When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to office in 1932, the entire country seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, here was somebody who was proposing to do something about the Depression, as opposed to wishing it away with pointless predictions. Roosevelt even used the radio to ease panic and tell the American public what he and his advisers were doing about the problems that plagued the country. Roosevelt's "Fireside Chats" were given extra weight by the fact that they were followed by action and observable results. This could be attributed to the fact that everybody was cooperating with the New Dealers. Congress, who had been taking flak from the public for inaction for so long, now gave Roosevelt a blank check to "just do anything," as he had once asked for in one of his campaign speeches. Even the press was cooperating. Roosevelt...