IMO his expansion of the government was a best case scenario. The US was quickly barreling towards a socialist revolution. Any other president, particularly a greedy ultra-capitalist, would’ve stoked that flame.
The American people were angry about their exploitation at a level that hasn’t been seen since the creation of the US. He successfully bread crumbed the poor away from taking heads, literally. We so often forget that the most powerful people in this nation is Us, the People. We vote and we revolt. A nation-wide catastrophe is the perfect opportunity for mass organization.
Make no mistake, FDR was a staunch free market capitalist. He just wasn’t stupid.