Roosevelt's Purge: How FDR Fought to Change the Democratic Party Review

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Roosevelt's Purge: How FDR Fought to Change the Democratic Party ReviewFDR managed to win a never to be matched four presidential terms, passed far reaching New Deal legislation and programs including the Fair Labor Standards Act, Civilian Conservation Corps, and Social Security, and help lead the nation to victory in World War II. What he could not do is defeat some incumbent Senators in his own party's primaries in 1938 despite his personal efforts.
Roosevelt's Purge tells the story of FDR's frustration with several conservative Democratic Senators and one conservative House member in states such as Georgia (Home of Walter George), South Carolina (the state that sent Cotton Ed Smith to the Senate), and Maryland (where Senator Millard Tydings was from). In the summer of 1938, FDR traveled the country to support the opponents' of these men (and a few others) and bolster a few incumbents he did support. When the dust settled, most of those FDR sought to defeat remained in office, with the one exception being conservative New Yorker John O'Connor.
Dunn not only tells the story of why FDR was frustrated and his travels, but also some of the broader context it fell into. The Democratic Party coalition was held together for many years past its expiration date due to personalities, as the unhappy alliance between Northern urban liberals and conservative, segregationist southerns came undone. Dunn posits that FDR actually sought a quicker divorce, allowing for two ideologically distinct parties as we currently have. Although FDR did argue for this, it seems he was really expressing personal anger at those who crossed him. Dunn also presents the interesting result that many of FDR's stalwart allies during the economic New Deal were far more isolationist at least in the early going of World War II. While many of those FDR sought to defeat rallied to him, and England, in the late 1930s.
The book does leave some questions however. Did FDR really think he could have his way in such a subtle fashion? One speech in one town where he failed to mention an incumbent was his way of attacking them? I could not help but think that even in that period of more localized politics, FDR could still have affected those races in other ways besides personal appearances such as hurting funding and putting a stop to an incumbent's legislative progress on Capitol Hill. But besides FDR's personal appearances, the book does not discuss what if any efforts were made.
Mid-term elections such as 1938 have, in recent electoral cycles, become largely nationalized affairs. 1998 is defined by the backlash to Clinton's impeachment. 2002 was the first post-9/11 election and defined by Bush's popularity and terror policies. 2006 and 2010 are both viewed as backlash elections to national leaders. Roosevelt's Purge tells of a time where mid-terms elections, or at least their primaries, were far more localized.Roosevelt's Purge: How FDR Fought to Change the Democratic Party Overview

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