The New Deal as Revolution or Evolution

In the Rozwenc-edited The New Deal: Revolution or Evolution?, we read that one of the major features of Roosevelt's New Deal was the extensive expansion of Presidential power, which led to significant restructuring of the government itself. Despite the fact that the editor himself tries to remain above the fray and present an objective introduction to the revolution v. evolution debate, it is in his own words that we can see the conclusion written, and that conclusion clearly comes down on the side of revolution.

As Rozwenc writes: "Although Franklin D. Roosevelt never conceived of any fundamental reconstruction of American society, the boldness of his leadership, the experimental temper of his administration, and the sheer quantity of his legislative and administrative expedients created a new web of relationships which is still an essential part of the fabric of American society today. The responsibility of the State for health, welfare and employment, the rapid growth of federal centralization, the tremendous expansion of presidential power, and the burgeoning polity of organized pressure groups are still the dominant points of reference in any contemporary description of American politics" (Rozwenc, 1959, p. vi).

The New Deal was a revolution not onl

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national economy where he felt that something needed to be done. For that reason . . . I believe that (Hoover's) historic position as a radical innovator has been greatly underestimated and that Mr. Roosevelt's pioneering has been greatly exaggerated. It was Mr. Hoover who abandoned the principles of laissez faire in relation to the business cycle, established the conviction that prosperity and depression can be publicly controlled by political action, and drove out of the public consciousness the old idea that depressions must be overcome by private adjustment" (Rozwenc, 1959, pp. 36-37). Commager, in Rozwenc, agrees with Lippman that the Rooseveltled New deal was not a revolution at all, but merely another step in a process which had been evolving for some time: "We can see now that the 'Roosevelt revolution' was no revolution, but rather the culmination of half a century of historical development, and that Roosevelt . . . was an instrument of the popular will rather than a creator of, or a dictator to, that will. Indeed, the two major issues of the Roosevelt administration---the domestic issue of the extension of government control for democratic purposes, and the international issue of the role of America as a world powe
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Roosevelt's Deal, Hacker Deal, Franklin Roosevelt, President Hoover, Lippman Rooseveltled, Schlesinger Deal, Herbert Hoover, Deal Schlesinger, Deal Nations, Executive Roosevelt, rozwenc 1959, roosevelt's deal, deal revolution, rozwenc writes, break past, franklin roosevelt, revolutionary evolutionary, revolution evolution, american government, expansion presidential power, roosevelt revolution, deal indeed revolution, deal revolution evolution, rozwenc 1959 pp, rozwenc 1959 18,
Approximate Word count = 1998
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)