Roosevelt Sources Questions

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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.Source A is a speech made by Governor F. D. Roosevelt in 1930, when the Depression was really beginning to bite. He says that Central Government has a responsibility to those citizens who are in real trouble, or even starving, to help those people.

Source B is another speech from Gov. Roosevelt, this time in1932, while campaigning to become President. He says that the times call for bold, sweeping changes that will involve the forgotten man at the bottom of the pyramid. He is promising to rebuild the nation, bottom up.

Both these sources show that Roosevelt believed in the welfare state, in helping those not as fortunate as the higher classes, and in equality in society. This was in sharp contrast to the 'rugged individualism' policies operated by President Hoover and Congress.

2. i) In source C he says that if the situation occurred that he would have to spend more funds on the people of America he would even if it would unbalance the budget. However in source D he says that the current government is wasting money on doing such things, they didn't anticipate the dire needs and reduced earning power of the American people.

In both sources he is talking about the same situation however he is clearly giving two very different answers. This may have some thing to do with the time at which these two speeches were given source C was given when he was in the running to be president and so was talking to the people of America trying to win their votes with propaganda. Whereas source D was given just before he was in the running to be president. These sources show the different sides of Roosevelt, how he can condemn the government and then turn around and do exactly the same thing without hesitation as he put.

2. ii) These two sources are different because the speeches they have been taken from were given at different times in the running for U.S president. Source C is Roosevelt after winning the election in 1932, he is setting out is real policies, perhaps a little different to the policies he would have mentioned before the voting day. A reason for his policies being a little different would be that they would have been designed for propaganda purposes, allowing the voters to believe that they are going to be getting some thing more than what he will really give them.

Source D is just propaganda before the election, trying to give the public the idea that Hoover is an extremely poor leader and is allowing the country to go into ruin.
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3. In Source E, Walter Lippman is highly sceptical about Roosevelt. He patronises Roosevelt, saying that while he's a nice person, Roosevelt has no real reason for being in the White House - he'd just like to do it.

By the time he writes Source I, Lippman has been completely converted. The Hundred days are up, and Lippman is singing the praises of Roosevelt as far as he can go. He says that Roosevelt is the best thing to happen to the US in a long time. He mentions that Roosevelt has restored the faith of the ...

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