“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
The devastating wildfires this month on the island of Maui, Hawaii, have so far taken more than 100 lives. Fear in the face of horrible events and great disasters is a natural reaction.
The quotation is from the First Inaugural Address of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 4, 1933. The American economy had collapsed, and much of the world was gripped in depression. Overseas, people embraced dictatorships.
The new president immediately launched an unprecedented effort to use government to address our problems. Leadership was essential.
FDR’s struggle to overcome paralysis of his legs from polio is relevant. The speech went on to describe “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed action.”
Today, we expect government to provide leadership — and a lot more. Until the 20th century, natural disasters were regarded as “acts of God.” People combatted the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic with stoicism.
The mass media has played a steadily more important role in characterizing terrible events. Photography transformed newspapers by adding sometimes-shocking pictures to text.
Radio and television greatly expanded this impact of information. The internet and cell phones carry the process further.
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Simultaneously, Americans have steadily raised the bar regarding expectations of government. President George W. Bush suffered political damage from initial public perception that he was both ineffective and uncaring in handling Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in 2005.
A century earlier, President Theodore Roosevelt established the precedent of direct White House involvement to mitigate major disasters. Immediately after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, he quickly secured Congressional appropriation of $2.5 million, a radical move as well as substantial sum for that time.
He also involved the military in humanitarian relief. The USS Chicago rescued 20,000 people, still one of the largest amphibious evacuations in history. Soldiers distributed food, water and medical supplies.
Military methods also restored order. An estimated 500 looters were shot by soldiers and police, including 34 men who attempted to rob U.S. Mint and Treasury buildings that contained $239 million in bullion and cash.
There was no FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), created during the Carter administration. Roosevelt instead stressed the role of the Red Cross.
During relief efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Obama White House website linked to the Red Cross. Varied volunteer agencies are regularly engaged in public relief efforts.
Herbert Hoover further developed U.S. disaster relief capabilities and involvements, including overseas humanitarian efforts. During and after the First World War, he led the substantial U.S. Food Administration and American Relief Administration, credited with preventing mass starvation in Europe.
In 1927, U.S. Commerce Secretary Hoover spearheaded enormous relief work after Mississippi River flooding, confirming him — temporarily — as a great American hero. Hoover locked up the 1928 Republican nomination and election to the White House.
In 1965, Hurricane Betsy became the first Gulf Coast storm creating more than $1 billion in damage. President Lyndon Johnson immediately flew to New Orleans and relentlessly, endlessly visited storm victims, slogging through flood waters to isolated shacks, anxious Secret Service agents and soggy local officials in tow. Federal relief was comprehensive.
Today, government is central in handling public health problems and public disasters. Again, in facing such serious threats, as in the past, effective leadership is crucial.
President Biden’s initial “no comment” reaction to the Maui fires will cost him politically, severely.
Arthur I. Cyr is author of “After the Cold War.”
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