Schlesinger Talks on New Book, Calls FDR's Aims Conservative

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was not a radical, despite the "howls of calamity" attending many of his innovations, Arthur M. Schlesinger '38, professor of History, said last night in a radio discussion of his book, "The Coming of the New Deal."

The originator of the New Deal was a liberal "in the sense that he saw changes was inevitable and that government and society had to be remade," Schlesinger continued. Yet his aims were essentially conservative; he wanted to maintain American traditions and ideals.

Another charge leveled against Roosevelt is that his administrative machinery was confusing and haphazard, but this was merely Roosevelt's way of doing things, Schlesinger stated. "Bureaucracy stifles inventiveness and takes life out of government," he asserted.

Schlesinger regretted that individuals like FDR have disappeared from government, noting that "all public statements today sound alike." During the early days of the New Deal, there were real personalities, men who "made a difference in history," even if they did not literally alter the course of events, he added.

A great factor in Roosevelt's dominance was his belief that "politics were a matter of education," rather than intrigue, Schlesinger concluded, explaining that Roosevelt thought all the people should take part in government.