Order Number 129 (Part 2 of 2)

Core idea

The second part of Order Number 129 watches Roosevelt and Ickes continue the personal feud for the rest of FDR's presidency. Even after the public retreat, federal funding to New York that involved Moses-specific projects faced unusual scrutiny. Ickes carried the personal animus; Hopkins at WPA did not but had to coexist with Ickes at PWA. The result was a decade of friction that cost Moses tens of millions in projects he might otherwise have funded.

Why it matters

Ickes as personal antagonist

Harold Ickes had been politically humiliated by the Order 129 walk-back. He carried the embarrassment for the rest of his time at Interior. Moses projects through PWA faced delays, additional review, demands for documentation that other states did not face. The friction was real and persistent.

The cost across a decade

Caro estimates Moses lost tens of millions of dollars in federal funding through the late 1930s and early 1940s because of the Roosevelt-Ickes feud. Some projects were delayed by years; some were funded at lower amounts than requested; some never got out of review. The personal feud became a federal-state policy constraint.

Key takeaways

Mental model

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Practical application

Example

U.S.-Russia relations through the post-Cold War period have repeatedly been distorted by personal animus between presidents and prime ministers. Specific cooperation deals stalled for reasons that had nothing to do with their substance. Moses-Roosevelt is the early American template.

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