College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

A great deal

FDR's presidency is explored in a new book by George McJimsey
George McJimsey's bio on the history department's web site lists the courses he teaches at ISU. Besides an introduction to United States history, all the courses deal with the era surrounding the Civil War.

So given that, how is it that a Civil War historian is asked to write a book on Franklin Delano Roosevelt, architect of the New Deal, the man who led the nation in World War II and perhaps the most important U.S. president of the 20th century?

The genesis of the project has its roots in an earlier publication McJimsey, professor and chairman of the history department, wrote on Harry Hopkins. During the Depression, Hopkins oversaw portions of Roosevelt's New Deal programs. When the war began to escalate, he became a troubleshooter of sorts for Roosevelt, meeting with Allied leaders.

McJimsey's book on Hopkins, Harry Hopkins: Ally of the Poor and Defender of Democracy, was published in 1987 by Harvard, which subsequently nominated the publication for a Pulitzer Prize.

"Writing about Harry Hopkins gave me a lot of insight into the Roosevelt presidency," said McJimsey, who has written two other books on the Civil War. "I think that's why I originally got the call to do this book."

That call came back in 1992. The 350-page manuscript was finished last spring and was published by the University of Kansas Press this spring. It's the latest in a series of books on the administrations of 40 U.S. presidents that they have published since the late 1960s. With McJimsey's book, only Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are left in the series.

McJimsey says he was honored to be able to write The Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

"Roosevelt's was a significant presidency," he said. "No one thinks of him as a failure and many, including myself, think of him as a great president. I would rank him up there with Washington and Lincoln as the greatest presidents of all-time.

"Roosevelt was a man of great vision and courage."

But as a scholar, McJimsey couldn't be a cheerleader for his subject. In the book McJimsey provides what his publishers call "a fresh account of Roosevelt's much-debated presidency, describing the successes and failures of FDR's landmark administration and offering a new perspective on the New Deal."

"The book focuses on his presidency, the man and his relations to his office as well as his achievements,"

McJimsey said. McJimsey's study portrays Roosevelt as a pluralist leader whose various New Deal programs empowered the American people to combat the Great Depression at the grass roots. He pays particular attention to the political environment in which Roosevelt's presidency functioned and how it both created opportunities and limited his choices.

The book also includes a chapter on Eleanor Roosevelt, describing her emergence as a public figure and her advocacy of social causes. McJimsey explores how she acted on issues that her husband hesitated to address.

"I think this chapter is an unique feature for books on the Roosevelt presidency," McJimsey said. "Obviously Eleanor deserved the spotlight. She was the most visible First Lady we have ever had."

After seven years, McJimsey says he was pleased with how the book turned out. Others agree with him.

Patrick J. Maney, author of The Roosevelt Presence: The Life and Legacy of FDR, writes, "McJimsey's incisive analysis of the social and economic policies of the FDR years helps us understand the relevance of the New Deal to our own time. This book is a fresh and readable account of the most important presidency of the 20th century."