‘Action and Action Now!’ Franklin Roosevelt declared when promising the American public relief from the poverty that had spread throughout the nation as a result of the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s plan came as a package of reforms and initiatives labelled the New Deal, which included the repeal of prohibition, many large-scale public works programs and the abolishment of the gold standard. The initiatives that Roosevelt intended to implement faced tough political opposition from the conservative Republican Party of the time. To combat the Republican’s hostile political opposition Roosevelt sought to bypass the all too familiar political confrontation by instead appealing to the wider population by working to win the trust and public support of the American voter in order to instigate the change needed at this time.
The relationship between Roosevelt and the public opinion was one of the main bases in his career that helped him increase his political power. To him, the “public” consisted of any person outside of the government whose attitudes and opinions at the given time might have had a strong impact on his political plans. In contrary to former president Herbert Hoover, who’s main political belief was that the American government should not interfere in people’s lives, Roosevelt reassured the public that their opinion mattered and helped get rid of the disconnection that they felt between the lives they were living and the lives lived by politicians. Frances Perkins, the first women to take part in Roosevelt’s government after 1993 stated: “He saw thousands of Americans… He liked going around the country… His personal relationship with crowds was on a warm, simple level of friendly, neighbourly exchange of affection.” The American society believed Roosevelt was genuinely preoccupied with their difficulties and his plans would change the current ways and resolve them. By engaging the public at a grass roots level and actively deferring to an appointed...