279
00:14:55,751 --> 00:14:59,043
and hearing the whistle
of German shells
280
00:14:59,168 --> 00:15:03,168
flying overhead and
exploding nearby.
281
00:15:03,251 --> 00:15:07,043
We passed on to the
south slopes of Fort Duama.
282
00:15:07,168 --> 00:15:09,043
A quarter of a mile beyond.
283
00:15:09,168 --> 00:15:12,501
And sure enough, the long,
winding whistle of a shell
284
00:15:12,585 --> 00:15:17,126
was followed by the dull
boom of the explosion.
285
00:15:22,001 --> 00:15:25,126
This was a deeply moving
experience for him.
286
00:15:25,251 --> 00:15:27,210
Franklin Roosevelt truly
believed that America
287
00:15:27,376 --> 00:15:29,543
had a moral
responsibility as well
288
00:15:29,626 --> 00:15:34,585
as a political responsibility to
be a player on the world stage.
289
00:15:40,418 --> 00:15:43,376
In 1918, as FDR is returning
to the United States,
290
00:15:43,543 --> 00:15:46,126
he has a slight fever,
he gets on a boat
291
00:15:46,251 --> 00:15:48,710
and comes down with a very,
very serious cases of pneumonia
292
00:15:48,835 --> 00:15:52,710
caused by the Spanish flu.
293
00:15:52,793 --> 00:15:58,418
More American soldiers died of
the Spanish flu than in combat.
294
00:15:58,543 --> 00:16:00,126
It must have been
terrifying for Eleanor
295
00:16:00,251 --> 00:16:03,376
to have this young husband
who was so very sick.
296
00:16:11,210 --> 00:16:12,210
And she took care of him.
297
00:16:12,376 --> 00:16:13,626
She was there day and night.
298
00:16:27,168 --> 00:16:29,751
When Eleanor was
unpacking the suitcase,
299
00:16:29,876 --> 00:16:33,501
she came upon love letters
that Lucy had written to him.
300
00:16:36,418 --> 00:16:43,043
Imagine the sense of
betrayal she must have felt.
301
00:16:43,126 --> 00:16:44,543
It must have been devastating.
302
00:16:55,085 --> 00:16:56,085
Thanks, Babs.
303
00:17:01,835 --> 00:17:02,460
There's something...
304
00:17:02,585 --> 00:17:04,210
Is it about Elliott?
305
00:17:04,335 --> 00:17:06,626
I hear he's been a right
devil while I was gone.
306
00:17:09,585 --> 00:17:10,585
Do you love her?
307
00:17:22,293 --> 00:17:23,373
Then we must get a divorce.
308
00:17:32,585 --> 00:17:34,376
I believe I love her.
309
00:17:34,501 --> 00:17:38,835
That's very sweet, but
you sound like an idiot.
310
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:44,626
I've spent my life doing
everything that was asked me,
311
00:17:44,751 --> 00:17:47,710
but Lucy makes me happy.
312
00:17:47,835 --> 00:17:53,001
It sounds ridiculous, I
know, but I feel free.
313
00:17:53,126 --> 00:17:56,543
Louis Howe is Franklin
Roosevelt's closest
314
00:17:56,626 --> 00:17:58,543
political advisor.
315
00:17:58,668 --> 00:18:03,501
He is in so many ways
Franklin's opposite.
316
00:18:03,626 --> 00:18:06,710
He's small, he's
perpetually dirty,
317
00:18:06,876 --> 00:18:13,460
his hands are blackened from
cigarette ash and newsprint.
318
00:18:13,585 --> 00:18:17,085
And FDR really relied on Louis
Howe as a great confidant,
319
00:18:17,251 --> 00:18:20,835
a great advisor to him.
320
00:18:20,918 --> 00:18:23,585
You want to talk
about being free?
321
00:18:23,710 --> 00:18:25,960
Right now you have the
freedom to do whatever
322
00:18:26,085 --> 00:18:28,210
you want with your career.
323
00:18:28,335 --> 00:18:31,001
Run for office,
build a reputation.
324
00:18:31,126 --> 00:18:33,085
The sky's the limit.
325
00:18:33,210 --> 00:18:36,918
If you do this, if
you leave your wife,
326
00:18:37,043 --> 00:18:38,168
there'll be a scandal.
327
00:18:38,293 --> 00:18:39,918
It'll be all over the papers.
328
00:18:40,085 --> 00:18:41,710
You'll have to resign.
329
00:18:41,835 --> 00:18:45,626
I'll survive all that.
330
00:18:45,751 --> 00:18:48,543
Besides, it's Eleanor
who's asking for a divorce.
331
00:18:51,418 --> 00:18:52,418
What about your mother?
332
00:18:55,376 --> 00:19:00,418
You think she'll accept
a divorced Roosevelt?
333
00:19:00,585 --> 00:19:03,710
She's going to cut
you off, disown you.
334
00:19:03,876 --> 00:19:05,960
You'll be on your own.
335
00:19:06,085 --> 00:19:07,293
Think about that, Frank.
336
00:19:07,418 --> 00:19:09,668
Really think about
what that means.
337
00:19:14,418 --> 00:19:19,376
You may be in love, Frank, but
you've got to make a choice.
338
00:19:19,543 --> 00:19:23,335
Do you want to be happy or do
you want to be the president
339
00:19:23,418 --> 00:19:24,543
of the United States?
340
00:19:31,001 --> 00:19:33,626
FDR makes a practical
decision that he will stay
341
00:19:33,751 --> 00:19:37,376
in the marriage so as to
not lose his social status
342
00:19:37,501 --> 00:19:42,001
and his political career, and
Eleanor goes along with it.
343
00:19:42,126 --> 00:19:43,501
I think for the
sake of the family,
344
00:19:43,626 --> 00:19:46,251
divorce was a huge
scandal at that time,
345
00:19:46,418 --> 00:19:49,210
she agreed to stay
with him in marriage.
346
00:19:49,335 --> 00:19:50,668
Evidently they
would never really
347
00:19:50,751 --> 00:19:54,210
have intimate
relationships again.
348
00:19:54,376 --> 00:19:56,793
Shortly after the
affair was discovered,
349
00:19:56,918 --> 00:19:57,960
the war came to an end.
350
00:20:00,626 --> 00:20:03,710
In 1918, the Allies
win World War I,
351
00:20:03,835 --> 00:20:06,960
and the impact was felt
most severely in Europe,
352
00:20:07,085 --> 00:20:11,418
where you're looking at 40
to 50 million casualties.
353
00:20:11,585 --> 00:20:14,210
About half of those are
deaths and about half
354
00:20:14,335 --> 00:20:16,793
of those are wounded.
355
00:20:16,918 --> 00:20:19,710
The Americans come
back from World War I
356
00:20:19,835 --> 00:20:23,085
and they see Europe
descending into violence.
357
00:20:23,210 --> 00:20:26,168
There's outbreaks of
near revolution in most
358
00:20:26,251 --> 00:20:27,460
of the European countries.
359
00:20:27,585 --> 00:20:31,585
And they say, what did we
intervene in this war for?
360
00:20:31,751 --> 00:20:34,335
But at the same time, a lot
of the unsolved problems
361
00:20:34,418 --> 00:20:37,543
of America remain
below the surface.
362
00:20:37,626 --> 00:20:39,710
Men have to return to jobs.
363
00:20:39,835 --> 00:20:42,085
Some of these jobs
are still available.
364
00:20:42,251 --> 00:20:44,960
Some of them aren't.
365
00:20:45,085 --> 00:20:49,793
And labor wars are erupting
all over manufacturing centers
366
00:20:49,918 --> 00:20:51,251
in the United States.
367
00:20:51,376 --> 00:20:54,585
And for returning
African-Americans, what they
368
00:20:54,751 --> 00:20:57,001
discovered was that
the reign of Jim Crow
369
00:20:57,126 --> 00:20:58,918
was even more entrenched.
370
00:21:02,335 --> 00:21:05,501
In 1919, Woodrow Wilson
suffers a terrible stroke
371
00:21:05,585 --> 00:21:07,126
and he's essentially
incapacitated
372
00:21:07,251 --> 00:21:08,751
for the rest of his term.
373
00:21:08,918 --> 00:21:12,460
Franklin's hero Teddy
Roosevelt has recently died,
374
00:21:12,585 --> 00:21:15,293
and Franklin is looking
at what is his next step.
375
00:21:20,460 --> 00:21:22,543
In 1920, women had
just gotten the vote.
376
00:21:25,085 --> 00:21:26,710
FDR was good looking.
377
00:21:26,876 --> 00:21:29,043
The Democrats wanted
a good-looking guy
378
00:21:29,126 --> 00:21:33,085
to run for vice president,
and so FDR got on the ticket
379
00:21:33,251 --> 00:21:37,501
with Governor Cox in Ohio,
the Democratic candidate, who
380
00:21:37,585 --> 00:21:40,960
probably knew he
was going to lose.
381
00:21:41,085 --> 00:21:45,043
For a young Assistant
Secretary of the Navy to leap
382
00:21:45,210 --> 00:21:48,793
from that job to the national
ticket as candidate for vice
383
00:21:48,918 --> 00:21:51,710
president, this was
the gift of all times,
384
00:21:51,793 --> 00:21:54,918
because Roosevelt knew
that even if Cox lost,
385
00:21:55,043 --> 00:21:58,293
FDR would be a well-known
presidential figure
386
00:21:58,418 --> 00:22:00,710
of the future.
387
00:22:00,835 --> 00:22:03,960
This is also a moment when
Eleanor emerges as something
388
00:22:04,085 --> 00:22:07,376
of a political observer,
because Louis Howe,
389
00:22:07,501 --> 00:22:11,085
FDR's political advisor, has
Eleanor traveling with him
390
00:22:11,251 --> 00:22:14,543
on the train on this
whistle stop tour.
391
00:22:14,668 --> 00:22:18,335
The 1920 campaign is
Franklin Roosevelt traveling
392
00:22:18,418 --> 00:22:20,293
the country, places
he's never been,
393
00:22:20,418 --> 00:22:23,376
giving speech after speech,
thousands of speeches
394
00:22:23,501 --> 00:22:24,876
over the course of three months.
395
00:22:25,001 --> 00:22:26,001
So he can try things.
396
00:22:26,085 --> 00:22:27,168
He can be bold.
397
00:22:27,251 --> 00:22:31,418
He can really test his message
and evolve and improve.
398
00:22:31,543 --> 00:22:33,543
It's all the skills that
he's going to need later
399
00:22:33,626 --> 00:22:35,251
on in his political career.
400
00:22:35,418 --> 00:22:37,668
It's the perfect
testing ground for him.
401
00:22:37,751 --> 00:22:42,918
He's learning what works and
that he genuinely liked people.
402
00:22:43,043 --> 00:22:50,876
I am certain that America will
choose the path of progress
403
00:22:51,001 --> 00:22:57,376
and set aside the
doctrines of despair.
404
00:22:57,460 --> 00:23:01,710
May the guiding
spirit of our land
405
00:23:01,793 --> 00:23:08,543
keep our feet on the broad road
that leads to a better tomorrow
406
00:23:08,710 --> 00:23:14,085
and gives us the
strength to carry on.
407
00:23:19,043 --> 00:23:21,043
What do you think?
408
00:23:21,210 --> 00:23:22,043
Me?
409
00:23:22,126 --> 00:23:22,876
Yes, you.
410
00:23:23,043 --> 00:23:25,043
Do you like the speech?
411
00:23:25,210 --> 00:23:26,710
It was good.
412
00:23:26,835 --> 00:23:28,235
You think it could
have been better?
413
00:23:32,043 --> 00:23:33,168
It was a little vague.
414
00:23:33,251 --> 00:23:34,251
Yeah?
415
00:23:36,918 --> 00:23:41,751
Well, I suppose he should
consider his audience.
416
00:23:41,918 --> 00:23:45,210
I imagine that people
from farms and small towns
417
00:23:45,376 --> 00:23:49,335
might feel rather distant from
what happens in Washington
418
00:23:49,418 --> 00:23:52,335
or New York City.
419
00:23:52,418 --> 00:23:56,918
People want to feel special.
420
00:23:57,043 --> 00:23:59,835
They want to know that
they've been understood.
421
00:24:04,251 --> 00:24:06,210
What is it?
422
00:24:06,335 --> 00:24:09,043
Maybe I have the
wrong candidate.
423
00:24:09,210 --> 00:24:12,543
Don't be so ridiculous.
424
00:24:12,668 --> 00:24:16,210
Eleanor Roosevelt had a
comfort with everyday people,
425
00:24:16,335 --> 00:24:19,751
an ability to connect to
people who were really living
426
00:24:19,876 --> 00:24:22,710
at the very margins
of American society,
427
00:24:22,876 --> 00:24:27,418
and so Eleanor Roosevelt is key
in the presidential campaign
428
00:24:27,585 --> 00:24:31,168
of 1920.
429
00:24:31,251 --> 00:24:33,751
Eleanor becomes more involved,
but it's also important
430
00:24:33,918 --> 00:24:38,626
because FDR now starts listening
to Eleanor in a different way.
431
00:24:41,210 --> 00:24:43,251
James Cox loses.
432
00:24:43,376 --> 00:24:45,251
It was a disaster
for the Democrats,
433
00:24:45,418 --> 00:24:48,376
but Roosevelt comes out,
he's now this national figure
434
00:24:48,501 --> 00:24:50,418
and everybody knows
him, and he is
435
00:24:50,543 --> 00:24:52,223
seen as one of the most
appealing Democrats
436
00:24:52,335 --> 00:24:53,335
in the country.
437
00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,043
In the summer, after the
Democrats lose the election,
438
00:24:59,168 --> 00:25:02,001
FDR is deeply involved with
the Boy Scouts of America
439
00:25:02,085 --> 00:25:05,376
and he goes to the jamboree that
they're having in upstate New
440
00:25:05,460 --> 00:25:06,751
York.
441
00:25:06,918 --> 00:25:09,335
He then continues on up to
his family's vacation home up
442
00:25:09,460 --> 00:25:10,501
in Campobello.
443
00:25:15,835 --> 00:25:18,460
What's all this yelling about?
444
00:25:18,585 --> 00:25:19,335
Come on.
445
00:25:19,460 --> 00:25:20,585
Dinner is ready.
446
00:25:20,710 --> 00:25:23,876
August of 1921 was going
to be this rare treat
447
00:25:24,043 --> 00:25:28,085
for an extended family
holiday, and in the end
448
00:25:28,251 --> 00:25:29,251
they got one day.
449
00:25:29,376 --> 00:25:30,376
Franklin?
450
00:25:35,460 --> 00:25:37,251
Franklin?
451
00:25:37,376 --> 00:25:38,376
Are you all right?
452
00:25:51,626 --> 00:25:53,668
All right, let's
try the left one.
453
00:26:02,585 --> 00:26:04,835
That's fine.
454
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,918
Mr. Roosevelt, you've
contracted infantile paralysis.
455
00:26:15,418 --> 00:26:16,418
Polio.
456
00:26:19,501 --> 00:26:22,710
I don't believe it.
457
00:26:22,835 --> 00:26:25,543
Polio is contagious, isn't it?
458
00:26:25,626 --> 00:26:28,043
Should we be worried
about the children?
459
00:26:28,168 --> 00:26:30,751
Your husband's been
sick for weeks already.
460
00:26:30,876 --> 00:26:31,977
If they were going
to get it, they
461
00:26:32,001 --> 00:26:33,126
would have gotten it by now.
462
00:26:36,210 --> 00:26:37,210
This can't be right.
463
00:26:41,126 --> 00:26:44,376
FDR got sick in 1921, and
it was a mysterious disease.
464
00:26:44,501 --> 00:26:46,210
They didn't really
know what caused it.
465
00:26:46,376 --> 00:26:48,960
They didn't know how to cure it.
466
00:26:49,085 --> 00:26:51,918
It seemed to affect children,
which, of course, is
467
00:26:52,043 --> 00:26:53,376
terrifying.
468
00:26:53,501 --> 00:26:55,876
When this strange
new disease spread
469
00:26:56,001 --> 00:26:58,876
throughout American cities
in the first decades
470
00:26:59,001 --> 00:27:03,085
of the 20th century, it's
terrifying to people.
471
00:27:03,210 --> 00:27:05,835
There were 6,000 deaths
in the United States,
472
00:27:05,918 --> 00:27:09,543
2,000 in New York City
alone, and tens of thousands
473
00:27:09,710 --> 00:27:12,126
of children who are
infected with it.
474
00:27:12,251 --> 00:27:15,668
It was very much seen
as a children's disease,
475
00:27:15,751 --> 00:27:18,293
not something a
healthy, vigorous adult
476
00:27:18,418 --> 00:27:19,626
would have to worry about.
477
00:27:24,793 --> 00:27:25,793
What can I do?
478
00:27:28,626 --> 00:27:31,460
Nothing.
479
00:27:31,585 --> 00:27:32,585
It's fine, Babs.
480
00:27:36,251 --> 00:27:37,251
Everything will be fine.
481
00:27:41,251 --> 00:27:44,376
When Franklin Roosevelt
is struck down by polio,
482
00:27:44,543 --> 00:27:46,710
he is 39 years old.
483
00:27:46,793 --> 00:27:49,751
He never walks again unaided.
484
00:27:49,876 --> 00:27:54,335
He goes from being totally
in control of everything
485
00:27:54,460 --> 00:27:58,043
to being dependent at all times.
486
00:27:58,210 --> 00:28:01,668
FDR felt physical pain, and
worse than physical pain,
487
00:28:01,751 --> 00:28:04,251
terror, the terror
of never knowing
488
00:28:04,376 --> 00:28:05,751
if you're going to walk again.
489
00:28:05,876 --> 00:28:07,876
Here's a guy with enormous
political ambitions,
490
00:28:08,001 --> 00:28:10,210
he's got a large
family, everybody's
491
00:28:10,293 --> 00:28:12,043
expecting great things
from him, and he's
492
00:28:12,168 --> 00:28:15,793
lying in a darkened
room and he can't move.
493
00:28:15,918 --> 00:28:20,001
He fell into a deep depression
upon discovering that he no
494
00:28:20,085 --> 00:28:23,293
longer had the use of his legs.
495
00:28:23,418 --> 00:28:27,876
In those days, people
weren't used to seeing folks
496
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:28,960
with disabilities.
497
00:28:29,043 --> 00:28:31,210
They didn't see
people in wheelchairs.
498
00:28:31,293 --> 00:28:35,126
And he feared that his
public life was over.
499
00:28:37,876 --> 00:28:39,227
In the beginning they
weren't even sure
500
00:28:39,251 --> 00:28:41,876
that he could recover
the upper body,
501
00:28:42,001 --> 00:28:43,710
but he did everything he could.
502
00:28:43,835 --> 00:28:46,793
He experimented with every
new gadget that came along
503
00:28:46,918 --> 00:28:49,835
that might help him walk better,
and that's what he would do
504
00:28:49,918 --> 00:28:51,043
when he becomes a leader.
505
00:28:51,168 --> 00:28:52,311
I'm going to experiment
with this one.
506
00:28:52,335 --> 00:28:53,975
If it doesn't work,
I'm going to admit it,
507
00:28:54,085 --> 00:28:56,960
and then I'll try
something else.
508
00:28:57,085 --> 00:29:01,876
FDR's effort in the wake of
polio is to remake himself,
509
00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:04,210
and against the advice of many
of his friends and family,
510
00:29:04,335 --> 00:29:07,001
including his mother, to
not retire to Hyde Park
511
00:29:07,126 --> 00:29:10,460
and live as a country gentleman
but to get back into politics
512
00:29:10,585 --> 00:29:12,543
and back into leadership.
513
00:29:12,668 --> 00:29:14,960
His experience of
being paralyzed
514
00:29:15,085 --> 00:29:19,251
gave him a sense of setting
one's mind to achieve goals,
515
00:29:19,376 --> 00:29:21,710
and understanding how
to overcome adversity
516
00:29:21,835 --> 00:29:23,418
becomes a key part
of his makeup.
517
00:29:27,085 --> 00:29:31,126
In 1924, Al Smith, a
fairly powerful politician
518
00:29:31,251 --> 00:29:35,043
in New York, asked FDR to become
the chairman of his campaign
519
00:29:35,168 --> 00:29:37,001
for president committee,
and then asked
520
00:29:37,085 --> 00:29:39,710
FDR to place his
name in nomination
521
00:29:39,793 --> 00:29:42,835
at the Democratic
National Convention.
522
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:44,876
FDR was taking a big gamble.
523
00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:48,876
The gamble was that he
could appear in public,
524
00:29:49,001 --> 00:29:52,210
give a stirring speech
nominating Al Smith,
525
00:29:52,335 --> 00:29:55,793
and look like someone who
is in no way being held back
526
00:29:55,918 --> 00:29:59,585
by the fact that
he had had polio.
527
00:29:59,710 --> 00:30:02,293
Giving a speech on
the convention floor
528
00:30:02,418 --> 00:30:09,293
means Franklin needs to somehow
move across a stage apparently
529
00:30:09,418 --> 00:30:11,001
walking.
530
00:30:11,085 --> 00:30:13,876
This was not something
that he could do.
531
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:17,793
He had these incredibly
heavy braces.
532
00:30:17,918 --> 00:30:21,751
It was excruciating
to just take a step.
533
00:30:21,876 --> 00:30:24,626
And yet he would practice
day after day after day.
534
00:30:24,751 --> 00:30:26,710
He would have his
son hold him and then
535
00:30:26,793 --> 00:30:29,043
he would have his
braces locked in place.
536
00:30:29,168 --> 00:30:30,918
He wasn't sure that
he could do it.
537
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:44,835
That's 15 feet.
538
00:30:44,918 --> 00:30:47,960
It's the distance to the podium.
539
00:30:48,085 --> 00:30:50,918
It doesn't seem so far.
540
00:30:51,085 --> 00:30:53,001
Can't we just wheel
Pa onto the platform?
541
00:30:53,126 --> 00:30:56,751
I walk or I back out altogether.
542
00:30:56,918 --> 00:30:59,001
All right, now let's
give it a shot.
543
00:31:22,418 --> 00:31:23,710
Pa!
544
00:31:28,626 --> 00:31:29,626
I'm all right.
545
00:31:34,668 --> 00:31:35,668
Again.
546
00:31:51,918 --> 00:31:54,168
Want a break?
547
00:31:54,293 --> 00:31:59,543
No, it's just I need to
be able to walk alone.
548
00:32:03,376 --> 00:32:04,918
Elliott, grab me
the other crutch.
549
00:32:08,501 --> 00:32:09,501
That's a good boy.
550
00:32:45,210 --> 00:32:46,727
There never
was a political convention
551
00:32:46,751 --> 00:32:49,585
to match the Democratic
National gathering in 1924
552
00:32:49,710 --> 00:32:52,835
in New York with
drama and color.
553
00:32:52,918 --> 00:32:54,501
Imagine the scene.
554
00:32:54,626 --> 00:32:57,668
Thousands of people
packing this auditorium
555
00:32:57,751 --> 00:33:00,043
at Madison Square Garden.
556
00:33:00,168 --> 00:33:03,376
It took extraordinary
courage, and if he fell,
557
00:33:03,543 --> 00:33:06,960
it could really end his hopes
of going into public life.
558
00:33:07,085 --> 00:33:09,043
It would be a huge
humiliation, an embarrassment,
559
00:33:09,126 --> 00:33:11,210
and yet he dared.
560
00:33:11,293 --> 00:33:18,251
And now please welcome
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
561
00:33:18,418 --> 00:33:19,418
of New York.
562
00:33:45,001 --> 00:33:48,376
We forgot to check the podium.
563
00:33:48,501 --> 00:33:49,501
What do you mean?
564
00:33:49,585 --> 00:33:50,977
Someone needs to make
sure it's strong enough
565
00:33:51,001 --> 00:33:52,001
to support him.
566
00:34:08,751 --> 00:34:11,751
Joe, do me a favor
and shake the podium.
567
00:34:11,876 --> 00:34:15,543
Give it a shake now, will you?
568
00:34:15,626 --> 00:34:18,460
Good.
569
00:34:44,293 --> 00:34:47,210
And when he got to the
podium, he gripped that podium
570
00:34:47,376 --> 00:34:49,210
so hard that his
hand was shaking
571
00:34:49,335 --> 00:34:52,876
and his knuckles were white,
and yet he wore a huge smile.
572
00:35:03,918 --> 00:35:11,918
It gives me great pleasure to
meet again so many friends whom
573
00:35:12,418 --> 00:35:17,376
I have not seen since the last
Democratic National gathering.
574
00:35:19,918 --> 00:35:26,460
America needs a pathfinder,
a blazer of the trail
575
00:35:26,585 --> 00:35:32,293
to the high road, to
stand upon the ramparts
576
00:35:32,418 --> 00:35:36,543
and die for our principles.
577
00:35:36,710 --> 00:35:42,710
We offer one who
has the will to win,
578
00:35:42,876 --> 00:35:50,376
who not only deserves
success but commands it.
579
00:35:50,460 --> 00:35:57,543
The happy warrior,
Alfred E. Smith.
580
00:36:21,085 --> 00:36:22,085
The whole place erupts.
581
00:36:26,043 --> 00:36:30,793
And when he describes Alfred
Smith as the happy warrior,
582
00:36:30,918 --> 00:36:34,043
it's really he who comes
off as the happy warrior,
583
00:36:34,126 --> 00:36:36,460
and by the end of
the convention,
584
00:36:36,585 --> 00:36:41,126
the press about his
speech is glowing
585
00:36:41,251 --> 00:36:43,376
and he has put himself
back on the map
586
00:36:43,543 --> 00:36:47,043
as a possible future
presidential contender.
587
00:36:47,168 --> 00:36:49,001
There was that great
sense of accomplishment.
588
00:36:49,085 --> 00:36:51,251
I think this was a
huge moment for him.
589
00:36:51,376 --> 00:36:53,710
He comes home that night
and he said, we did it.
590
00:36:53,876 --> 00:36:56,043
I did it.
591
00:36:56,168 --> 00:36:57,793
After the success
of the convention,
592
00:36:57,918 --> 00:37:01,210
FDR absolutely is committed
to recovering from polio,
593
00:37:01,293 --> 00:37:03,835
to being able to walk
again, to continuing
594
00:37:03,918 --> 00:37:04,960
his political career.
595
00:37:07,543 --> 00:37:09,543
His good friend
George Foster Peabody
596
00:37:09,710 --> 00:37:13,043
tells him about this
resort down in Georgia that
597
00:37:13,168 --> 00:37:18,710
has a reputation for miraculous
cures for polio survivors,
598
00:37:18,835 --> 00:37:22,751
and he feels that, OK, now I
finally have a path forward.
599
00:37:25,418 --> 00:37:27,585
1924, Franklin
makes his first trip
600
00:37:27,710 --> 00:37:31,251
to Warm Springs with
his personal valet
601
00:37:31,376 --> 00:37:32,585
and with Missy LeHand.
602
00:37:35,460 --> 00:37:36,740
Missy LeHand was initially hired
603
00:37:36,793 --> 00:37:40,418
to help with the vise
presidential campaign in 1920.
604
00:37:40,543 --> 00:37:44,585
She was also this wise cracking,
extremely confident Irish girl
605
00:37:44,751 --> 00:37:48,710
from Boston, who didn't
take crap from anybody.
606
00:37:48,835 --> 00:37:51,043
She was as close
to a chief of staff
607
00:37:51,126 --> 00:37:53,835
as you can be in those days when
women weren't allowed to hold
608
00:37:53,918 --> 00:37:55,293
those kinds of positions.
609
00:38:00,376 --> 00:38:03,376
In the fall of 1924,
Franklin is swimming around
610
00:38:03,501 --> 00:38:07,335
in the water at Warm Springs,
and it does feel magical.
611
00:38:07,418 --> 00:38:10,960
He feels this power that
he hasn't felt at any point
612
00:38:11,085 --> 00:38:14,876
since his polio infection.
613
00:38:15,043 --> 00:38:18,293
Franklin decides, you know
what, I can use this resort
614
00:38:18,418 --> 00:38:22,376
to benefit all polio
survivors, and he purchases it
615
00:38:22,460 --> 00:38:25,418
with about 50% of
his entire net worth
616
00:38:25,543 --> 00:38:28,710
and transforms it into the
preeminent rehabilitation
617
00:38:28,835 --> 00:38:29,835
center in the world.
618
00:38:34,918 --> 00:38:38,251
He becomes a leader among
the polio patients there.
619
00:38:38,376 --> 00:38:39,876
He was their camp counselor.
620
00:38:40,001 --> 00:38:43,626
He was Doc Roosevelt. He would
exercise with them in the pool,
621
00:38:43,751 --> 00:38:46,460
and he made them feel that they
had a purpose again in life.
622
00:38:46,585 --> 00:38:49,710
He made them feel that
they could have joy in life
623
00:38:49,835 --> 00:38:53,168
once again, and experiencing
that kind of leadership
624
00:38:53,251 --> 00:38:55,293
really made him feel,
I can be a leader.
625
00:38:55,418 --> 00:38:57,126
It doesn't matter if
I can't walk again.
626
00:38:57,251 --> 00:38:58,251
I can do this.
627
00:39:03,751 --> 00:39:06,960
The area around Warm
Springs was poor.
628
00:39:07,085 --> 00:39:10,710
It was poor white people
and poor Black people,
629
00:39:10,793 --> 00:39:12,585
and that was a
good thing for him
630
00:39:12,710 --> 00:39:15,126
to see how the other half lived.
631
00:39:15,251 --> 00:39:18,835
He was sensitive
to their suffering.
632
00:39:18,918 --> 00:39:22,543
And he would drive
all around the area.
633
00:39:22,668 --> 00:39:24,293
When he talked to
the local farmers,
634
00:39:24,418 --> 00:39:26,376
he could see that they
had no running water.
635
00:39:26,501 --> 00:39:27,293
They had no electricity.
636
00:39:27,418 --> 00:39:29,460
They had no food
to eat sometimes.
637
00:39:29,585 --> 00:39:34,543
And he understood what it
would do to your daily lives.
638
00:39:34,668 --> 00:39:37,501
Warm Springs is really the path
that leads to his leadership.
639
00:39:37,585 --> 00:39:39,710
That's the place where he
truly found a deeper sense
640
00:39:39,835 --> 00:39:43,543
of purpose, not just
wanting a series of titles
641
00:39:43,626 --> 00:39:46,543
to become a politician,
but wanting to do something
642
00:39:46,668 --> 00:39:49,293
with that leadership where you
could make people feel that you
643
00:39:49,418 --> 00:39:51,710
would change their lives.
644
00:39:51,793 --> 00:39:54,376
In the '20s, while Franklin
Roosevelt is recovering
645
00:39:54,460 --> 00:39:56,460
and plotting his comeback
into public life,
646
00:39:56,585 --> 00:40:00,543
it just seems America's
soaring into prominence.
647
00:40:00,668 --> 00:40:03,876
America is fast becoming the
world's dominant economy.
648
00:40:06,918 --> 00:40:10,668
And it's a time of tremendous
economic growth and also
649
00:40:10,793 --> 00:40:14,376
profound cultural changes.
650
00:40:14,460 --> 00:40:16,543
Investments are
through the roof,
651
00:40:16,668 --> 00:40:19,126
and it seems like the good
times are here and here to stay
652
00:40:19,251 --> 00:40:23,543
and that everybody's going
to make bank in the 1920s.
653
00:40:23,668 --> 00:40:27,710
It feels at one point like
money is falling from trees.
654
00:40:27,793 --> 00:40:31,001
The roaring '20s is
described as euphoric.
655
00:40:31,085 --> 00:40:35,376
Lip rouge, cigarettes,
and silk stockings
656
00:40:35,501 --> 00:40:37,710
were no longer the
sine of a hussy.
657
00:40:37,835 --> 00:40:41,001
People are
engaging in decadent behavior.
658
00:40:41,085 --> 00:40:43,043
Social mores are changing.
659
00:40:43,168 --> 00:40:45,376
Hemlines are getting shorter.
660
00:40:45,543 --> 00:40:47,001
People are buying stock.
661
00:40:47,085 --> 00:40:49,543
They're borrowing to
buy stock, but there's
662
00:40:49,626 --> 00:40:52,543
this kind of giddy
euphoria that seizes really
663
00:40:52,668 --> 00:40:53,793
the whole country.
664
00:40:53,918 --> 00:40:56,626
There's a sense in
America in the late 1920s
665
00:40:56,751 --> 00:41:00,043
that the party's
never going to end.
666
00:41:00,126 --> 00:41:01,210
But it all crashes.
667
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:09,585
1928, Al Smith's going to
run for president again,
668
00:41:09,710 --> 00:41:12,835
but he still has
plans for Franklin.
669
00:41:12,918 --> 00:41:16,335
He's governor of New York, and
if he's going to be president,
670
00:41:16,418 --> 00:41:18,210
he wants Franklin
Roosevelt to take over
671
00:41:18,335 --> 00:41:19,710
as governor of New York.
672
00:41:22,126 --> 00:41:23,960
Al Smith was also sort
of thinking, well,
673
00:41:24,085 --> 00:41:26,460
if I lose the presidency,
then, you know,
674
00:41:26,585 --> 00:41:29,085
FDR would just be a
puppet and I'll still
675
00:41:29,251 --> 00:41:35,876
be power behind the throne as
the ex-governor of New York.
676
00:41:36,001 --> 00:41:37,835
When Roosevelt agreed
to run for governor
677
00:41:37,918 --> 00:41:40,835
of New York in 1928,
it was something
678
00:41:40,918 --> 00:41:42,876
of a testing of the waters.
679
00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:46,043
He wanted to know if he had the
energy to be the kind of leader
680
00:41:46,168 --> 00:41:52,585
he had been before, and it
turned out that the Roosevelt
681
00:41:52,751 --> 00:41:56,585
political skills, the ability
to tell a story, the ability
682
00:41:56,751 --> 00:41:59,876
to convey a vision, that was
still there, and in some ways
683
00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:02,168
it was more persuasive
than before.
684
00:42:02,293 --> 00:42:06,126
He seemed to be a deeper soul.
685
00:42:06,251 --> 00:42:10,418
He had the maturity of having
suffered through hard times.
686
00:42:10,543 --> 00:42:14,710
As it happened, Smith
loses the presidency,
687
00:42:14,835 --> 00:42:18,376
but Roosevelt wins
the governorship.
688
00:42:18,501 --> 00:42:21,960
Al Smith also thought that FDR
was a lightweight whom he could
689
00:42:22,085 --> 00:42:23,085
control.
690
00:42:31,418 --> 00:42:32,751
"New York Times" wants to know,
691
00:42:32,876 --> 00:42:35,376
should they refer to you as
Governor Roosevelt or Governor
692
00:42:35,543 --> 00:42:36,543
Franklin Roosevelt?
693
00:42:36,585 --> 00:42:41,835
Governor Franklin
D. Roosevelt.
694
00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:47,168
Oh, by the way, remember, Al
Smith is still waiting for you.
695
00:42:47,293 --> 00:42:50,668
Al, good to see you.
696
00:42:50,793 --> 00:42:53,085
Thought I'd stop by and
hand over your speech.
697
00:42:59,085 --> 00:43:04,126
I'm sure this is swell, but
I've already written my speech.
698
00:43:12,543 --> 00:43:17,126
You know, Frank, you
should take it easy.
699
00:43:17,251 --> 00:43:19,085
Let me handle things.
700
00:43:19,210 --> 00:43:22,585
I actually think I can
do some good up here.
701
00:43:22,751 --> 00:43:24,210
Well, that's funny.
702
00:43:24,335 --> 00:43:27,585
You didn't even want to run.
703
00:43:27,751 --> 00:43:31,001
Yet here I am.
704
00:43:31,085 --> 00:43:34,001
And that's my chair
you're sitting in.
705
00:43:34,085 --> 00:43:37,376
This isn't about
whose chair it is.
706
00:43:37,460 --> 00:43:41,085
This is about doing my duty
to the people of New York.
707
00:43:41,251 --> 00:43:45,710
Now, I've got a pile
of problems left over
708
00:43:45,835 --> 00:43:49,751
from your administration,
so if you'll excuse me,
709
00:43:49,918 --> 00:43:51,251
I've got a lot of work to do.
710
00:44:08,168 --> 00:44:12,418
Roosevelt was elected
governor in 1928,
711
00:44:12,585 --> 00:44:16,710
and he is following his
plan just like Uncle Teddy.
712
00:44:16,793 --> 00:44:18,751
He's been in the state
legislature, Assistant
713
00:44:18,918 --> 00:44:24,126
Secretary of the Navy, and
now governor of New York.
714
00:44:24,251 --> 00:44:29,918
But suddenly comes the
stock market crash.
715
00:44:30,085 --> 00:44:32,144
The tremendous
crowds, which you see gathered
716
00:44:32,168 --> 00:44:35,751
outside the Stock Exchange,
are due to the greatest crash
717
00:44:35,918 --> 00:44:37,793
in the history of the
New York Stock Exchange
718
00:44:37,918 --> 00:44:40,210
in market prices.
719
00:44:40,376 --> 00:44:43,835
The stock market crashed in
1929 because Americans believed
720
00:44:43,918 --> 00:44:45,168
in fairy tales.
721
00:44:45,293 --> 00:44:47,668
People get invested
with unreasonable
722
00:44:47,751 --> 00:44:50,876
hope that they can keep on
making money for nothing.
723
00:44:51,001 --> 00:44:53,085
When it crashed, it
took down millionaires,
724
00:44:53,251 --> 00:44:56,710
but it also took down plumbers,
carpenters, manufacturing
725
00:44:56,876 --> 00:44:59,376
workers, farmers,
and many others.
726
00:44:59,460 --> 00:45:00,710
And there's a lot of fear.
727
00:45:00,835 --> 00:45:02,043
People are worried.
728
00:45:02,168 --> 00:45:04,043
They're worried about
a lot of things.
729
00:45:04,168 --> 00:45:09,001
And what follows is a steadily
worsening economic situation
730
00:45:09,085 --> 00:45:12,543
with high unemployment and
then sky high unemployment.
731
00:45:12,626 --> 00:45:15,543
Business failures,
bank failures.
732
00:45:15,710 --> 00:45:16,835
It's a real crisis.
733
00:45:23,210 --> 00:45:26,626
And the mood of the
country, 1929 on
734
00:45:26,751 --> 00:45:29,501
forward is one of
bleakness and despair.
735
00:45:33,251 --> 00:45:35,210
And at the beginning of
the Great Depression,
736
00:45:35,335 --> 00:45:37,376
we have a president,
Herbert Hoover,
737
00:45:37,501 --> 00:45:40,168
who firmly believes that
it's not the government's job
738
00:45:40,251 --> 00:45:43,626
to take care of the
American people.
739
00:45:43,751 --> 00:45:46,751
He says, this is the
job of aid societies,
740
00:45:46,918 --> 00:45:48,876
the Red Cross and food banks.
741
00:45:51,335 --> 00:45:53,793
But as governor of
New York, FDR says,
742
00:45:53,918 --> 00:45:57,043
this is a unique and
tragic circumstance
743
00:45:57,210 --> 00:45:58,918
and the government
has to do something
744
00:45:59,085 --> 00:46:01,918
to help the people
who are suffering.
745
00:46:02,043 --> 00:46:04,793
FDR believed in bold
experimentation.
746
00:46:04,918 --> 00:46:07,585
He would try anything, and
he would say repeatedly,
747
00:46:07,751 --> 00:46:08,751
try something.
748
00:46:08,876 --> 00:46:10,227
If it doesn't work,
try something else,
749
00:46:10,251 --> 00:46:12,251
but do something.
750
00:46:12,376 --> 00:46:15,418
He understood that the
nation was in crisis.
751
00:46:15,543 --> 00:46:18,376
And so some leaders would
think that that was the moment
752
00:46:18,460 --> 00:46:21,043
to be timid, but he understood
that this was a call
753
00:46:21,210 --> 00:46:22,251
to be bold.
754
00:46:22,376 --> 00:46:25,376
So he brought in academics
to talk to him, to help
755
00:46:25,543 --> 00:46:28,126
him explain what was going on.
756
00:46:28,251 --> 00:46:30,585
This was somewhat of
a radical proposal,
757
00:46:30,751 --> 00:46:33,418
because most politicians, they
brought in political advisors,
758
00:46:33,585 --> 00:46:38,335
not academics, and they were
nicknamed the Brains Trust.
759
00:46:38,418 --> 00:46:41,376
I'm sure you're wondering
why you're here.
760
00:46:41,501 --> 00:46:43,210
I need your help.
761
00:46:43,293 --> 00:46:45,751
I need to know what you know
about the current economic
762
00:46:45,918 --> 00:46:46,918
situation.
763
00:46:51,418 --> 00:46:54,043
Today would be nice.
764
00:46:54,168 --> 00:46:57,210
Some think the decline is a
result of under consumption
765
00:46:57,335 --> 00:46:59,751
and inadequate
demand, and this has
766
00:46:59,918 --> 00:47:02,918
led to a decline in
industrial production
767
00:47:03,085 --> 00:47:06,751
as manufacturers experience
an unintended surplus.
768
00:47:06,876 --> 00:47:10,085
Whoa, whoa, I need you
to speak my language.
769
00:47:10,251 --> 00:47:11,335
Sir?
770
00:47:11,460 --> 00:47:13,585
If I can't understand it,
how are the American people
771
00:47:13,710 --> 00:47:14,876
going to?
772
00:47:15,043 --> 00:47:18,001
The bottom line is, people
are buying less stuff,
773
00:47:18,126 --> 00:47:20,168
so factories are
making less stuff.
774
00:47:20,251 --> 00:47:23,918
And if they're making less,
they don't need as many workers.
775
00:47:24,085 --> 00:47:26,710
And if a man's not
working, he's not buying.
776
00:47:26,876 --> 00:47:29,501
There's your real
problem, unemployment.
777
00:47:33,210 --> 00:47:35,835
Franklin Roosevelt doesn't
read book after book
778
00:47:35,918 --> 00:47:37,710
to learn about a subject.
779
00:47:37,835 --> 00:47:39,626
He listens to people.
780
00:47:39,751 --> 00:47:41,960
He'll ask really
probing questions
781
00:47:42,085 --> 00:47:44,126
and try to get to the heart
of the matter that way.
782
00:47:47,460 --> 00:47:51,085
One thing has never
been clear to me.
783
00:47:51,210 --> 00:47:54,626
If the people are expected to
follow laws and do their duty
784
00:47:54,751 --> 00:47:58,835
to the country, why doesn't the
country have a duty to them?
785
00:47:58,918 --> 00:48:01,876
The country has a
duty to JP Morgan.
786
00:48:03,876 --> 00:48:06,126
That's the problem.
787
00:48:06,251 --> 00:48:08,085
Think about your forgotten man.
788
00:48:08,210 --> 00:48:10,501
Been working his whole life.
789
00:48:10,626 --> 00:48:13,710
Now just when he needs some
help, he's out of luck.
790
00:48:13,793 --> 00:48:16,210
Yeah, but people
don't want handouts.
791
00:48:16,293 --> 00:48:17,876
Well, that's right Frances.
792
00:48:18,001 --> 00:48:19,210
They want jobs.
793
00:48:19,335 --> 00:48:20,835
They want to earn their money.
794
00:48:20,918 --> 00:48:22,960
But there are no jobs.
795
00:48:23,085 --> 00:48:25,710
So we'll create jobs.
796
00:48:25,835 --> 00:48:31,376
FDR is challenging the core
assumption that government has
797
00:48:31,460 --> 00:48:33,835
no role in helping
the common man,
798
00:48:33,960 --> 00:48:36,360
that the government's role is
to help banks and big business,
799
00:48:36,418 --> 00:48:39,001
and he is saying that
the forgotten man is
800
00:48:39,126 --> 00:48:40,436
who the government
should be helping.
801
00:48:40,460 --> 00:48:43,460
This is his motivation for what
he's trying to do in New York
802
00:48:43,585 --> 00:48:44,710
State to provide relief.
803
00:48:44,835 --> 00:48:47,626
More importantly, it forms
the foundation of everything
804
00:48:47,751 --> 00:48:50,668
he does after.
805
00:48:50,751 --> 00:48:53,032
How do you think you're going
to convince Albany to put up
806
00:48:53,085 --> 00:48:54,085
that kind of money?
807
00:48:58,418 --> 00:49:02,543
They can say no to me, but they
808
00:49:02,668 --> 00:49:04,043
can't say no to the people.
809
00:49:07,251 --> 00:49:10,293
FDR is a great political
leader in a sense
810
00:49:10,418 --> 00:49:13,543
that he understands how to
read the public mood, how
811
00:49:13,710 --> 00:49:15,626
to motivate people.
812
00:49:15,751 --> 00:49:18,418
And FDR realizes
that if he wants
813
00:49:18,543 --> 00:49:21,960
to reach the great masses,
that the radio provides
814
00:49:22,085 --> 00:49:24,210
an incredible
opportunity to do that.
815
00:49:33,126 --> 00:49:37,210
I don't have to tell you
how important the speech is.
816
00:49:37,376 --> 00:49:39,251
Just relax.
817
00:49:39,418 --> 00:49:43,918
Talk just like you're in their
living rooms, because you are.
818
00:49:44,085 --> 00:49:45,085
It's time.
819
00:49:55,210 --> 00:49:58,501
In my judgment, my
friends, my calm judgment,
820
00:49:58,626 --> 00:50:06,626
the nation faces today a more
grave emergency than in 1917.
821
00:50:07,376 --> 00:50:12,876
It has been said that Napoleon
lost the Battle of Waterloo
822
00:50:13,043 --> 00:50:15,585
because he forgot his infantry.
823
00:50:15,710 --> 00:50:19,418
Roosevelt had the perfect
conversational voice, a voice
824
00:50:19,585 --> 00:50:22,585
that seemed intimate, could
make people feel he was talking
825
00:50:22,751 --> 00:50:25,293
directly to them.
826
00:50:25,418 --> 00:50:30,876
The present administration in
Washington provides, I think,
827
00:50:31,001 --> 00:50:33,126
a close parallel.
828
00:50:33,251 --> 00:50:38,501
It has forgotten the infantry
of our economic army,
829
00:50:38,585 --> 00:50:46,585
but I say we must put our faith
once more in the forgotten man
830
00:50:47,001 --> 00:50:51,251
at the bottom of the
economic pyramid.
831
00:50:51,418 --> 00:50:56,543
It is high time to admit,
with courage, that we
832
00:50:56,626 --> 00:51:04,210
are in the midst of an emergency
at least equal to that of war.
833
00:51:04,335 --> 00:51:07,210
Let us mobilize to meet it.
834
00:51:11,751 --> 00:51:14,751
You can't overemphasize how
important this speech is
835
00:51:14,876 --> 00:51:17,210
to his entire career.
836
00:51:17,335 --> 00:51:24,251
When you talk like that, you
sound like a president, Frank.
837
00:51:24,418 --> 00:51:25,876
I don't think you
can escape being
838
00:51:25,960 --> 00:51:29,001
the next Democratic nominee.
839
00:51:29,085 --> 00:51:35,043
If I'm throwing my hat
in, I intend to win.
840
00:51:35,168 --> 00:51:36,626
First we take care
of the opposition.
841
00:51:39,960 --> 00:51:42,210
You know what to do.
842
00:51:42,335 --> 00:51:43,335
Let them have it.
843
00:51:49,335 --> 00:51:50,644
As the New York
governor, Roosevelt
844
00:51:50,668 --> 00:51:55,126
had an opportunity to test
drive ideas at the state level
845
00:51:55,251 --> 00:51:59,751
to see if they work, to
see if they're popular.
846
00:51:59,918 --> 00:52:02,710
Franklin Roosevelt launched
a number of programs.
847
00:52:02,793 --> 00:52:05,335
One of the most famous was
called TERA, the Temporary
848
00:52:05,418 --> 00:52:08,085
Emergency Relief Act, which
put money into the hands
849
00:52:08,210 --> 00:52:09,918
of the unemployed.
850
00:52:10,043 --> 00:52:12,144
And so when he announces that
he's running for president
851
00:52:12,168 --> 00:52:14,418
of United States in
1932, he can point
852
00:52:14,585 --> 00:52:17,751
to a record of accomplishment.
853
00:52:17,876 --> 00:52:20,501
Roosevelt could not have
been better positioned
854
00:52:20,626 --> 00:52:25,085
to get the Democratic
nomination for president.
855
00:52:25,251 --> 00:52:27,335
And he ran against a
president, Herbert Hoover,
856
00:52:27,460 --> 00:52:29,376
very conservative Republican.
857
00:52:29,460 --> 00:52:31,543
We have a perfect
day for this trip,
858
00:52:31,668 --> 00:52:34,085
and I'm very happy to
be going out to Chicago,
859
00:52:34,251 --> 00:52:36,668
and everybody knows the
reason why I'm so happy.
860
00:52:39,376 --> 00:52:41,626
When Roosevelt goes
to the convention
861
00:52:41,751 --> 00:52:44,918
and shows up where no
other nominee had shown up
862
00:52:45,085 --> 00:52:49,043
in the past to accept
the nomination,
863
00:52:49,210 --> 00:52:51,251
this is something
that is unprecedented.
864
00:52:51,376 --> 00:52:56,168
It's because he wants to
make a statement to say,
865
00:52:56,293 --> 00:52:58,960
I've been hobbled by my
physical constraints,
866
00:52:59,085 --> 00:53:01,543
but I'm going to
be your president.
867
00:53:01,668 --> 00:53:08,751
I pledge myself to a New
Deal for the American people.
868
00:53:08,876 --> 00:53:13,251
Give me your help not
to win votes alone
869
00:53:13,376 --> 00:53:19,835
but to win in this
crusade to restore America
870
00:53:19,918 --> 00:53:21,876
to its own people!
871
00:53:28,710 --> 00:53:32,751
In that nominating speech,
he says, I pledge a New Deal
872
00:53:32,876 --> 00:53:36,210
for the American people.
873
00:53:36,335 --> 00:53:38,168
He means he's going to
change the relationship
874
00:53:38,293 --> 00:53:40,918
between the federal
government and the common man,
875
00:53:41,085 --> 00:53:42,293
the common woman.
876
00:53:42,418 --> 00:53:46,543
Policy needs to be dominated
by the realities that we
877
00:53:46,626 --> 00:53:52,418
discover and by the national
services that we seek.
878
00:53:52,585 --> 00:53:55,460
Roosevelt was campaigning
on this New Deal.
879
00:53:55,585 --> 00:53:59,918
It was saying that, I as
governor was able to deliver
880
00:54:00,043 --> 00:54:03,043
for the people of my state.
881
00:54:03,210 --> 00:54:07,168
What if we did that
across the country?
882
00:54:07,293 --> 00:54:11,835
It was a campaign of optimism,
of hope about what can be done,
883
00:54:11,960 --> 00:54:14,960
rather than Hoover
saying, I feel your pain,
884
00:54:15,085 --> 00:54:19,126
but we're going to let someone
else manage how we come out
885
00:54:19,251 --> 00:54:21,710
of this.
886
00:54:21,835 --> 00:54:24,585
Herbert Hoover was
completely at a loss
887
00:54:24,751 --> 00:54:27,126
as how to deal with
the Depression.
888
00:54:27,251 --> 00:54:30,210
He believed in laissez-faire,
just let the government step
889
00:54:30,335 --> 00:54:32,335
back.
890
00:54:32,418 --> 00:54:35,376
He was negative,
he was pessimistic.
891
00:54:35,501 --> 00:54:37,381
He refused to acknowledge
that there were things
892
00:54:37,460 --> 00:54:39,710
that the government
should be doing.
893
00:54:39,876 --> 00:54:42,876
He was unlike FDR, who
was confident and vibrant.
894
00:54:43,001 --> 00:54:44,721
Every photograph you
see him in campaigning,
895
00:54:44,876 --> 00:54:46,085
he's standing tall.
896
00:54:46,251 --> 00:54:49,376
He projects absolute optimism
that the American public just
897
00:54:49,501 --> 00:54:52,668
flocked to him.
898
00:54:52,751 --> 00:54:56,835
And he wins the
election in a landslide.
899
00:54:56,960 --> 00:55:00,085
Franklin Roosevelt, he was
elected in an hour of crisis.
900
00:55:00,210 --> 00:55:06,668
Our fundamental economic
infrastructure had fallen apart
901
00:55:06,793 --> 00:55:13,918
and we were only, what, 150
years old at that point.
902
00:55:14,085 --> 00:55:20,501
And then, on January 30th, 1933,
FDR celebrates his birthday,
903
00:55:20,626 --> 00:55:23,543
and Adolf Hitler comes
to power in Germany.
904
00:55:27,960 --> 00:55:34,376
So in that season you have
Hitler and the Depression.
905
00:55:34,501 --> 00:55:36,335
In the 1930s, people are looking
906
00:55:36,418 --> 00:55:38,210
for solutions to the
problem, not only here,
907
00:55:38,335 --> 00:55:39,043
but also in Europe.
908
00:55:39,126 --> 00:55:41,710
It's a global depression.
909
00:55:41,835 --> 00:55:45,585
In Germany and Italy,
Hitler and Mussolini said,
910
00:55:45,751 --> 00:55:48,418
there's a Great Depression,
people are suffering.
911
00:55:48,543 --> 00:55:51,418
It shows that democracy
is not a great idea.
912
00:55:51,585 --> 00:55:54,210
You need a strong leader
managing the economy
913
00:55:54,376 --> 00:55:56,876
and telling people what to do.
914
00:55:57,001 --> 00:56:00,168
There were many in the United
States who thought, well, maybe
915
00:56:00,293 --> 00:56:04,168
Hitler and Mussolini
have something.
916
00:56:04,293 --> 00:56:07,751
FDR knew enough
about world history
917
00:56:07,918 --> 00:56:12,501
to know that if he as president
did not pretty quickly solve
918
00:56:12,585 --> 00:56:15,085
the Great Depression or at
least give people the idea
919
00:56:15,210 --> 00:56:19,710
that help was on the way, that
they might turn to fascism.
920
00:56:19,876 --> 00:56:23,376
He knew that American
democracy was literally
921
00:56:23,543 --> 00:56:24,918
resting on his shoulders.
922
00:56:28,085 --> 00:56:30,335
Those weeks before he
takes the inauguration are
923
00:56:30,418 --> 00:56:32,043
extraordinarily
filled with panic.
924
00:56:35,626 --> 00:56:38,543
Somebody said to FDR, if you
make this work, if you get
925
00:56:38,668 --> 00:56:41,335
through the Depression, you'll
be one of the great presidents.
926
00:56:41,460 --> 00:56:43,060
If you don't, you'll
be one of the worst.
927
00:56:46,543 --> 00:56:49,043
He said, no, if it doesn't
work, I will be the last.
928
00:56:59,876 --> 00:57:02,168
After Franklin Roosevelt's
landslide victory in November
929
00:57:02,251 --> 00:57:05,543
of 1932, there's this long
period before he's actually
930
00:57:05,668 --> 00:57:10,293
inaugurated in March of
1933, and during this period,
931
00:57:10,418 --> 00:57:13,585
the country is suffering
catastrophic losses.
932
00:57:21,543 --> 00:57:24,751
By 1933, thousands
of banks have failed,
933
00:57:24,876 --> 00:57:27,126
thousands of businesses have
failed, thousands of farms
934
00:57:27,251 --> 00:57:30,335
have been foreclosed upon,
prices have collapsed,
935
00:57:30,418 --> 00:57:32,293
incomes have collapsed.
936
00:57:32,418 --> 00:57:35,501
It is an absolute
economic catastrophe,
937
00:57:35,585 --> 00:57:38,543
and people are experiencing
real suffering.
938
00:57:41,876 --> 00:57:45,543
You seen vast encampments
of homeless people.
939
00:57:45,668 --> 00:57:48,376
They call these Hoovervilles.
940
00:57:48,501 --> 00:57:50,293
It hit old people,
it hit young people,
941
00:57:50,418 --> 00:57:52,335
it hit rural people,
it hit urban people,
942
00:57:52,418 --> 00:57:53,498
and the people were afraid.
943
00:57:53,543 --> 00:57:55,418
They had no idea that
it would ever end.
944
00:57:55,543 --> 00:57:57,876
They couldn't see where
it was going to change.
945
00:57:57,960 --> 00:57:59,918
There was a feeling
of hopelessness,
946
00:58:00,043 --> 00:58:03,543
that people who lost jobs
would never work again,
947
00:58:03,626 --> 00:58:06,418
that their children
would always go hungry.
948
00:58:06,543 --> 00:58:08,960
There was no reason
to believe that it
949
00:58:09,085 --> 00:58:11,168
was going to get better.
950
00:58:11,251 --> 00:58:16,751
The charities in the United
States were bankrupt.
951
00:58:16,876 --> 00:58:22,501
There is no functioning
relief system.
952
00:58:22,585 --> 00:58:24,668
People don't have
money to buy food.
953
00:58:24,751 --> 00:58:27,418
You'd see thousands of people
in breadlines every day
954
00:58:27,585 --> 00:58:30,210
in cities waiting for
handouts for food.
955
00:58:30,335 --> 00:58:33,126
There were many Americans
living like scavengers
956
00:58:33,251 --> 00:58:36,793
in the cities, who would follow
vegetable trucks as they made
957
00:58:36,918 --> 00:58:40,168
their rounds in the hope that
a cabbage or a head of lettuce
958
00:58:40,251 --> 00:58:42,376
would fall off the truck.
959
00:58:42,460 --> 00:58:43,710
Children were malnourished.
960
00:58:43,835 --> 00:58:47,918
They sat glassy-eyed in
classrooms in the schools that
961
00:58:48,043 --> 00:58:49,960
were open.
962
00:58:50,085 --> 00:58:53,710
Immigrants were returning
to their home countries.
963
00:58:53,835 --> 00:58:58,626
100,000 Americans applied
for work in the Soviet Union.
964
00:58:58,751 --> 00:59:02,876
This is how dire the
circumstances were.
965
00:59:02,960 --> 00:59:04,501
And Americans also were dealing
966
00:59:04,585 --> 00:59:06,751
with a lot of
terrible confusion,
967
00:59:06,876 --> 00:59:11,085
because most Americans are
able to say, but I was honest,
968
00:59:11,210 --> 00:59:14,210
I was hardworking, I was
sober, I pinched my pennies,
969
00:59:14,293 --> 00:59:17,085
I worked really hard
I overcame adversity,
970
00:59:17,210 --> 00:59:19,251
and here I am without
a job, without income,
971
00:59:19,376 --> 00:59:22,876
hungry children, losing
my home, losing my car.
972
00:59:22,960 --> 00:59:23,376
What?
973
00:59:23,460 --> 00:59:24,543
What has happened?
974
00:59:24,668 --> 00:59:28,668
Something has gone
terribly wrong.
975
00:59:28,793 --> 00:59:31,835
Roosevelt realized that
the American people needed
976
00:59:31,960 --> 00:59:34,710
to see that there were people
in Washington who were paying
977
00:59:34,835 --> 00:59:37,585
attention to them, who
were trying to fix things.
978
00:59:37,710 --> 00:59:40,418
I think he recognized
in some sense
979
00:59:40,543 --> 00:59:44,126
that results were important,
but they were less important,
980
00:59:44,251 --> 00:59:46,751
at least in the short
term, than the impression
981
00:59:46,876 --> 00:59:48,710
that he could give that
the government cared,
982
00:59:48,835 --> 00:59:51,501
that Washington cared
about people who lived
983
00:59:51,585 --> 00:59:53,585
in the parts of the
country that were hardest
984
00:59:53,710 --> 00:59:55,126
hit by the Depression.
985
00:59:58,126 --> 01:00:00,001
March 4th, 1933.
986
01:00:00,085 --> 01:00:02,585
FDR is finally going to be
inaugurated as president
987
01:00:02,710 --> 01:00:03,751
of the United States.
988
01:00:03,876 --> 01:00:07,251
400,000 people come out
for this transition.
989
01:00:07,376 --> 01:00:10,835
It was an existential
hour, as important as 1861,
990
01:00:10,918 --> 01:00:14,210
and what FDR brought is what
Lincoln brought to some extent,
991
01:00:14,335 --> 01:00:16,918
which was a conviction that
democracy and capitalism must
992
01:00:17,043 --> 01:00:21,668
survive, but a profound
flexibility on the means
993
01:00:21,751 --> 01:00:22,960
to achieve those ends.
994
01:00:23,085 --> 01:00:26,751
He was not ideologically rigid.
995
01:00:26,876 --> 01:00:31,293
He was a juggler, he
was an improviser,
996
01:00:31,418 --> 01:00:35,335
and it's what we needed.
997
01:00:35,418 --> 01:00:39,460
But there's no escaping
the reality of disability
998
01:00:39,585 --> 01:00:40,876
for Franklin.
999
01:00:41,001 --> 01:00:42,918
From the moment he
wakes up, someone
1000
01:00:43,043 --> 01:00:44,460
has to pull him out of bed.
1001
01:00:44,585 --> 01:00:45,793
He needs help getting dressed.
1002
01:00:45,918 --> 01:00:48,168
He needs help getting
his braces on.
1003
01:00:50,960 --> 01:00:53,460
Big day.
1004
01:00:53,585 --> 01:00:55,710
That's for sure.
1005
01:00:55,835 --> 01:00:58,543
And his son Jimmy is
his constant source
1006
01:00:58,626 --> 01:01:02,335
of literal physical support, the
person whose arm he leans on.
1007
01:01:09,460 --> 01:01:14,501
I do sometimes wonder if
I'll have the strength
1008
01:01:14,626 --> 01:01:15,626
to do the job.
1009
01:01:19,085 --> 01:01:20,210
You'll do great.
1010
01:01:22,876 --> 01:01:24,585
I know everything will be fine.
1011
01:01:24,710 --> 01:01:25,710
Don't worry.
1012
01:01:28,210 --> 01:01:29,918
In the 1930s, in the
Great Depression,
1013
01:01:30,043 --> 01:01:31,311
there's a lot of
fear in the air,
1014
01:01:31,335 --> 01:01:33,375
but there's a lot of questions
in the air too about,
1015
01:01:33,418 --> 01:01:34,835
is he up to the task?
1016
01:01:37,585 --> 01:01:38,585
Come here.
1017
01:01:40,876 --> 01:01:41,960
I'll pray for strength.
1018
01:01:44,835 --> 01:01:51,793
I'll pray for guidance to
do the job and do it right.
1019
01:01:55,585 --> 01:01:56,585
I know you will.
1020
01:02:07,418 --> 01:02:10,168
The cars proceeded
down toward the Capitol,
1021
01:02:10,251 --> 01:02:13,001
bearing with them the hopes
of the country for a New Deal.
1022
01:02:15,876 --> 01:02:18,960
The Depression was a
tumultuous, complicated period
1023
01:02:19,085 --> 01:02:21,960
of time, but
Franklin Roosevelt's
1024
01:02:22,085 --> 01:02:24,793
fundamental conviction
was that you
1025
01:02:24,918 --> 01:02:28,085
had to show that the
system could respond
1026
01:02:28,251 --> 01:02:32,876
and that therefore the
system was worth defending.
1027
01:02:33,001 --> 01:02:34,960
The fate of democracy
hangs in the balance.
1028
01:02:35,085 --> 01:02:37,376
This is not an understatement.
1029
01:02:37,543 --> 01:02:40,418
This is a moment in which
leadership is vitally
1030
01:02:40,585 --> 01:02:43,710
important.
1031
01:02:43,835 --> 01:02:48,210
This is a day of
national consecration.
1032
01:02:48,293 --> 01:02:55,751
First of all, let me assert my
firm belief that the only thing
1033
01:02:55,876 --> 01:02:59,793
we have to fear is fear itself.
1034
01:03:02,543 --> 01:03:08,043
This nation asks for
action, and action now.
1035
01:03:10,918 --> 01:03:16,043
The people of the United
States have not failed.
1036
01:03:16,168 --> 01:03:23,210
In their need they want
direct, vigorous action.
1037
01:03:32,085 --> 01:03:34,626
His first inaugural, he
talks about how we cannot let
1038
01:03:34,751 --> 01:03:38,501
the Depression paralyze our
efforts or convert advance
1039
01:03:38,626 --> 01:03:39,835
into retreat.
1040
01:03:39,918 --> 01:03:42,043
I've always thought it was
fascinating that he used
1041
01:03:42,210 --> 01:03:47,335
the word paralyze, and I don't
know how conscious it was,
1042
01:03:47,460 --> 01:03:53,751
but it was a sign that he
saw the world as motion,
1043
01:03:53,918 --> 01:03:58,960
and he no longer
could move literally,
1044
01:03:59,085 --> 01:04:02,835
so he would use all of his
energies to help the country
1045
01:04:02,960 --> 01:04:05,376
move figuratively.
1046
01:04:11,210 --> 01:04:14,710
He sets up a expectation
for the American public
1047
01:04:14,876 --> 01:04:16,376
that you have to help me.
1048
01:04:16,501 --> 01:04:19,085
If you want to get through this
problem, I can do some things,
1049
01:04:19,210 --> 01:04:21,918
but you have to do other things.
1050
01:04:22,043 --> 01:04:23,960
And the most important
thing he did was to say,
1051
01:04:24,085 --> 01:04:26,793
the people are not responsible
for this depression.
1052
01:04:26,918 --> 01:04:30,043
The failure of leadership
is responsible,
1053
01:04:30,210 --> 01:04:33,210
and I am here to
give that leadership.
1054
01:04:33,335 --> 01:04:35,376
And with that leadership,
there would be hope.
1055
01:04:35,501 --> 01:04:38,043
There would be jobs.
1056
01:04:38,126 --> 01:04:41,251
Here is this paralyzed man who
was making the people who feel
1057
01:04:41,376 --> 01:04:43,751
paralyzed feel hope once again.
1058
01:04:43,876 --> 01:04:47,085
And he said, we need action
and we need action right now.
1059
01:04:47,210 --> 01:04:49,543
And if the Congress will
not give me what I need,
1060
01:04:49,668 --> 01:04:51,876
I will use the broad
powers of the executive
1061
01:04:52,043 --> 01:04:53,251
as if we were at a war.
1062
01:05:04,251 --> 01:05:07,793
It wasn't quite clear
what he was going to do,
1063
01:05:07,918 --> 01:05:10,293
but in that period he
and his brain trust,
1064
01:05:10,418 --> 01:05:14,918
the experts that he was
assembling around himself,
1065
01:05:15,043 --> 01:05:19,626
worked out a plan of bold,
unprecedented action.
1066
01:05:19,751 --> 01:05:20,769
His cabinet includes Louis Howe
1067
01:05:20,793 --> 01:05:24,585
as chief of staff,
Democratic Party leader Steve
1068
01:05:24,751 --> 01:05:27,210
Early as press secretary.
1069
01:05:27,293 --> 01:05:30,126
For secretary of labor, Franklin
brings in Frances Perkins,
1070
01:05:30,251 --> 01:05:32,960
the first ever female
cabinet member.
1071
01:05:33,085 --> 01:05:36,085
He also brings in a progressive
Republican named Harold Ickes
1072
01:05:36,210 --> 01:05:39,543
to be secretary of the
interior, and Jim Farley
1073
01:05:39,668 --> 01:05:40,668
is postmaster general.
1074
01:05:43,251 --> 01:05:46,210
You all look great
from where I'm sitting.
1075
01:05:46,335 --> 01:05:47,543
Then you need glasses.
1076
01:05:50,085 --> 01:05:52,876
We all know what
we're up against,
1077
01:05:53,043 --> 01:05:55,668
but now it's our turn to fix it.
1078
01:06:00,376 --> 01:06:02,960
The economy has been
plunging for three years,
1079
01:06:03,085 --> 01:06:07,085
and it still hadn't
found bottom.
1080
01:06:07,251 --> 01:06:09,543
And the critical thing
at that particular moment
1081
01:06:09,626 --> 01:06:13,001
was that the banking
system had seized up.
1082
01:06:13,085 --> 01:06:14,876
One of the reasons
the banks failed
1083
01:06:15,001 --> 01:06:16,876
is the banks had
taken that money
1084
01:06:16,960 --> 01:06:18,418
and invested it in
the stock market.
1085
01:06:18,543 --> 01:06:20,210
And so when the stock
market went down,
1086
01:06:20,293 --> 01:06:22,413
they didn't have enough money
to pay their depositors,
1087
01:06:22,501 --> 01:06:24,960
so banks were simply closing.
1088
01:06:25,085 --> 01:06:26,519
They had already closed
by the thousands,
1089
01:06:26,543 --> 01:06:29,710
and it looked as
though America's
1090
01:06:29,835 --> 01:06:35,710
national financial system was
on the verge of utter collapse.
1091
01:06:35,835 --> 01:06:37,793
It's important to realize
there was no safety
1092
01:06:37,918 --> 01:06:39,043
net in those days.
1093
01:06:39,126 --> 01:06:41,043
If a bank collapsed,
the federal government
1094
01:06:41,210 --> 01:06:42,835
wasn't going to help you.
1095
01:06:42,960 --> 01:06:45,710
It is a real crisis, a
crisis that no one could ever
1096
01:06:45,835 --> 01:06:48,210
have imagined hitting
one of the wealthiest
1097
01:06:48,376 --> 01:06:50,668
countries in the world.
1098
01:06:50,793 --> 01:06:53,293
Was capitalism failing?
1099
01:06:53,418 --> 01:06:56,043
Had capitalism actually failed?
1100
01:06:56,168 --> 01:06:58,835
Many people thought the
United States of America
1101
01:06:58,918 --> 01:07:03,543
as a political entity was over,
that our capitalist system was
1102
01:07:03,626 --> 01:07:04,626
over.
1103
01:07:10,251 --> 01:07:13,043
The country's on
the edge of a cliff,
1104
01:07:13,168 --> 01:07:14,960
but we're not going
to let it fall.
1105
01:07:15,085 --> 01:07:16,376
The first thing
we're going to do
1106
01:07:16,460 --> 01:07:19,001
is to declare a banking holiday.
1107
01:07:19,085 --> 01:07:22,876
It'll prevent further runs and
buy time for Secretary Woodin
1108
01:07:23,001 --> 01:07:24,335
to draft some legislation.
1109
01:07:24,418 --> 01:07:28,043
You're going to have to expand
presidential authority if you
1110
01:07:28,126 --> 01:07:29,543
want to get anything done.
1111
01:07:29,626 --> 01:07:30,710
Precisely.
1112
01:07:30,835 --> 01:07:34,585
But first we have to figure
out which banks can be saved
1113
01:07:34,710 --> 01:07:36,876
and which have to close.
1114
01:07:37,001 --> 01:07:38,585
My team put this together.
1115
01:07:41,835 --> 01:07:44,085
Arrows are the banks.
1116
01:07:44,210 --> 01:07:46,585
Color denotes its status.
1117
01:07:46,710 --> 01:07:49,585
But where do we start?
1118
01:07:49,710 --> 01:07:52,543
Let's start in New York.
1119
01:07:52,668 --> 01:07:54,960
March 5th, essentially
his first act
1120
01:07:55,085 --> 01:07:55,960
as president of
the United States
1121
01:07:56,085 --> 01:07:59,543
is to close every
bank in America.
1122
01:07:59,668 --> 01:08:01,686
The banks
were going to close for a week.
1123
01:08:01,710 --> 01:08:03,460
They're going to
open Monday morning.
1124
01:08:03,585 --> 01:08:04,876
And he uses a wonderful phrase.
1125
01:08:05,001 --> 01:08:06,376
He calls it a bank holiday.
1126
01:08:06,460 --> 01:08:08,960
And that gave Franklin a
chance to call Congress
1127
01:08:09,085 --> 01:08:11,085
into an emergency session.
1128
01:08:11,210 --> 01:08:13,626
And incredibly, in the
space of several hours,
1129
01:08:13,751 --> 01:08:17,168
they passed this huge
emergency banking bill.
1130
01:08:17,251 --> 01:08:19,043
Divide up the banks
into three categories.
1131
01:08:19,168 --> 01:08:20,968
Those banks that are
healthy enough to reopen,
1132
01:08:21,001 --> 01:08:23,543
those banks that can reopen
but are going to need help
1133
01:08:23,668 --> 01:08:25,561
from the federal government,
and those banks that
1134
01:08:25,585 --> 01:08:28,710
are so bad that there's not
much we can do about them.
1135
01:08:28,793 --> 01:08:30,960
New money
back buy real assets
1136
01:08:31,085 --> 01:08:33,710
from Uncle Sam's Treasury
to revitalize the country's
1137
01:08:33,835 --> 01:08:34,918
commerce.
1138
01:08:35,043 --> 01:08:36,626
This emergency banking bill will
1139
01:08:36,751 --> 01:08:38,960
allow them to have currency
shipped to the banks that
1140
01:08:39,085 --> 01:08:40,751
are stable enough to handle it.
1141
01:08:40,876 --> 01:08:43,335
Planes are on the tarmac
ready to fly the currency
1142
01:08:43,418 --> 01:08:45,585
to each one of the banks.
1143
01:08:45,710 --> 01:08:49,376
Before Roosevelt, before this
moment in American history,
1144
01:08:49,501 --> 01:08:53,210
the federal government had never
taken it upon itself to bolster
1145
01:08:53,293 --> 01:08:55,376
an industry the way
the federal government
1146
01:08:55,501 --> 01:08:57,710
was bolstering the
banking industry.
1147
01:08:57,835 --> 01:09:01,210
It was quite a striking,
even a revolutionary thing
1148
01:09:01,293 --> 01:09:02,585
for the government to undertake.
1149
01:09:02,751 --> 01:09:05,668
Franklin is afraid that once
they've opened the banks again,
1150
01:09:05,751 --> 01:09:07,711
that people will then rush
to take their money out
1151
01:09:07,793 --> 01:09:09,394
because they haven't
had it for a whole week,
1152
01:09:09,418 --> 01:09:11,210
and then the whole
system would collapse.
1153
01:09:11,293 --> 01:09:13,293
This was zero hour.
1154
01:09:13,418 --> 01:09:18,293
So FDR has got the biggest
challenge for a leader, which
1155
01:09:18,418 --> 01:09:22,168
is make people feel a
little bit reassured,
1156
01:09:22,293 --> 01:09:24,751
and at the same time,
get them to do something
1157
01:09:24,876 --> 01:09:28,210
that their instincts tell
them not to, which is keep
1158
01:09:28,335 --> 01:09:31,876
your money in the banks.
1159
01:09:32,043 --> 01:09:33,751
Franklin decides
on a Sunday night
1160
01:09:33,918 --> 01:09:37,585
before the Monday opening, he's
going to give a fireside chat
1161
01:09:37,710 --> 01:09:39,376
to the people.
1162
01:09:39,460 --> 01:09:42,710
This is really the first
presidential fireside chat.
1163
01:09:42,793 --> 01:09:44,960
Nervous?
1164
01:09:45,085 --> 01:09:46,876
What's there to
be nervous about?
1165
01:09:46,960 --> 01:09:49,876
I just have to convince the
entire American public to trust
1166
01:09:50,001 --> 01:09:51,126
me with their life savings.
1167
01:09:51,251 --> 01:09:52,585
In 13 minutes.
1168
01:10:03,210 --> 01:10:04,876
Got it.
1169
01:10:05,001 --> 01:10:06,793
NBC says ready to go.
1170
01:10:06,918 --> 01:10:09,043
CBS is live.
1171
01:10:09,168 --> 01:10:12,626
10 seconds, Mr. President.
1172
01:10:12,751 --> 01:10:14,626
In 5, 4.
1173
01:10:20,043 --> 01:10:23,793
Ladies and gentlemen, the
president of the United States.
1174
01:10:23,918 --> 01:10:29,043
My friends, I want to talk for
a few minutes with the people
1175
01:10:29,210 --> 01:10:32,960
of the United States
about banking.
1176
01:10:33,085 --> 01:10:36,876
I want to tell you what has
been done in the last few days
1177
01:10:36,960 --> 01:10:41,168
and why it has been done, and
what the next steps are going
1178
01:10:41,251 --> 01:10:43,710
to be.
1179
01:10:43,876 --> 01:10:47,960
This bank holiday,
while resulting
1180
01:10:48,085 --> 01:10:53,376
in great inconvenience, is
affording us the opportunity
1181
01:10:53,460 --> 01:10:59,251
to supply the currency
necessary to meet the situation.
1182
01:10:59,418 --> 01:11:04,376
It is possible that
when the banks resume,
1183
01:11:04,460 --> 01:11:08,043
people who have not
recovered from their fear
1184
01:11:08,210 --> 01:11:11,626
may again begin withdrawals.
1185
01:11:11,751 --> 01:11:16,085
Let me make it clear
that the banks will
1186
01:11:16,251 --> 01:11:19,376
take care of all needs.
1187
01:11:19,501 --> 01:11:23,168
I can assure you
that it is safer
1188
01:11:23,251 --> 01:11:30,876
to keep your money in a reopened
bank than under the mattress.
1189
01:11:31,001 --> 01:11:34,418
80% of the adult radio
audiences are listening,
1190
01:11:34,543 --> 01:11:36,543
and it was said that streets
were empty at the time
1191
01:11:36,626 --> 01:11:41,543
because everybody is sitting
staring at their radio.
1192
01:11:41,626 --> 01:11:45,918
We have provided the
machinery to restore
1193
01:11:46,085 --> 01:11:49,668
our financial situation.
1194
01:11:49,751 --> 01:11:54,626
It is up to you to
support and make it work.
1195
01:11:58,585 --> 01:12:04,251
It is your problem no
less than it is mine.
1196
01:12:04,376 --> 01:12:07,793
Together we cannot fail.
1197
01:12:10,835 --> 01:12:12,626
Remarkable piece
of work in a space
1198
01:12:12,751 --> 01:12:14,335
of just less than 15 minutes.
1199
01:12:14,460 --> 01:12:16,626
He calls on the American
people and he says,
1200
01:12:16,751 --> 01:12:19,251
basically, we have done what
we can do here in Washington.
1201
01:12:19,418 --> 01:12:24,001
Now we look to you,
and with your support,
1202
01:12:24,085 --> 01:12:26,168
our work will succeed.
1203
01:12:26,293 --> 01:12:28,710
And so he puts the
American people
1204
01:12:28,835 --> 01:12:32,001
essentially into
potential cooperation
1205
01:12:32,085 --> 01:12:33,543
with the administration.
1206
01:12:36,376 --> 01:12:38,501
Franklin gives his
address on Sunday night,
1207
01:12:38,585 --> 01:12:40,477
and the big question is,
what's going to happen tomorrow
1208
01:12:40,501 --> 01:12:41,835
morning when we
reopen the banks?
1209
01:12:44,460 --> 01:12:47,376
The next day would
be the true test.
1210
01:12:47,460 --> 01:12:49,835
Did this work?
1211
01:12:49,918 --> 01:12:53,460
If it fails, then it will mean,
the whole financial system
1212
01:12:53,585 --> 01:12:57,585
will fail in the very first
week of his presidency.
1213
01:12:57,710 --> 01:13:00,210
It is not an exaggeration
to say that the country is
1214
01:13:00,293 --> 01:13:01,293
on the verge of collapse.
1215
01:13:08,335 --> 01:13:09,960
Miss LeHand, today's lunch menu.
1216
01:13:10,085 --> 01:13:11,335
Jellied bouillon.
1217
01:13:11,460 --> 01:13:13,418
Mrs. Nesbitt says
it's nutritious.
1218
01:13:13,585 --> 01:13:14,585
Don't like it.
1219
01:13:14,710 --> 01:13:15,710
Have you heard anything?
1220
01:13:15,835 --> 01:13:16,835
Not yet.
1221
01:13:16,918 --> 01:13:18,227
Maybe we should cancel
the president's lunch.
1222
01:13:18,251 --> 01:13:19,376
Because of the bouillon?
1223
01:13:19,501 --> 01:13:21,001
Well, now there's two reasons.
1224
01:13:21,126 --> 01:13:23,876
No, I'm concerned if things
don't go our way with banks.
1225
01:13:24,043 --> 01:13:25,876
They will.
1226
01:13:26,043 --> 01:13:28,710
They have to.
1227
01:13:28,835 --> 01:13:32,251
It's Monday morning and
there's long lines at the bank
1228
01:13:32,376 --> 01:13:33,418
again, and they panic.
1229
01:13:33,543 --> 01:13:36,043
Maybe they've come to
take their money out.
1230
01:13:36,210 --> 01:13:37,835
Did this work?
1231
01:13:37,960 --> 01:13:40,210
We should have heard
something by now.
1232
01:13:40,376 --> 01:13:43,043
Do you think it's a bad sign?
1233
01:13:43,210 --> 01:13:47,460
No news is no news.
1234
01:13:58,376 --> 01:13:59,376
Yes?
1235
01:14:05,168 --> 01:14:06,501
I see.
1236
01:14:06,626 --> 01:14:07,626
Thank you.
1237
01:14:12,085 --> 01:14:15,335
They're standing in line.
1238
01:14:15,418 --> 01:14:17,918
They're bringing
their money back.
1239
01:14:18,085 --> 01:14:20,710
We're going to be OK.
1240
01:14:20,876 --> 01:14:22,960
They're actually carrying
satchels of money
1241
01:14:23,085 --> 01:14:24,876
to bring their money
back to the banks.
1242
01:14:25,001 --> 01:14:27,835
So that night, headlines,
confidence in banking system
1243
01:14:27,918 --> 01:14:28,376
resume.
1244
01:14:28,543 --> 01:14:31,626
Banking crisis over.
1245
01:14:31,751 --> 01:14:33,335
And the only thing
that has changed
1246
01:14:33,460 --> 01:14:35,876
is FDR's leadership
and his ability
1247
01:14:36,043 --> 01:14:38,793
to convince the American
public that he has solutions
1248
01:14:38,918 --> 01:14:42,251
that things will get better, and
it is an extraordinary moment
1249
01:14:42,418 --> 01:14:43,293
in American history.
1250
01:14:43,418 --> 01:14:47,418
FDR essentially ends
the banking crisis
1251
01:14:47,585 --> 01:14:51,543
in one simple radio broadcast.
1252
01:14:51,626 --> 01:14:53,835
The immediate resolution
of the banking crisis
1253
01:14:53,960 --> 01:14:57,210
instantly lifted
spirits, and that
1254
01:14:57,335 --> 01:15:01,793
began to suggest that Franklin
knew what he was doing
1255
01:15:01,918 --> 01:15:05,835
and that, in fact, the
system would endure.
1256
01:15:05,918 --> 01:15:09,043
And then he decides, hey,
this momentum is pretty good.
1257
01:15:09,168 --> 01:15:11,251
Maybe I'll keep
Congress in session.
1258
01:15:11,418 --> 01:15:14,710
They stay for 100 days, and
that's where the famous 100 day
1259
01:15:14,793 --> 01:15:17,251
marker comes, and every
president has said, why do we
1260
01:15:17,376 --> 01:15:18,496
have to be compared to this?
1261
01:15:18,585 --> 01:15:20,626
It's not fair.
1262
01:15:20,751 --> 01:15:23,460
No president and no Congress
had ever passed so much
1263
01:15:23,585 --> 01:15:24,960
legislation so quickly.
1264
01:15:25,085 --> 01:15:30,043
In those 100 days, FDR will
sign into law 15 massive pieces
1265
01:15:30,168 --> 01:15:31,251
of legislation.
1266
01:15:34,376 --> 01:15:36,543
If you were somebody who
paid attention to politics,
1267
01:15:36,710 --> 01:15:38,793
this was indeed the most
exciting time in history,
1268
01:15:38,918 --> 01:15:40,876
because nothing had
ever happened this fast.
1269
01:15:41,001 --> 01:15:46,085
Big programs were being
passed, boom, boom, boom, boom.
1270
01:15:46,210 --> 01:15:49,210
FDR rolled out the New Deal
really in three phases.
1271
01:15:49,293 --> 01:15:52,126
The first part was relief
just to get people to survive,
1272
01:15:52,251 --> 01:15:55,210
and that meant unemployment
insurance, immediate short term
1273
01:15:55,293 --> 01:15:56,585
jobs.
1274
01:15:56,751 --> 01:15:59,085
What the country was facing
was a lost generation
1275
01:15:59,251 --> 01:16:03,501
of young people, so FDR came
up with the CCC, the Civilian
1276
01:16:03,626 --> 01:16:05,585
Conservation Corps.
1277
01:16:05,710 --> 01:16:07,626
They would
build roads and farms
1278
01:16:07,751 --> 01:16:09,376
and they would work
on national parks.
1279
01:16:09,543 --> 01:16:14,835
I now take great pleasure in
dedicating Shenandoah National
1280
01:16:14,918 --> 01:16:16,043
Park.
1281
01:16:16,210 --> 01:16:18,710
The idea was $1 a day.
1282
01:16:18,793 --> 01:16:23,293
So this immediately pushes
money into the community,
1283
01:16:23,418 --> 01:16:26,043
and FDR loved the CCC.
1284
01:16:26,210 --> 01:16:29,751
He would go to their camps
and he would visit with them.
1285
01:16:29,918 --> 01:16:32,460
The next thing was recovery
which meant priming the pump
1286
01:16:32,585 --> 01:16:34,585
to get the economy
going again, and those
1287
01:16:34,710 --> 01:16:36,876
were the big
infrastructure projects.
1288
01:16:36,960 --> 01:16:38,918
But then the third
part was reform,
1289
01:16:39,085 --> 01:16:42,043
and that meant that you had to
change what it was that caused
1290
01:16:42,210 --> 01:16:45,335
the problems of the
Depression in the first place.
1291
01:16:45,460 --> 01:16:48,001
So he regulated the stock
market, he regulated the banks.
1292
01:16:48,126 --> 01:16:50,876
All of this was reforming
the system itself.
1293
01:16:51,001 --> 01:16:52,710
The New Deal has given
us a square deal,
1294
01:16:52,835 --> 01:16:53,894
and we're all back
to work and we
1295
01:16:53,918 --> 01:16:55,710
hope we may be able
to continue to do so
1296
01:16:55,835 --> 01:16:58,376
without any outside
interference.
1297
01:16:58,460 --> 01:17:01,918
The first 100 days also saw
HLC, the Homeowners Loan
1298
01:17:02,085 --> 01:17:02,876
Corporation.
1299
01:17:03,001 --> 01:17:04,376
This is an emergency
program set up
1300
01:17:04,460 --> 01:17:09,043
to give people loans to help
them stay in their homes.
1301
01:17:09,210 --> 01:17:12,210
FDR provides immediate
satisfaction and relief
1302
01:17:12,376 --> 01:17:16,501
to the American people, and that
is a defining moment and that
1303
01:17:16,585 --> 01:17:20,376
completely changes the role
of the American federal
1304
01:17:20,501 --> 01:17:22,751
government.
1305
01:17:22,918 --> 01:17:24,960
The mood of the country
changed overnight.
1306
01:17:25,085 --> 01:17:26,311
To this
address every week
1307
01:17:26,335 --> 01:17:28,668
are delivered
thousands of letters.
1308
01:17:28,751 --> 01:17:30,376
My favorite letter
came from a guy
1309
01:17:30,460 --> 01:17:32,501
who said, "I've lost my dog.
1310
01:17:32,585 --> 01:17:33,710
I've lost my job.
1311
01:17:33,835 --> 01:17:36,168
My wife is mad at me.
1312
01:17:36,293 --> 01:17:38,710
But it's OK because
now, Franklin Roosevelt,
1313
01:17:38,793 --> 01:17:40,751
you are there."
1314
01:17:40,876 --> 01:17:43,543
Franklin Roosevelt
made government
1315
01:17:43,668 --> 01:17:47,335
an ambient force in the lives of
people who might otherwise have
1316
01:17:47,418 --> 01:17:50,085
only encountered the
government at the post office
1317
01:17:50,251 --> 01:17:53,001
or perhaps the subsidized
railroad or something.
1318
01:17:53,085 --> 01:17:56,293
People felt that FDR had
saved their lives, saved
1319
01:17:56,418 --> 01:17:58,585
their children's life, given
them a chance, a chance
1320
01:17:58,751 --> 01:17:59,751
to go forward.
1321
01:18:02,210 --> 01:18:04,043
But in the early
days of the New Deal,
1322
01:18:04,168 --> 01:18:06,102
when Franklin and Eleanor
Roosevelt moved to Washington
1323
01:18:06,126 --> 01:18:10,001
D.C., it was a difficult
experience for Eleanor.
1324
01:18:10,126 --> 01:18:12,376
She was so worried that
the ceremonial functions
1325
01:18:12,543 --> 01:18:15,710
of the first lady would overtake
all the real work that she'd
1326
01:18:15,835 --> 01:18:18,251
been doing out in the field.
1327
01:18:18,376 --> 01:18:23,460
And she dreads being
confined to a life of tea
1328
01:18:23,585 --> 01:18:26,543
and white glove tests.
1329
01:18:26,668 --> 01:18:29,418
But then she meets
the great journalist
1330
01:18:29,585 --> 01:18:34,293
Lorena Hickok, who was the most
significant woman journalist
1331
01:18:34,418 --> 01:18:35,543
of her era.
1332
01:18:35,668 --> 01:18:37,043
I think Lorena
Hickok, her friend,
1333
01:18:37,168 --> 01:18:39,918
helped to make her know
that she could change
1334
01:18:40,043 --> 01:18:42,376
the role of the first
lady and it would be OK.
1335
01:18:42,543 --> 01:18:44,960
It was more than OK.
1336
01:18:45,085 --> 01:18:49,543
Lorena Hickok said to Eleanor,
if you do press conferences,
1337
01:18:49,710 --> 01:18:51,960
you can get more jobs for women.
1338
01:18:52,085 --> 01:18:57,585
So Eleanor makes it very
clear to every outlet that
1339
01:18:57,751 --> 01:19:01,460
wants to cover her that they
must send a woman reporter.
1340
01:19:14,793 --> 01:19:18,376
Thank you all for coming.
1341
01:19:18,501 --> 01:19:22,418
Let me start by saying that
the subjects I plan to cover
1342
01:19:22,585 --> 01:19:25,710
will not encroach on
politics, or as I call it,
1343
01:19:25,876 --> 01:19:29,876
my husband's side of the news.
1344
01:19:30,001 --> 01:19:36,418
I plan to discuss
my daily schedule,
1345
01:19:36,585 --> 01:19:42,168
prints on the White House
walls, low cost recipes
1346
01:19:42,293 --> 01:19:46,085
for housewives, and
other household matters.
1347
01:19:46,210 --> 01:19:49,835
What's your view on the
subsistence homestead program?
1348
01:19:49,960 --> 01:19:53,876
Oh, I'm sorry, I said
no political questions.
1349
01:19:54,001 --> 01:19:56,293
What about old age pensions?
1350
01:19:56,418 --> 01:19:58,793
And what do you think of
women in the workforce?
1351
01:19:58,918 --> 01:20:01,710
I'm sure these questions
would all be better suited
1352
01:20:01,835 --> 01:20:04,043
to the president.
1353
01:20:04,168 --> 01:20:05,626
We want to hear what you think.
1354
01:20:23,543 --> 01:20:29,168
Right now, legislation is
being drafted to set fair labor
1355
01:20:29,251 --> 01:20:33,043
practices, but the wages
being set for women
1356
01:20:33,168 --> 01:20:35,168
are far lower than
those for men.
1357
01:20:38,585 --> 01:20:45,043
If you ask, me our jobs as
teachers, nurses, homemakers,
1358
01:20:45,168 --> 01:20:50,043
and seamstresses have never
been more important or more
1359
01:20:50,168 --> 01:20:56,793
in demand, yet we're not
being fairly compensated.
1360
01:20:56,918 --> 01:20:59,876
This is especially
true for colored women.
1361
01:20:59,960 --> 01:21:03,376
So what do you plan
to do about it?
1362
01:21:03,501 --> 01:21:05,661
Well, that's the first really
good question of the day.
1363
01:21:09,418 --> 01:21:11,338
Through the press conferences,
Eleanor was really
1364
01:21:11,418 --> 01:21:14,001
finding her voice, and
an entire generation
1365
01:21:14,126 --> 01:21:17,543
of female journalists
got their start.
1366
01:21:17,626 --> 01:21:19,561
In the meantime, she was
traveling around the country
1367
01:21:19,585 --> 01:21:22,043
inspecting the New Deal
programs for her husband,
1368
01:21:22,210 --> 01:21:24,418
and she was able to find
out which ones were working
1369
01:21:24,585 --> 01:21:25,585
and which ones weren't.
1370
01:21:28,085 --> 01:21:30,585
And the New Deal programs
became better as a result.
1371
01:21:30,751 --> 01:21:34,876
That does not mean, my
friends, that I am satisfied
1372
01:21:35,043 --> 01:21:38,210
or that you are satisfied
that our work is ended.
1373
01:21:38,335 --> 01:21:43,376
We have a long way to go,
but we are on the way.
1374
01:21:43,543 --> 01:21:48,085
FDR had tremendous success in
restoring people's confidence.
1375
01:21:48,251 --> 01:21:51,043
But at the same time, both
Hitler and Mussolini are also
1376
01:21:51,210 --> 01:21:54,585
responding to the
Depression, to want and need,
1377
01:21:54,751 --> 01:21:59,085
but they're doing it through
the mechanism of exciting fear
1378
01:21:59,251 --> 01:22:01,501
and division and hatred.
1379
01:22:01,585 --> 01:22:04,335
In Hitler's case, hatred
of the Jews, and those
1380
01:22:04,460 --> 01:22:07,210
are powerful hatreds,
and they work.
1381
01:22:07,293 --> 01:22:10,335
But Hitler and Mussolini also
stimulate their economies
1382
01:22:10,460 --> 01:22:13,085
by building these
magnificent war machines.
1383
01:22:13,210 --> 01:22:18,085
It means jobs, factory jobs
building tanks and planes.
1384
01:22:18,251 --> 01:22:21,543
Roosevelt sees all this
and he's deeply concerned.
1385
01:22:21,668 --> 01:22:25,210
He says, the state has to have
a big role to impress voters
1386
01:22:25,376 --> 01:22:27,561
with what we're trying to do
so that we can say, hey, look,
1387
01:22:27,585 --> 01:22:30,335
we're working just as hard as
Nazi Germany or fascist Italy,
1388
01:22:30,460 --> 01:22:32,168
just in a more democratic way.
1389
01:22:35,085 --> 01:22:38,543
FDR sees this looming
threat from totalitarianism,
1390
01:22:38,710 --> 01:22:42,668
from fascism, from Hitler,
that the very end of democracy
1391
01:22:42,793 --> 01:22:45,835
is on the table, that if
he can't put America back
1392
01:22:45,960 --> 01:22:48,460
on the global stage, that the
fascists are going to take
1393
01:22:48,585 --> 01:22:50,626
control, and he
dedicates himself
1394
01:22:50,751 --> 01:22:53,668
to not allowing that to happen.
1395
01:23:12,585 --> 01:23:16,210
Franklin hated what Hitler
and Nazism was threatening
1396
01:23:16,335 --> 01:23:19,751
to produce, a world of tyranny,
a world where democracy would
1397
01:23:19,918 --> 01:23:20,918
come to an end.
1398
01:23:21,001 --> 01:23:23,460
This is Western
civilization at risk
1399
01:23:23,585 --> 01:23:26,335
right now from the greatest
challenge that it's ever faced.
1400
01:23:31,126 --> 01:23:34,043
Going to be a tough campaign.
1401
01:23:34,210 --> 01:23:36,876
The Supreme Court wants
to throw out the New Deal.
1402
01:23:37,960 --> 01:23:39,043
Now, hold on, boys.
1403
01:23:39,168 --> 01:23:40,888
What are you planning
to do with this power?
1404
01:23:40,918 --> 01:23:43,710
Roosevelt is deeply concerned
about the rising tension
1405
01:23:43,835 --> 01:23:46,418
in Europe and the
inevitability of a big war.
1406
01:23:46,543 --> 01:23:51,126
The situation in France
changes everything.
1407
01:23:51,251 --> 01:23:54,251
I'd rather have a declaration
of war from America
1408
01:23:54,376 --> 01:23:58,085
and no supplies for six
months than double the supply
1409
01:23:58,251 --> 01:23:59,751
and no declaration.
1410
01:23:59,918 --> 01:24:02,876
He is the dealer in hope for
the entire free world, not
1411
01:24:03,001 --> 01:24:04,543
an inconsequential
responsibility.
1412
01:24:04,668 --> 01:24:06,835
Mr. President, we
have intelligence
1413
01:24:06,918 --> 01:24:10,210
which suggests the Japanese
fleet is on the move.
1414
01:24:10,335 --> 01:24:16,001
Yesterday, December
7th, 1941, a date
1415
01:24:16,126 --> 01:24:19,543
which will live in infamy.
113497
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