David Beito, Professor of History, Emeritus, from UA is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute, a libertarian think tank and the publisher of this new study. As the title and subtitle declare, Beito means to reveal and explain to the reader that Franklin Roosevelt, revered by millions of Americans and rated among the top three presidents ever by most historians, often put the ends, admirable as they were—getting out of the Depression, supporting the British, winning WWII—before the means. He was willing to crush dissent, silencing his critics with small regard for their constitutional rights, especially freedom of speech.
Beito acknowledges this is an uphill climb. Nevertheless, through exhaustive research and scrupulous documentation, Beito demonstrates that Roosevelt—the man and the president—was no saint. He also suggests that FDR’s most dubious decisions, especially the decision to put 120,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps, was not a singular lapse of judgment on his part, nor a capitulation to strong pressures from advisors. The FBI and military intelligence did not think it necessary. FDR himself insisted upon the camps.
However, the camps are not the only matter under discussion. Beito’s investigations fault FDR on several fronts, on issues such as the right to privacy and the right to dissent, whether from New Deal programs like the TVA or isolationism before Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt even supported some ill-advised sedition trials, invoking the Espionage Act. Beito characterizes one trial as a “fiasco.” Roosevelt was guilty, Beito tells us, of massive intrusions into privacy, having the Hugo Black–led Senate committee read millions of private telegrams of opponents to the New Deal. FDR also, Beito explains, turned a blind eye to real injustice in places like Memphis or Jersey City, where the bosses were tyrannical and corrupt, but reliable New Deal supporters.
We know FDR famously made good use of the radio in his fireside chats. Beito tells us FDR meant to deny his political opponents, that same medium. “Roosevelt had few, if any, scruples about hatching schemes to covertly sideline, or even quash, dissenting radio voices.” Regulations were instituted. Wavelengths, it was thought, were limited in number, so the government must manage them with licensing, renewable every few months. Some broadcasters, like the anti-Semitic Father Coughlin, were vile but, it must be remembered, were entitled to First Amendment rights.
This book is serious business, scholarly and detailed, not a beach read. Beito means to prove every point he makes. IF this study of civil liberties is your cup of tea, have at it, but get a comfortable chair and set aside a good length of time.
