Kelsey+K.+-+FDR+-+SP10

 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882-April 12, 1945) Political Party: Democrat Terms of Office: 1933-1945 Vice Presidents: John N. Garner (1933-1941); Henry A. Wallace (1941-1945); Harry Truman (1945)  I believe F.D.R. did a fair job as president, considering the circumstances. He had to put the nation back together during the Great Depression. With the programs he created during the new deal, he both positively and negatively impacted the nation. I like to think that the positives outweigh the negatives. For this reason I believe that Franklin Delano Roosevelt deserves a B- for his terms as president. As president, F.D.R. promised the citizens of America that he would take them out of the Great Depression. In his first hundred days, his goals involved turning the economy around by creating jobs for more people. He said, “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.” In saying this, he meant that with him as president there was nothing to be afraid of. It was his goal to get us out of the depression. As for how well he achieved this goal, well he didn’t. He had many attempts to get us out of the depression but they did not work. World War II was what finally set the economy back on track. This was not of F.D.R.’s doing, so one cannot say that he is the reason America came out of the depression. In the beginning of Roosevelt's presidency, he and Congress were on good terms. The democrats held up the majority in congress. For this reason, Roosevelt was able to pass an enormous amount of legislation at the start of his presidency. Some of the legislation passed included the Federal Emergency Relief Act and the Social Security Act. Throughout the first term of his presidency, Congress pretty much allowed F.D.R. to have the majority of the power. They followed almost every one of his ideas. Their relationship began to grow rocky when Roosevelt proposed the Judiciary reorganization Bill. It was later called the "court packing plan". In this bill, F.D.R. proposed to allow him to appoint a justice to the supreme court for every other justice who was 70 or older. To the public and to Congress this seemed like an extreme stretch of presidential power. After this, less legislation was passed.  Roosevelt’s decisions during the “New Deal” had both the most positive and negative outcomes during his presidency. It was very positive because it created many social reforms and programs that were very beneficial to the citizens and economy of America. Programs like the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration created jobs for citizens. These jobs had citizens doing work that would benefit America, such as building highways and schools. The New Deal brought back hope and confidence back into the lives of American people. Citizens began to trust the economy again. Acts like the Glass-Stegall Act showed America that their money would be safe in banks again. They did this by establishing programs such as the FDIC. Citizens also began to trust the government again. This proved to be important later on, when America had to unite as a nation and fight in WWII. On paper the New Deal was fantastic. It got the laborers of the nation out in the workforce again so that they could provide for their family. However, the New Deal programs were so large and so far reaching, that they came at a cost. The New Deal made the nations debt even higher. Before WWII the nations debt had jumped to over 40,000,000. For this reason, many people resented F.D.R. for his decisions during the New Deal. That is why the New Deal had the most positive, and negative outcomes during the Roosevelt administration.   The New Deal itself had many lasting impacts on the lives of people in future generations. It brought about the idea of stimulating the economy by having the federal government spend money. One act in particular that sticks out is the Social Security Act. This act set up programs to provide for the poor, unemployed, and aged. This was a social welfare "net". Eventually all Americans would be covered by social security. This decision that F.D.R. made has most definitely influenced the lives of future generations. Today, social security is still around. It is very helpful to the groups listed above, and for this reason it was a long lasting decision made by Roosevelt. In conclusion, I believe the country was better off after Roosevelt's presidency. He was able to initiate programs that would help get the country back on their feet. Although he stretched his executive power and spent more of the nation's money, he created programs that are still around today. Taking into account the state of the country at the time of his presidency, I believe he deserves a B-. 