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Frank Murphy #2
Frank Murphy: The New Deal Years
Achieving national recognition as mayor of Detroit during the Depression and eventually becoming the foremost civil libertarian on the Supreme Court, Frank Murphy was one of America's most significant public figures from the 1920s to the late '40s. In this second volume of the monumental biography of Murphy, Sidney Fine focuses on the critical New Deal years when Murphy was the chief American official in the Philippines and the governor of Michigan during the great labor upheaval of 1937.
In keeping with his intention to illuminate both the life of Murphy and the times in which he lived, Fine examines not only the character of the Murphy regime in the Philippines but also the achievements and shortcomings of American domination in that country. The second half of the book is devoted to the years of Murphy's governorship, which Fine scrutinizes more closely than any previous historian. As governor, Murphy mediated the General Motors sit-down strike and played a crucial role in the absorption of organized labor into the American system. Fine also details Murphy's efforts to cope with the 1937-38 recession, delineating in the process the changing nature of federalism during that time.
The first historian to make full use of the relevant documentation, Fine has not only created a compelling portrait of an enlightened politician and administrator, he has also considerably increased our understanding of the New Deal Years.
In keeping with his intention to illuminate both the life of Murphy and the times in which he lived, Fine examines not only the character of the Murphy regime in the Philippines but also the achievements and shortcomings of American domination in that country. The second half of the book is devoted to the years of Murphy's governorship, which Fine scrutinizes more closely than any previous historian. As governor, Murphy mediated the General Motors sit-down strike and played a crucial role in the absorption of organized labor into the American system. Fine also details Murphy's efforts to cope with the 1937-38 recession, delineating in the process the changing nature of federalism during that time.
The first historian to make full use of the relevant documentation, Fine has not only created a compelling portrait of an enlightened politician and administrator, he has also considerably increased our understanding of the New Deal Years.
720 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1979
14 people want to read
About the author
Sidney Fine
31 books2 followersA historian of modern America, Sidney Fine taught at the University of Michigan. He earned his B.A. from Western Reserve University in 1942 and his M.A. (1944) and Ph.D. (1948) in history from the University of Michigan. His areas of interest included history of the American labor movement, the New Deal, and the history of Michigan and its political environment.
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August 18, 2015
The second volume of Sidney Fine's monumental biography of Frank Murphy is a book of two parts. The first part begins with his appointment as governor of the Philippines soon after Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration as president in 1933. Murphy took the position in a time of transition, as the United States moved towards granting the island nation their independence. Already harboring ambitions for the presidency, Murphy sought to make his tenure one of considerable achievement, yet while Fine describes (often at considerable length) the range of administrative reforms Murphy undertook, his efforts at a "Philippine New Deal" foundered before the sheer amount of poverty in the islands, the paucity of resources available to him, and the determination of the island's elites to maintain their position in Philippine society.
Nevertheless, Murphy's accomplishments were such that Roosevelt asked him to run for the Democratic nomination for the governorship of Michigan in 1936, arguing that Murphy's presence on the ballot was necessary if the president hoped to win the state in the November election. Murphy's time as governor forms the second part of the book, one that recounts the politics of the state in full. Formerly a Republican bastion, Michigan was in the early stages of a transformation that would create a much more competitive political environment. Murphy returned to face a Democratic state party long dominated by conservatives, who often found themselves at odds with Murphy's goals. Fine makes the case that Murphy's governorship was one of the few that attempted to implement New Deal-inspired reforms at the state level, meticulously describing the wide range of efforts his administration undertook to modernize the state government and provide honest, efficient services to the people. Such reforms, however, angered many of the conservatives within the state's Democratic party organization, who were disappointed in being denied the spoils of office; the resulting split within the party, along with a series of sit-down strikes that eroded Murphy's popularity, led to his defeat for reelection in 1938.
Thoroughly researched and cogently argued, Fine's book is a masterpiece of the historian's craft. The detail in which he analyzes his subject's career and the events surrounding it makes this book an indispensable source not just on Murphy's life but the times as well. Yet the narrative suffers from too much of a good thing, as the reader can get bogged down in the minutiae of administrative reform and strike negotiations. This may dampen the readability of the book a little, but it does not detract from Fine's considerable achievement with this biography, which with its preceding and successor volumes, Frank Murphy: The Detroit Years and Frank Murphy: The Washington Years, is the definitive work on this amazing public servant.
Nevertheless, Murphy's accomplishments were such that Roosevelt asked him to run for the Democratic nomination for the governorship of Michigan in 1936, arguing that Murphy's presence on the ballot was necessary if the president hoped to win the state in the November election. Murphy's time as governor forms the second part of the book, one that recounts the politics of the state in full. Formerly a Republican bastion, Michigan was in the early stages of a transformation that would create a much more competitive political environment. Murphy returned to face a Democratic state party long dominated by conservatives, who often found themselves at odds with Murphy's goals. Fine makes the case that Murphy's governorship was one of the few that attempted to implement New Deal-inspired reforms at the state level, meticulously describing the wide range of efforts his administration undertook to modernize the state government and provide honest, efficient services to the people. Such reforms, however, angered many of the conservatives within the state's Democratic party organization, who were disappointed in being denied the spoils of office; the resulting split within the party, along with a series of sit-down strikes that eroded Murphy's popularity, led to his defeat for reelection in 1938.
Thoroughly researched and cogently argued, Fine's book is a masterpiece of the historian's craft. The detail in which he analyzes his subject's career and the events surrounding it makes this book an indispensable source not just on Murphy's life but the times as well. Yet the narrative suffers from too much of a good thing, as the reader can get bogged down in the minutiae of administrative reform and strike negotiations. This may dampen the readability of the book a little, but it does not detract from Fine's considerable achievement with this biography, which with its preceding and successor volumes, Frank Murphy: The Detroit Years and Frank Murphy: The Washington Years, is the definitive work on this amazing public servant.
Displaying 1 of 1 review