Matt+G.+-+FDR+-+F08

Franklin D. Roosevelt Born: January 30, 1882 Death: April 12, 1945 Political Party: Democratic 1st Term: 1933-1937 Vice President: John N. Garner 2nd Term: 1937-1941 Vice President: John N. Garner 3rd Term: 1941-1945 Vice President: Henry A. Wallace 4th Term: 1945 (died in office) Vice President: Harry S. Truman

Franklin D. Roosevelt was yet another president of firsts for the United States. He was the first president to come into office in the middle of a depression, he was the first president to have more than only two terms in office ( he officially had four terms even though he died at the beginning of his fourth term), he was able to help pull America out of the Great Depression, and he was able to create so many jobs for the citizens of America when there was not many jobs to begin with. Since Franklin Roosevelt was able to get America out of the Great Depression and handle how America acted during World War II, Franklin Roosevelt deserves the grade of an A.

The goals of Franklin Roosevelt in office vary greatly based on which term he was in. For the first term, Franklin Roosevelt just wanted to help out America by getting them out of the Great Depression. After his first term, he wanted to keep America's economy rolling and going good so he didn't make that many changes to the economy. However he wanted to keep America isolated to themselves so he proclaimed neutrality for the war. Then in his third term he still wanted to keep the economy good, but now his mindset changed on the war. Now he wanted to go to war and help out the Allied powers fight against the Axis of Evil. In his fourth term, Franklin Roosevelt wanted to see the war to its end, however he died just under a month left in the war in the European Theatre. Franklin Roosevelt was able to achieve almost all of his goals if not all of them.

Franklin Roosevelt's relationship with Congress was a very good one. Roosevelt was able to pass many acts within his first 100 days to help out the country directly. Many more acts and organizations were to come, and all of them without much opposition. To name a few that helped out the country right away was the TVA, the CCC, the WPA, the FERA, and the Social Security Act. These all helped out the nation right away by providing jobs for the jobless and providing economic security. Four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Congress recognized the War in both Europe and the Pacific. Without the support of Congress during the three terms that FDR served entirely, America might have collapsed completely.

The best thing that FDR did for America was going to war. That might seem like a bad thing due to all of the American casualties, which were over one million, but this stimulated the economy so much that it was thriving by the end of the war. During war time, supply other nations with weapons and tanks helps bring in revenue, and by having already declared neutrality, this brought a great amount of revenue in for America. Even once America entered the war, the economy was still thriving.

The worst thing that FDR did for America was also going to war. By going to war as already stated caused over one million casualties for America alone, and that it rose the national debt greatly after the war was over. The national debt had been going steady during the time of neutrality, but once America joined the war, the national debt escalated rapidly.

The one decision that changed America forever would have been the decision to run for four terms in office. This impacted America because after FDR had died the passed the law that a president could only run for two terms. It also impacted America because it kept the same man in office, and that man was doing everything the way it needed to be done. Who knows, maybe if another man had been elected, the country may have collapsed.

The country couldn't have been much worse after FDR's three-and-a-quarter terms than it was before hand, However this was not the case. The country was thriving after FDR's presidency and he was receiving praise for saving America from the Great Depression. With the help of Congress, FDR saved the country and will forever be remembered for that. This is why he deserves the grade of an A.

Works Cited:

__American Pageant : Advanced Placement__. Boston: Houghton Mifflin College Division, 2001. 777-854.

"Impact and Legacy." __American President__. 2008. Miller Center of Public Affairs. 10 Dec. 2008 http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/9.

"Foreign Affairs." __American Experience__. 2002. PBS. 10 Dec. 2008 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/32_f_roosevelt/f_roosevelt_foreign.html.

"Franklin D. Roosevelt." __The White House__. The White House. 10 Dec. 2008 http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/fr32.html.