William D. Pederson - Franklin D.Roosevelt and the Formation of the Modern World

The M.E. Sharpe Library of Franklin D. Roosevelt Studies

Volume Four

The M.E. Sharpe Library of Franklin D. Roosevelt Studies

and the Formation
of the Modern World

Thomas C. Howard
William D. Pederson
Editors

First published 2003 by M.E. Sharpe

Published 2015 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the formation of the modern world / Thomas C. Howard and
William D. Pederson, editors.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7656-1030-2 (alk. paper) ISBN 0-7656-1031-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. United StatesForeign relations19331945. 2. Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin
Delano), 18821945. I. Howard, Thomas C. II. Pederson, William D., 1946

E806 .F6918 2002
973.917'092dc21

2002022869

ISBN 13: 9780765610317 (pbk)

ISBN 13: 9780765610300 (hbk)

The M.E. Sharpe Library of Franklin D. Roosevelt Studies

Volume Four

Thomas C. Howard

Franklin Roosevelt's reputation as one of the great American presidents remains secure. In foreign affairs he was instrumental in moving the country from isolationism into a new era of international involvement and assertiveness that has endured since his death. During World War II he helped plan and direct the most successful military operation in the history of the nation. But while his presidency is the standard by which all his successors have been judged, it is also one of the most controversial. He provided the leadership and vision necessary to restore hope and to confront the greatest world crisis of the twentieth century, but his methods were often manipulative and deceptive. As an idealist with a coherent world vision, and a realist willing to make pragmatic deals, he was responsible for decisions and policies that were fundamentally important in the making of the world in which we live today.

The chapters in this volume provide fresh and original insights into the man who for over twelve critical years determined the foreign policy of the United States. They trace and analyze the evolution of Roosevelt's foreign policy during a time of ever-deepening involvement in world affairs in the 1930s and his role as wartime statesman. Among the numerous themes that flow through these studies, four are worthy of special mention. The first is the evolution of Roosevelt's increasingly bold internationalist thought and the profound sense of purpose that underlay his assumptions. The second is the frequently cautious nature of his leadership and the expedient means to which he was often willing to resort when he believed them necessary to achieve his greater purposes. The third is his inclination to view foreign and domestic policies as intricately bound together. Finally, there is the theme of Roosevelt's successes and failures as educator of the American people on complex foreign policy issues and wartime decisions.

Chris Van Aller's chapter, FDR's Foreign Policy Persona, centers attention on some of Roosevelt's successes as an educator by analyzing the roles and techniques that he used to "teach" the American people about the hazards of the international scene in the late 1930s. In view of the historic clashes within the American system over authority in foreign affairs and the relative absence of strong executive powers in foreign power, Roosevelt saw the need to enlighten the public and gently to persuade them to adopt his perspective on the changing international scene. Van Aller traces the strategies by which Roosevelt attempted gradually to convince a strongly isolationist public about the possible perils for the United States in the world crisis. After exploring the roots and nature of American isolationism, as well as Roosevelt's own earlier isolationist tendencies, Van Aller stresses Roosevelt's "creative uses of indirection" and his extraordinarily skillful use of the news media and manipulation of the press corps. Above all, he views Roosevelt as someone who was able to motivate the people of a democracy to action through his capacity to explain complex foreign issues in easily comprehensible human terms.