What's on your mind? Share your thoughts with fellow readers with
a letter to the editor. Please direct letters via mail to GSB Chicago, 6030 South Ellis Avenue, Room 255, Chicago, Illinois 60637; via
fax to (773) 702-2973; or via email to editor@gsb.uchicago.edu.
In “Events of the Century” (Fall 1999), faculty members shared
their thoughts on what they consider the most important events
of the past 100 years.
Roosevelt's Role
In “Events of the Century,” Professor Roman Weil refers to the
“shadow” of Stalin, Hitler, and Churchill and says their ascension
to power was the most significant event of the 20th century in
its effect on politics and economics. Weil concludes that Franklin
D. Roosevelt’s role was “secondary to these three figures.” I
wish to take exception to this observation of Roosevelt’s “secondary”
role on several grounds.
First, I refer to the role he played during the Depression. His
efforts under the New Deal had several effects. He recognized
that the federal government had an important role to play in an
economy that was in grave distress and teetering on the brink
of disaster. He initiated programs that pumped real purchasing
power into the economy, and he created needed employment. He inspired
hope among a disillusioned population that could easily have taken
measures into its own hands and caused great social disturbances.
During World War II, it is doubtful that the Allied forces would
have been victorious without the effective mobilization of the
industrial might of the United States. This occurred under the
vigorous leadership of Roosevelt, who appointed qualified and
appropriate personnel to positions of leadership and achieved
the required massive industrial mobilization. With his savvy
political leadership, Roosevelt devised and implemented the important
Lend-Lease Act even before the United States was forced to enter
the war. The program enabled Great Britain to withstand the ravages
inflicted on it by the Nazi war machine and allowed essential
supplies to get both to England
and the Russian forces.
In 1941, Roosevelt was responsible (by convincing Winston Churchill)
for the issuance of the Atlantic Charter. This was a stirring
declaration of principle that would guide Allied policy during
and after the war. The declaration pledged that the two countries
would seek no territorial aggrandizement, that territorial alterations
would conform with the wishes of the affected populations, and
that a permanent system of general security would be established.
In 1941, Roosevelt enunciated the four freedoms: freedom of worship,
freedom from want, freedom from fear, and freedom of expression.
We knew who we were fighting against in World War II. But these
four freedoms identified by Roosevelt suggested in a significant
way what we were fighting for. Although FDR had his defects, there
is no doubt that he combined flashes of insight with an idealism
that played an important role both in peace and war. He was a
brilliant leader of the Allied coalition, which may have fallen
apart without him. This was no small achievement. It is likely,
too, that his idealism derived from a belief in principles laid
down by Woodrow Wilson and that they played an important role
in the establishment of the United Nations.
Joseph A. Hasson, M.B.A. ’47, Ph.D. ’51
Rockville, Maryland
Return to top of page
Power of Politics
My reading of history says that human nature has not changed and
that the overarching developments in most centuries are related
to politics or “politics by other means” and not by medical breakthroughs
or technological discoveries. The most important event in the
20th century is history; we need to prepare for the 21st century.
Accordingly, I think that the most important developments of the
21st century will link the names of Japan and the United States
of America and may include other economic world power aspirants
such as China, or countries grinding religious axes.
John R. Swift, ’66
Arlington Heights, Illinois
Return to top of page
The End of the Century?
Not Quite
I am amazed that a publication as prestigious as GSB Chicago would
make the all-too-common mistake of implying that 1999 is the end
of the century. The article “Events of the Century” starts with
“As the century draws to a close.” Isn’t that a reference to 1999
as the end of the century? I submit that is a major error.
Here is my rationale. Num-bering of the Anno Domini years began
with 0. The first year of the first century was 1, the second
was 2, the third 3, etc. Since a century is 100 years, the end
to the first century was 100 (not 99). The second century began
with 101 and ended with 200 (not 199). Fast-forward to the 19th
century, which began with 1801 and ended with 1900 (not 1899).
Thus, the 20th century began with 1901 and will end with 2000
(not 1999 as so many people are saying).
An interesting sidelight: An enterprising reader of the Denver Rocky Mountain News, which was guilty of the same error, did some research and found
that the headline in the news on January 1, 1901, was as follows:
“Hail to the Twentieth Century–New Century Welcomed by the Whole
World.”
Carl W. Niebur, XP-23 (’67)
Denver
Correction: "Unconventional Wisdom" (Fall 1999), our profile of
Distinguished Corporate Alumnus Philip J. Purcell III, ’67, requires
clarification regarding Purcell's positions at Dean Witter Discover.
In 1982 Purcell became president and chief executive officer of
Dean Witter, and in 1986 he was named chairman and chief executive
officer. When Dean Witter was spun off from Sears in 1993, Purcell
was named chairman and CEO of Dean Witter Discover. Four years
later he became chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley Dean WItter,
the position he holds today.
Return to top of page