Modernism and Pluralism Is a Daunting Task.

¶ … Modernism and Pluralism is a daunting task. Depending on the setting and discipline, both concepts mean different things to different people. Establishing the beginning and end of both concepts is equally as daunting but, regardless, it cannot be denied that both concepts have greatly influenced contemporary thinking and that the world, as we currently know it, would not have developed without the change in thinking brought about by both concepts (Wagers, 2007).

In politics, at least in the United States, there is likely no greater example of the influence of Modernism and Pluralism than President Franklin Roosevelt. His election in 1932 marked a departure from the traditionalism that was characterized by the presidency of Herbert Hoover and America's adoption of the ideas of modernism and pluralism that had been circulating throughout the world for many years (Barone, 1990).

By the time that Roosevelt was elected, modernism had been affecting culture, politics, and religion for an extended period of time but American culture had remained largely stagnated in traditional viewpoints. Hoover's approach to the Great Depression reflected this traditional approach. Hoover felt that resolving the causes and effects of the Depression was not the responsibility of the national government. He believed that the situation would resolve itself in time. Roosevelt, meanwhile, advocated that government had the capacity to resolve social problems and that radical change was not an evil, but rather, a sign of progressive thought.

Roosevelt's adoption of Modernism as a directional theory is somewhat surprising in light of his ancestry (Brands, 2009). Roosevelt grew up in a world of privilege. His family was extremely wealthy and he was educated in the traditional manner characteristic of most wealthy Easterners. Groton prep school, Harvard, and Columbia Law School prepared him for a life along traditional lines but Roosevelt veered from this course. Instead, Roosevelt recognized that the world was changing and that new ideas and concepts were necessary. Within a few days of being inaugurated, Roosevelt set about bringing radical change in America. Initiating programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the National Recovery Act, and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Roosevelt attempted to infuse the federal government into the lives of the general public in a way that was totally new. Unlike the hands-off approach that had been utilized by Hoover and most prior presidential administrations, Roosevelt represented a progressiveness that had begun with his distant cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, and furthered, in a moderate degree, by Woodrow Wilson. With Franklin Roosevelt, modernism took full flight in American politics and culture and the return to traditionalism was abandoned.

Roosevelt's presidency ushered in America's participation on the world stage. Following the end of the First World War America had largely withdrawn from world affairs and returned to its traditional isolation. Industrialization and technological improvements had caused America to modernize in many other aspects of life. The introduction of electricity, modern transportation, and new communication devices had caused major changes in the American lifestyle but, politically, the United States preferred to remain neutral and disinterested in European and Asian affairs. During the time prior to Roosevelt's election, the world was witnessing a flood of new political and economic ideas such as Marxism and Fascism but, for the most part, the United States and its citizenry were not exposed to such ideas. Roosevelt, however, and the events surrounding his Presidency, brought the United States fully into the modern era and rapidly established the country as a leader in the move toward widespread modernization. Roosevelt exposed the country to an infusion of new ideas. Some of the ideas proved viable and caught on with the American public while others did not but Roosevelt's pluralistic approach allowed the ideas to be considered. His genius laid in his ability to foresee that it was time for radical change in America. The ideas that he proposed had been circulating for a number of years but it was Roosevelt that popularized them and allowed them to germinate.

The legacy of Roosevelt has been a long one (Kennedy, 2001). He not only brought the United States out of its cocoon politically and socially he continued to influence both segments of America for decades. He brought together sectors of society that had been previously unrepresented and uninvolved in the political process and allowed them to become vocal forces. Blacks, labor unions, and ethnic groups that had felt isolated and ignored by the American political system suddenly began to be a force. Additionally, Roosevelt initiated the process of the federal government addressing social problems and concerns that had been previously been left unaddressed. This process has continued and it is Roosevelt's administration that led the way in this regard.