FDR and the US Navy / Edition 1

by Edward J. Marolda

Overview

Franklin Delano Roosevelt had a lifelong love for the United States Navy. Inspired as a youth by the US Fleet's dramatic impact on the global stage, and its use overseas by his illustrious cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin quite naturally focused his eyes on the sea. FDR and the US Navy presents the work of prominent biographers and historians who analyzed Franklin D. Roosevelt's long, close, and eventful association with the United States Navy, in war and peace, from the turn of the century to the end of World War II. The contributors show how as President during the 1930s, FDR endeavoured with naval leaders, not always successfully, to build a combat-capable fleet and to deter the aggressor nations of Europe and Asia. The essays argue that one of Franklin Roosevelt's greatest achievements was his direction as Commander in Chief of the US Navy and the other American armed forces during World War II, when the very survival of the nation was at stake. This book is the product of a day-long conference, entitled 'Franklin D. Roosevelt and the US Navy' that was held on October 22, 1996 at the US Navy Memorial Foundation's Heritage Center on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. It is both a powerful tribute and an important historical work on FDR.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312211578
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	08/14/1998
Series:	The World of the Roosevelts
Edition description:	1998
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

EDWARD J. MAROLDA is the Senior Historian of the Naval Historical Center. He is the author of numerous books.

Table of Contents

Introduction; E.J.Marolda No Talent for Subordination: FDR and Josephus Daniels; K.S.Davis FDR at War, 1913-1921; D.Trask Josephus Daniels, Franklin Roosevelt, and the Reinvention of the Naval Enlisted Man; R.H.Spector Making It Easy for Him: The Imperial Japanese Navy and Franklin D. Roosevelt to Pearl Harbor; M.A.Barnhart Franklin Roosevelt and Naval Strategy, 1933-1941; J.G.Utley The Evolution of the U.S. Fleet, 1933-1941: How the President Mattered; T.C.Hone FDR and the Admirals: Strategy and Statecraft; W.Heinrichs Roosevelt and Churchill and the Fight for Victory and Stability; H.D.Langley Roosevelt and Leahy: The Orchestration of Global Strategy; P.L.Miles Roosevelt and Strategy in the Pacific; T.B.Buell Roosevelt and King: The War in the Atlantic and European Theaters; J.G.Barlow About the Authors Index

Editorial Reviews

The sum of the individual contributions creates a balanced picture of one aspect of FDR's crucial role in 20th Century American history, revealing some shortcomings as well as impressive strengths.” —Sea History

“This is a worthy successor to Marolda's earlier volume on FDR and naval affairs. The new book includes some provocative essays on neglected as well as better-known subjects and is sure to spark renewed interest in this field.” —Ronald Spector, Professor of History and International Relations, George Washington University

From the Publisher

The product of a day-long conference held in 1996 at the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation Heritage Center, this book examines Roosevelt's profound impact on the modern U.S. Navy. Like his cousin Teddy, FDR served as assistant secretary of the navy. When he became president in 1933, the country was going through the Depression, and no appropriations for ships or new men had been made for quite some time. FDR sensed the advent of war, either with Germany or Japan or both, and did his best to modernize the hidebound naval forces. Many of the top admirals distrusted him; most were conservative Republicans who disliked his reforms, resented his "interference" in naval policy, and could not believe that the United States was headed for another war within ten years. Offering detailed documentation of an aspect of Roosevelt's presidency that may not be well known to some readers, this book should be in every collection of FDRiana and modern U.S. naval history.--Stanley Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, NY

Library Journal

Historians and biographers present 11 papers from an October 1996 conference in Washington, DC. They describe the US president's close association with the US Navy from the beginning of the 20th century through the end of World War II. Their topics include World War I, reinventing the naval enlisted man, relations with the Japanese Navy up to Pearl Harbor, strategy and statecraft with the admirals, the orchestration of global strategy, and operations in the Pacific and the Atlantic and European theaters. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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