FDR's New Deal

32nd President and the most consequential American leader of the 20th century. Stricken by polio in 1921 at age 39, he spent two years learning to walk again — and later said that experience taught him that nothing else was as hard. Elected in 1932 in a landslide, he took office with banks failing across the country. His first 100 days produced 15 major pieces of legislation. His Fireside Chats on radio — calm, direct, personal — restored public confidence at a moment of crisis. Elected four times, he led America through the Great Depression and World War II.

Far more than a First Lady — Eleanor Roosevelt was an activist, diplomat, and social reformer who pushed the New Deal toward inclusion. She was FDR's conscience on civil rights, advocating for Black Americans, women, and the poor at a time when the political cost was high. After FDR's death she chaired the UN commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). She redefined what it meant to be a First Lady — and in doing so, redefined what public service could look like for women.

The first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, appointed Secretary of Labor by FDR in 1933. The primary architect of the Social Security Act and the federal minimum wage. She had witnessed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 — watching women jump to their deaths from upper-floor windows — and dedicated her career to ensuring it could never happen again. Served 12 years in the cabinet, longer than any other Labor Secretary. She called the New Deal beginning on "March 25, 1911 — the day the Triangle factory burned."

FDR's closest advisor and the New Deal's chief implementer. As head of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and later the WPA, he put millions of Americans to work. Known for moving fast — he reportedly spent $5 million in his first two hours in office. Later became FDR's personal envoy to Churchill and Stalin during World War II. A social worker by training, he never forgot who the programs were for.

Louisiana Governor and Senator who was simultaneously one of the New Deal's most important supporters and its most dangerous critic. His "Share Our Wealth" program proposed capping personal fortunes and guaranteeing every American family a minimum income — far more radical than anything FDR proposed. His populist demagoguery attracted millions of followers and scared FDR into pushing the New Deal leftward. Assassinated in 1935, he remains one of American history's most fascinating and troubling figures.

31st President whose response to the Depression — limited government intervention, faith in voluntary action — became the foil against which the New Deal defined itself. A genuine humanitarian who had organized massive food relief in Europe after WWI, Hoover was not heartless — but his ideology prevented decisive action as the economy collapsed. His name became synonymous with Depression misery: "Hoovervilles" were shantytowns of the unemployed.

British economist whose theories provided the intellectual framework for the New Deal — though FDR never fully embraced them. Keynes argued that in a depression, government must spend to stimulate demand when the private sector cannot. His 1936 masterwork The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money transformed economics. "Keynesian economics" remains central to debates about government's role in the economy today.