Chapter 04
Roosevelt’s New Deal as Slogans

VI. Roosevelt’s National Debt Surpassed the Total from the Previous 150 Years　　　　

Amid the depths of the Great Depression, Roosevelt sought to stimulate economic growth through deficit spending. He also believed that high tax rates would generate substantial government revenue, enabling federal planners to support industry, reduce agricultural output, and centralize relief efforts under federal authority. As a result, the national debt accumulated during Roosevelt’s presidency exceeded the total debt incurred in the entire 150 years prior.

Despite implementing numerous policies that harmed the economy and the interests of American citizens, Roosevelt maintained remarkably high approval ratings. A key reason for this support was his control over the distribution of federal funding. Supporting Roosevelt often meant access to generous federal aid.

During the New Deal era, Roosevelt established numerous new federal agencies — including the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and later, the Works Progress Administration. These programs created millions of government-funded jobs for American voters.

Roosevelt largely distributed these positions with political strategy in mind, favoring areas that supported the Democratic Party. He not only used federal aid to reward Democrats but also to punish uncooperative members of Congress. As one insider remarked, “Money, time, and effort must not be wasted — they should be directed toward states where there is only a 50 percent chance of winning, so as to gain the most votes at the lowest cost.”

Though Roosevelt frequently spoke of liberal ideals, he did almost nothing to advance the civil rights of African Americans. In both 1937 and 1939, he refused to support an anti-lynching bill that had been blocked by Southern Democratic senators through filibuster tactics. He also openly declined to back a constitutional amendment to abolish the poll tax — a mechanism that for decades had been used to disenfranchise Black voters.

When World War II broke out in 1939, isolationism was still the dominant sentiment in the United States. Although Franklin D. Roosevelt pledged during his 1940 presidential campaign that the U.S. would not become involved in foreign wars, he advocated for a firm stance against Hitler and introduced legislation to provide financial support to the Allied powers. It was under these circumstances that Roosevelt broke with tradition and ran for — and won — a third term in office.

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States to declare war on Japan. Following America’s entry into the war, President Roosevelt mobilized the entire industrial base for military production. U.S. industrial output soon equaled the combined total of Germany and Japan, and by 1944 had doubled that of the Axis powers. During this period, the Roosevelt administration also formally initiated the top-secret atomic bomb development program, code-named the “Manhattan Project.“

In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to a fourth term as President of the United States with 53% of the popular vote, making him the first and only president in American history to serve more than two terms. In April 1945, shortly after beginning his fourth term and while in increasingly poor health, Roosevelt died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage while resting at his retreat.

The above represents the official, often flattering, historical narrative. Mainstream historians frequently rank Franklin D. Roosevelt alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as one of the three greatest presidents in American history. However, in my view, this reputation is largely due to the fact that all three happened to govern at critical junctures in American history. The New Deal, in particular, was more rhetoric than substance, and Roosevelt himself was a man who exploited crises to consolidate national power.

Zhong Wen remarked: “In my view, the so-called “Roosevelt New Deal“ was mostly a propaganda slogan. The book The Lies of the New Deal illustrates this well—it shows that much of the New Deal’s content actually originated with Hoover. But Roosevelt acted willfully, ignoring the side effects, and ultimately turned good intentions into harmful outcomes. By 1936, the economic crisis had resurfaced and the stock market plummeted — clear signs that the New Deal had failed. Today, the Biden administration is following the same path: appeasing communists abroad while using public spending to buy votes at home.