Freedom fighter or traitor? Harry Hopkins stood by his country and his president throughout a Great Depression and a world war

He was among the great public officials of his time.

Harry L. Hopkins (1890-1946), a native of Iowa who spent part ofhis youth in Chicago, played a critical role in lifting the nationout of the Great Depression and in forging the alliance that defeatedNazi Germany in World War II. He was a fighter for freedom.

During Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, Hopkins put millions ofAmericans back to work as chief of the Works Progress Administrationand Civil Works Administration. As director of the Federal ReliefAdministration, this former social worker fed the hungry. Nobody didmore for the unemployed and their families.

Hopkins then moved to the world stage. Speaking …