Essays

American History: Coolidge & FDR

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For reference, the specific class was "People of the US from 1865" (HIST 018). This paper was written in Chicago Style, using footnotes for citations, and has been adapted for Wattpad. Additionally, some information has been excluded from my professor's lecture citations to not reveal my physical location.

"Answer the following questions in a written essay using and citing material from primary source documents, jstor.org, your textbook, and lectures:

How did Calvin Coolidge and Franklin Roosevelt represent different visions for America? In what ways were they successful? In what ways were they less than successful?"

If you'd like some more information on the topic/purpose of this essay, leave a comment!

Grade: 95% 

The presidential administrations following the first world war were comprised of wildly different views toward American rights, business, and the purpose of the federal government. Two prominent visions for America arose from presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Each firmly believed in their approach with varying degrees of success when put into practice. Calvin Coolidge tried to establish the national government as a representative institution that would protect rights and keep people free. On the other hand, Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to reform the national government so that it could be a tool for the people and regulate economic life.

Calvin Coolidge upheld the beliefs and approaches of his predecessor, Warren G. Harding, and held forth the notion that nothing and no one could sway the truth of the people's rights. In a time when some believed that the arising social and economic issues required new, innovative solutions, Coolidge stood by the ideals of the founders (1). Rather than truly creating new ideas, those people were falling further into the ancient past before the nation's democracy (2). Furthermore, he argued that no matter what others implied, the ideals outlined within the Declaration of Independence were final (3). All people have unalienable rights that no person or government could change. In practice, Coolidge supported business in America which resulted in economic growth during his presidency (4). All in all, he upheld his vision for America with moderate success. Throughout his time in office, Coolidge allowed the economy to flux and grow with little government intervention and enacted policies to preserve civil rights (5).

Franklin D. Roosevelt, or FDR, introduced a conglomerate of ideals including that the people held some rights that the federal government should and should not regulate or interfere with. Overall, FDR tried to enforce strong economic and business regulations, for the people, and used the government as the tool to meet this end (6). He believed that it was time for them to lessen the overproduction of goods and focus on properly distributing those goods (7). Following his inauguration, FDR introduced a number of changes that would be known as the "New Deal." In effect, FDR's efforts were both successful and unsuccessful. In terms of his political party, changing the relationship between the people and federal government, and business regulation, he was successful. Although, the regulation did not work the way he had intended and eventually made corporations larger and stronger (8). And despite these successes, FDR was less successful in actually recovering the US economy from the Great Depression. Additionally, due to a stagnate economy and increased regulations, there was less freedom and opportunity available to the American people (9). Despite running on a platform for economic recovery and never truly delivering, FDR was elected again and again (10). Furthermore, considering the state of the country, he could've easily done away with American beliefs and risen to power as a dictator. In theory, FDR could've upheld his promises of economic recovery using mechanisms provided by a totalitarian state, similar to Hitler's programs in Germany at the time (11). Everything in mind, FDR was successful overall since he was able to keep the nation in a state of peace without losing sight of America's representational government.

Despite the varying views of political leaders in the decades between the world wars, Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt were able to bring forth prosperity to the nation. As with their own beliefs, their successes swayed between extremes. However, overall, both provided a positive change to the nation.

(1) Wilfred M. McClay, Land of Hope (New York, Encounter Books, 2019), 425

(2) Calvin Coolidge, "Address at the Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence" (Philadelphia, Pa., July 5, 1926)

(3) Stephen Tootle, "History 18 Module 7 Movie" (lecture)

(4) Wilfred M. McClay, Land of Hope (New York, Encounter Books, 2019), 424

(5) Stephen Tootle, "History 18 Module 7 Movie" (lecture)

(6) Stephen Tootle, "History 18 Module 8 Movie" (lecture)

(7) Franklin D. Roosevelt, "Commonwealth Club Address" (San Francisco, CA, September 23, 1932)

(8) Stephen Tootle, "History 18 Module 8 Movie" (lecture)

(9) Ibid.

(10) Hamby, Alonzo L. "The New Deal: Avenues for Reconsideration." Polity 31, no. 4 (1999): 665–81. https://doi.org/10.2307/3235242.

(11) Ibid.