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Franklin Delano Roosevelt Born: January 30, 1882 Died: April 12, 1945 Political Party: Democrat Terms: ** March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945 ** Franklin Delano Roosevelt is a president known for serving four terms though the Great Depression and World War II. During the Depression, he relieved America with his New Deal and then guided the United States through World War II. Roosevelt went through a mishap with his idea of the court packing plan in 1937. Through all of this, Franklin Roosevelt deserves an A as president.
 * Vice Presidents: John Nance Garner (1933-1941) **
 * Henry Agard Wallace (1941-1945) **
 * Harry S. Truman (January to April 1945) **

In his first inaugural address, FDR stated “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” During this time banks were suffering and some thirteen million people were unemployed. One of his goals as he started his first term was to end the depression. He succeeded in bringing relief with his New Deal. This is probably the most positive thing he did. He helped the banks by declaring a bank holiday while the federal auditors went over the books in 1933. With this, he also made the public feel more confident in their banks. He helped give jobs to young men with the Civilian Conservation Corps. They built roads, planted trees, and did many conservation projects. The Tennessee Valley Authority act aided the depressed Tennessee. For fifty years it developed into the nation’s largest utility and provided more than four billion dollars worth of power to over two million consumers. In 1935, he also came up with the Social Security Act which gave assistance for the elderly, needy, and unemployed, and still is used today.

During this time Congress gave Franklin Roosevelt a lot of power and passed many of his New Deal laws. He was on mostly good terms with Congress. Things went sour with the Court Packing Plan in 1937. Roosevelt was angry at the Supreme Court because of their invalidation of much of the early New Deal. He wanted to be to pack the Court in his favor by using a bill to allow him to appoint a new justice for every justice over seventy who worked ten years. This bill brought a lot of protest against Roosevelt and was the most negative outcome of his presidency.

Franklin Roosevelt also had another goal: to keep America out of the war going on in Europe. His Good Neighbor Policy in Latin America showed America’s stance against the Axis Powers. However, the fall of France and the Battle of Britain brought America closer to the Allies side. In September of 1940, Roosevelt announced he was trading 50 old destroyers for naval and air bases from Britain. He also provided Britain and later other Allies with military equipment worth fifty billion dollars. Roosevelt didn’t keep America neutral. On December 7, 1944, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing over two thousand Americans and destroying much of the fleet there. Congress unanimously voted for war and helped the Allie cause.

Franklin Roosevelt was a good president. He got the country through the depression with the New Deal and he also helped out the Allies in World War II. Though he did do some negative things, like the Court Packing Plan, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. During his four terms, I believe Franklin Roosevelt deserves an A as president.

Degregorio, William A.. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents)//. 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.

Franklin D. Roosevelt | The White House." //The White House//. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2010. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/franklindroosevelt

Leuchtenburg, William E.. "The FDR Years: On Roosevelt and His Legacy ." //washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines//. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2010. 