What should fdr have done

Before FDR took office—before Harry Hopkins and Frances Perkins delivered jobs for the unemployed and a Social Security system—the federal government had no permanent structure for helping individuals in economic distress. The New Deal established a new premise. Eventually the government extended protections to disabled workers and seniors needing health insurance.

Numerous additions and reforms are needed. Transitional Jobs, federally subsidized, would offer temporary paid work to the unemployed and underemployed until they move into regular employment.

FDR also reshaped the American presidency. Through his "fireside chats," delivered to an audience via the new technology of radio, FDR built a bond between himself and the public—doing much to shape the image of the President as the caretaker of the American people. Under FDR's leadership, the President's duties grew to encompass not only those of the chief executive—as implementer of policy—but also chief legislator—as drafter of policy. And in trying to design and craft legislation, FDR required a White House staff and set of advisers unlike any seen previously in Washington.

The President now needed a full-time staff devoted to domestic and foreign policies, with expertise in these areas, and a passion for governance. In sum, President Roosevelt greatly increased the responsibilities of his office. Fortunately for his successors, he also enhanced the capacity of the presidency to meet these new responsibilities. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F.

Kennedy Lyndon B. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center. University of Virginia Miller Center. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Impact and Legacy. Jewish refugees could have served the same purpose. To avoid antagonizing the Arabs, the boats could have landed at nighttime at out-of-the-way locations.

In short, if President Roosevelt had the will to help the Jews, ways could have been found—ways that would not have involved tampering with the immigration system or undermining the war effort in any way. Nearly all the possibilities raised by Mr. Medoff—filling the German immigration quota, bombing Auschwitz, and re-settlement in mandatory Palestine—were addressed in my review.

Logistically, bombing the death camp at Auschwitz was possible from the summer of ; but the War Department did not consider it a military target. As for the moral indignation that informs Mr. Best of The New York Review, plus books, events, and other items of interest.

Read Next. Submit a letter: Email us letters nybooks. Noah Feldman replies : Nearly all the possibilities raised by Mr. This Issue June 5, Diane Johnson. Claire Messud. Cass R.