I don't think FDR was a fascist, but he certainly could be ruthless in the exercise of power. Fortunately checks and balances still worked to an extent.
Even if not a fascist (which is a very broad term anyway), he certainly was authoritarian and did his best to circumvent checks and balances. If he actually was a fascist, well, the United States has a couple final backups to authoritarian regimes: 2nd Amendment and the States themselves. If push came to shove and states wanted to push the issue, there very well could be civil war over something like that. And that's if the US Army doesn't coup him themselves.I don't think FDR was a fascist, but he certainly could be ruthless in the exercise of power. Fortunately checks and balances still worked to an extent.
Even if not a fascist (which is a very broad term anyway), he certainly was authoritarian and did his best to circumvent checks and balances. If he actually was a fascist, well, the United States has a couple final backups to authoritarian regimes: 2nd Amendment and the States themselves. If push came to shove and states wanted to push the issue, there very well could be civil war over something like that. And that's if the US Army doesn't coup him themselves.
I know. Part of it was me being facetious and part of it was an allusion to Long fitting more or less the exact description of “economic progressive with heavy authoritarian tendencies”.Huey Long wasn't fascist.
Well, Europe has always had more authoritarian governments and I would argue is more culturally accepting of strongmen, while the United States -despite coming from Europe- developed a much more localized federalist government even when it was under the British. There's a reason that when the United States fought it's first civil war it was a war of secession and not over control of the government.Those both presume an authoritarian regime that does not enjoy popular support. The post-Depression period could well have seen what Italy and Germany had: fascist regimes that enjoyed significant public support as long as they delivered to the people, or at least made the appearance of delivering.
*looks at the Japanese Internment camps and all his non-existent changes to race laws in the US*..hmm....
*looks at the Japanese Internment camps and all his non-existent changes to race laws in the US*..hmm....
In addition, FDR would find it hard to hide his Polio if he was to build a cult of personality, which is integral to fascism.
Yeah, how could the President who dramatically expanded executive power, was the first President to seek more than two terms, attempted to pack the Supreme Court to circumvent the other two branches of government, and put an entire ethnic group of Americans in concentration camps, and praised tyrants like Mussolini and Stalin and was praised by them in turn ever be looked upon as a fascist.
There is a reason one of the first things that was rushed through after his death was restricting the Presidency to two terms by law.
Look what's on back of Mercury Dime
![]()
Got changed after his death, so people wouldn't make the connection![]()
"A direct quote from the designer: “I selected the fasces and olive branch to symbolize the strength which lies in unity, while the battle axe stands for preparedness to defend the Union. The branch of olive is symbolical of our love of Peace.” This is a fitting quote for a coin struck first in 1916 in the midst of World War I and years before Mussolini adopted the ancient Roman symbol to represent his fascist Italian government."
https://www.numismaticnews.net/article/fasces-on-the-dime-made-sense-at-time