Was this a flimflam or a mistake?

 On June 18th 2011 we were watching “the eighth annual Roosevelt Reading Festival (which) was held by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in the Henry A. Wallace Visitor and Education Center in Hyde Park, New York” on C-Span.


Mario Dinunzio was talking about his book, "Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Third American Revolution", after which he responded to questions from members of the audience.


When asked about the contemporary views of historians Mr. Dinunzio assured the individual they were wrong. He then tells the audience that in 1937 unemployment was under 10% and in 1939 it was under 8%. This is disgustingly wrong. The entire event can be seen here.  The video is 44 minutes and 14 seconds long. If you do not want to set through the entire thing go to the 40 minute mark in the video and you will see the gentleman in the red shirt ask the question. A mistake, maybe!  Enjoy! 


As a history professor he had to know that the “U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957 (Washington, D.C. 1960), p 70.” refutes this. Here we find the following information: the unemployment rate for 1937 was 14.8% and in 1939 it was 17.05%. The statistics are here.

In fact in his book FDR’s Folly, Jim Powell tells us that “The most troubling issue has been the persistence of high unemployment throughout the New Deal period. From 1934 to 1940, the median annual unemployment rate was 17.2 percent.(1) At no point during the 1930s did unemployment go below 14 percent. Even in 1941, amidst the military buildup for World War II, 9.9 percent of American workers were unemployed."


(1)  "Richard K. Vedder and Lowell E. Gallaway, Out of Work: Unemployment and Government in Twentieth-Century America (New York: New York University Press, 1997, p. 129"


The “contemporary views of historians”, the individual was talking about had to be people like Burton Folsom Jr. who wrote “New Deal or Raw Deal”; Gene Smiley and his book,  “Rethinking the Great Depression” and there is Jim Powell and his “FDR’s Folly”.


This is inexcusable for a History Professor. According to information on line Mr. Dinunzio teaches history at Providence College in Providence, RI.


You can contact us in the comments section below or e-mail us at wetrack@windstream.net.


Have a nice day.