FDR, Lewis Douglas, and the, Raw Deal

"Despite my emotions, I could not refuse the responsibility which has been offered; for in times like these, even more so than in times of war, individuals cease to be significant. Only the common welfare is important," explained Lewis Douglas in 1933 as he accepted President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt's offer of the position of director of the budget.¹ Douglas came to his post with a strong sense of obligation—he was certain the United States was in a "critical condition," and the only solution to the devastating depression lay in balancing the budget.² Roosevelt seemingly agreed with Douglas. Newspapers reported that the young budget director would "make his mark in the Roosevelt administration" and "be at the heart of things." Journalists argued that Roosevelt's appointment was an "indication that Roosevelt means business in his promise to reduce government costs."³     

Both Ends of the Telescope: New Perspectives on FDR and American Entry into World War II

Review in this Article
Michael Barnhart. Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919–1941 . Ithaca
Waldo H. Heinrichs. Threshold of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Entry into World War II . New York Oxford University Press, 1988. x + 279 pp.
Akira Iriye. The Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific . New York Longman, 1987.
Frederick W. Marks III. Wind over Sand: The Diplomacy of Franklin Roosevelt . Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1988. xiv + 444 pp. Notes, bibliography, index.
Jonathan G. Utley. Going to War with Japan, 1937–1941 . Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1985. xiv + 238 pp. Maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index.