Final answer:
FDR chose different political advisers from the "Brains Trust" and his cabinet to provide a wide range of ideas, including both conservative perspectives and progressive reform plans, to combat the Great Depression. Together, they contributed to the success of the New Deal, which marked a shift to a more active federal government role in the U.S. economy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, sought to bring the United States out of the Great Depression through a series of innovative measures known as the New Deal. He chose different political advisers to provide a breadth of knowledge and expertise, pulling from a group famously dubbed the "Brains Trust". This informal advisory team was made up of academics and policy experts like Rexford Tugwell, Raymond Moley, and Adolph Berle who brought fresh ideas and diverse perspectives to the administration. Additional well-qualified individuals, such as Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins and Interior Secretary Harold Ickes, were appointed to his cabinet, driving many of the strategies attempted by FDR. The combination of the Brains Trust and his formal cabinet enabled FDR to implement a mix of conservative and progressive ideas and to avoid the extreme measures of nationalization that were common in socialist nations and dictatorships.
Unlike his predecessor Hoover, FDR remained pragmatic and open-minded, ready to test various solutions to the economic crisis. This approach allowed for a dynamic policy framework that was able to adapt and evolve as the situation dictated, rather than being fixed to a rigid ideological stand.
A key factor in the success of FDR's policies was the willingness of Congress and the American public to support his efforts. These strategies, while influential in their own right, also built upon existing considerations from the Hoover administration but operated on a much more ambitious scale under Roosevelt. The election of 1932 was, therefore, a turning point where the federal government stepped into a more active role, providing direct relief and intervention in the economy.