The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
The Failure of the New Deal
As a child raised in the United States we were always taught to especially revere three presidents above all else. George Washington, the father of the country. Abraham Lincoln, the man who freed the slaves and saved the Union. And Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man who kept us together during the Great Depression and successfully waged World War II. Even as a child the latter accomplishment seemed important, but not enough for Roosevelt’s elevation. Did not the Japanese attack us? Wasn’t it America’s industrial might as much as Roosevelt’s fortitude the reason for victory. And unlike Lincoln, Roosevelt was not close to the battles and had good generals. The reason for Roosevelt’s greatness was the Depression more than the war.
That is why Amity Shlaes 2007 The Forgotten Man was such a revelation. Not that many people had not questioned the worth of the New Deal prior to this publication. After all Wendell Willkie, featured prominently in this book did so. Rather the strength of the book was that this was not a right wing talk show host or commentator turned writer of history. Nor was this a politician trying to make points with the base. This was a book that was written and very well researched. The kind of book that would normally be the purview of the history professor. In other words Shlaes is providing intellectual firepower in denigrating the new deal and supporting the views of conservatives. Intellectual thought is the residence of the liberal, not the consverative or so conventional thought would dictate. Shlaes dispels that notion but bringing a robust conservatism to historical thought too long dominated by the left.