The Two Faces of Liberalism: How the Hoover-Roosevelt Debate Shapes the 21st Century

by Gordon Lloyd (Editor)

The Hoover-Roosevelt debate of the 1930s is the contemporary American political, economic, and moral conversation that shapes public policy in the twenty first century in a very powerful way. The very questions that concerned these two presidents are also our burning questions of today. The themes of liberty vs, security, freedom vs, regulation, representative democracy over against the administrative state and an independent judiciary, so important and visionary then, are still the fundamental questions in a world of terrorism, globalization, and uncertainty. The unique feature of this collection of 60 original documents is that the reader, with the assistance of an explanatory introduction, can follow the dynamics of the debate between Hoover and FDR. The reader will come to grips with the compelling intricacies of each argument as they unfold. The aim of this collection is not to substantiate or disprove any of the prevailing theories regarding the Great Depression and the New Deal. The aim is to present the original arguments which will allow the actors and documents to speak for themselves, thus promoting a conversation between the present generation and the most prominent actors of the New Deal era. The original readings selected and edited here will encourage us to take a fresh look at the material surrounding the New Deal controversy. The speeches and addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover, along with sample Acts of Congress, the presidential platforms of the two major political parties, as well as critical Supreme Court decisions that first declared the core legislation to be unconstitutional and then constitutionalzed the New Deal, have been collected under one roof and assembled in an accessible and yet comprehensive fashion.

Genres: History

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Douglas Graney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in preparation of a Bill of Rights Institute conference I'm attending. Interesting that both Hoover and FDR frame their arguments within the Constitution. One difference is that Hoover is almost entirely ideological in his presentation while FDR is part ideological and pragmatic. Good stuff in there, pick it up.