Biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Essay

The 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, accomplished many things during his three terms in office. Being the only president ever elected to more than two terms, it is easy to suppose that he was a well-rounded president. His leadership, success in getting programs passed, management of economic and domestic policy, foreign policy, and role as Chief Party Leader all contribute to an overall grade of an A for his presidency. First off, as the symbol of the country and the presidency, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gets an A. He showed great character and leadership with his thirty â€Å"fireside chats† on the radio. With these, he was able to soothe the thirty five million people listening. It was successful too, in that, after his first in which he assured the safety of keeping money in a reopened bank, confidence was restored and the banks began to open up. His ability to master the press contributed strongly to his overall public opinion and showed he had good character. Also, in WWII conferences such as Casablanca and Teheran, Roosevelt represented the country well in his efforts with the Allies to stop Nazi Germany. His leadership of the country and his character are the reason that he was the only president ever to be elected to four consecutive terms as the leader of the country. Particularly with the New Deal, FDR was rather successful as a policy and legislative leader. With the nation in the midst of the Great Depression, there was a lot of pressure on the president to take immediate action. Beginning with â€Å"the first hundred days,† Roosevelt shut down the banks and met with Congress. He was able to get 15 major bills approved regarding the economy in attempts to get it back on track. With such turmoil happening in the country, FDR was very efficient in getting bills passed by Congress, which is why he deserves an A. Though the actual success of each program may be questioned, his quick action and role as a policy and legislative leader was executed well. The same is true for when the United States became involved in WWII. This situation again demanded quick action and Roosevelt pulled through by passing various acts such as the Lend Lease Act and Neutrality Acts. Though again these may not have always had the best outcomes, his initiative and f air thinking are what gets him an A for this category. FDR’s most noted domestic policies while in office were those of the New Deal. With a nation pressuring the president for change, Roosevelt developed a plan called the New Deal. The principal acts were done during his first hundred days, as mentioned earlier, in attempts to achieve his goals of relief, recovery, and reform. Regarding the economy, Congressed passed the Glass-Stegall Banking Act which established the FDIC, a very important act after the crises leading up to the Great Depression. By stopping the bank runs, he was able to steer the economy in the right direction, creating a corporation that is still used today. In addition, under his presidency, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established, giving jobs to young men while at the same time conserving both human and natural resources. With the young men being able to send the money back to their families, it was a way to decrease unemployment and boost the economy. Another important issue was his repeal of t he Prohibition through the 21st amendment. This gave much needed revenue to the country and provided employment. Despite these successful acts of domestic policy, Roosevelt was not always so brilliant. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration, one of the New Deal agencies, increased unemployment, frustrated farmers, and was eventually deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. His intentions and theories to end overproduction were good, just not executed well. Another of Roosevelt’s reforms is Social Security. This is perhaps one of the most controversial of his policies. Some loved it and some hated it. In fact, the benefits of this administration are still debated over today with people calling into question the longevity of its existence. One problem that Roosevelt seemed to face was his long-running battle with the Supreme Court. Consisting of older aged, ultraconservative men whom Roosevelt had not appointed, the Supreme Court was something the president wanted to change. To fix it, he asked Congress to permit him to add up to 15 justices to the Supreme Court. This attempt to â€Å"pack† the court cost Roosevelt severely in the eyes of the public. It was his away of going around the Constitution in order to be able to keep more of his programs and agencies from the New Deal. In total, despite also several failures, many of FDR’s domestic policies were good. They helped relieve some of the stress set on by the depression. However, that’s all they did – relieve. His policies and the New Deal did not cure the country of the Great Depression, only temporarily masked the problems with only of his agencies still existing after his presidency. For these reasons, I give Roosevelt a B for his domestic policy. In the beginnings of a second world war, Roosevelt had important foreign policies that were crucial to the United States’ welfare. With an attempt to end the Depression, Roosevelt was initially going to send a delegate to take part in the London Conference. However, upon a second look, he decided that international agreements about the value of the dollar might restrict him in domestic recovery. This begins a trend toward increased nationalism and eventually to the United States’ views on isolationism. Though we are unable to tell what might have come out of the conference, it seems like a poor decision for Roosevelt to leave America totally on its own from other countries. Along with this idea of isolationism, through the Tydings-McDuffie Act, the United States freed the Philippines (after 12 years). This act was more beneficial for the United States than the actual freed country because of less foreign competition for sugar, as well as fewer people competing for jobs. Overall, it did help the U.S.; however, it also kind of abandoned the Philippines with not-so-nice economic terms. In contrast to these inward-looking acts, Roosevelt also created the Good Neighbor Policy with Latin America. He focused on consultation and nonintervention in hopes to unite the Western Hemisphere against any powers on the other side of the world. This was a smart move after withdrawing ties from Europe and Asia. It was a good idea that ended up being very successful for him and Roosevelt ended up with the title of â€Å"traveling salesman for peace.† In such fear of war, Congress passed the Neutrality Acts so as not to be brought into the violence like had been done in WWI. However, Roosevelt later changed these Acts to mean that an arms embargo be established for both Loyalists and rebels. As far as Roosevelt’s foreign policies go, this one was really bad. So scared of war, they basically aided in Franco’s taking over of the republican government of Spain. This in turn led to the strengthening of the European dictators, leading to the second world war. For this reason, Roosevelt’s grade goes down. Then, in 1941, neutrality had its meaning changed again. Really, it was thrown out the window with passing of Lend-Lease Act. The reasoning behind it was very understandable. Arm the other fighting democracies with weapons to defend against Hitler, or allow them to fall and have the U.S. face them alone. Knowing the risk, and after many debates, it was finally approved. It also set up the United States for war production when they did fight. However, the Lend-Lease Act ultimately was what brought them into the war once they had to start using armed Destroyer ships to take them to Britain. Roosevelt’s idea was good, however the consequences were bad. Later in the war, Roosevelt met with Churchill and Stalin for the Teheran Conference. Here, the three agreed upon a plan to attack Germany from the East as well as from the West. This was an incredibly important part of Roosevelt’s foreign policy since it was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. The Allies were able to recover France from the Nazis and continue their fight with Germany. Though Roosevelt died a month before V-E Day, his position as Commander in Chief for the past twelve years caused the United States and the Allies to defeat Germany. Though nobody is perfect, Roosevelt was able – through all decisions, good and bad – to stop the Nazis and ultimately save Europe. For these reasons, Roosevelt gets an A as Commander in Chief. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was strong in communicating with the public was well as dictating foreign and domestic policy. For this reason, his party grew during his presidency and so he deserves an A as Chief Party Leader. He started the â€Å"FDR Coalition† for his first term to get votes. Throughout his successes in the beginning, he was able to change many Republicans into Democrats, strengthening the Democratic Party for years to come. In addition, he also aided more Democratic candidates in all areas of government into office. With Roosevelt in office, the party grew both in voters as well as representation in Congress and other branches of government. His role as Chief Party Leader was done well and that is why he gets an A. Franklin Delano Roosevelt came into office at first having to deal with the struggles of the Great Depression. He was then later faced with the challenges of World War II, attempting to protect the United States as well as all Democratic countries from Nazi takeover. Anyone faced with these difficult challenges would have their ups and downs. FDR, on balance, was a good president and gets and overall A for his role as a country symbol, legislative leader, manager of the economy, Global leader, Commander in Chief, and Chief Party Leader. Works Cited Bailey, Thomas Andrew, David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print. Hughes, L. P. â€Å"†FDR AS NATIONAL LEADER†Ã¢â‚¬  Austin Community College – Start Here. Get There. 1999. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. . Mintz, S. â€Å"The First 100 Days.† Digital History. 2007. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. . http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=468 (80%) http://www.austincc.edu/lpatrick/his2341/fdr.html (shrink 90%, page 4)