Chapter 12, Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Patrician as Opportunist Summary and Analysis

Hofstadter sees Franklin Roosevelt as one of the most important personalities in history. He expressed the American "popular temper" perfectly, and arguably completely changed the world. The New Deal, argues Hofstadter, was more of a temperament than a philosophy. It reflected Roosevelt's conviction that he could do no wrong and that even if he did mess up, he would continue to experiment until he succeeded. He was not a man of great learning and did not care much for the vagaries of policy. He was no master planner, but was largely a political opportunist who made the most of what history provided him. He was raised in a rich, upper crust New York City family. He entered law school as most men of elite American classes did...