In 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the White House during the Great Depression. In campaigning for the presidency as a Democrat he championed what was called a New Deal for the average American. But what did that actually mean for the millions of unemployed, dispirited and angry citizens, who couldn't fathom how the richest country in the world now had an economy in total disarray? What would it mean for the country's farmers being evicted from the land they had tilled for decades? What would it mean for industrial workers seeking union recognition and the right to collective bargaining in a world where corporations held sway? What would it mean for those who lost their life savings as the banking system collapsed? What would it mean for senior citizens, destitute and seemingly forsaken in the last years of their lives? What would it mean for America's youth, the youngest victims of the Wall Street Crash in 1929 and the ensuing impoverishment of millions? And finally, what would the president's words mean for minorities, especially for Blacks in a society still troubled by racial prejudice and a legacy of discrimination in public schools, housing, and the workplace? Would the New Deal be a Fair Deal for millions already experiencing economic hardship because of their skin color? These are the questions this book examines.
