Editor’s note: This is the 62nd in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. The election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) to the presidency in 1932 marks a decisive turning point in this nation’s history. The policies he put into practice during the first term of his administration changed the character of the nation, from one whose economic and social fortunes were directed by unregulated, laissez faire capitalism, by the self-serving exploits of economic a … (read more)
