Andrew+-+FDR+-+SP13

Franklin Delano Roosevelt January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York-April 12, 1945 in Warm Springs, Georgia Political Party: Democrat Terms: March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945 Vice Presidents: John Garner(1933-1941), Henry Wallace(1941-1945), Harry Truman(1945) Thematic Context: Over in Europe, conflicts were arising. The German and Italian forces were threatening to challenge the Ally countries. Franklin Roosevelt, leading America to better health after the Great Depression, swore to remain neutral in these affairs. Many neutrality acts were passed, forbidding American intervention in European conflicts. The main reason for becoming neutral is due to the outcome of the first World War. The United States decided to intervene, which was costly to the economy. Bound by the Neutrality Acts, Roosevelt was unable to assist Britain as the German forces drew closer to domination. He did, however, realize the mistake of passing the Acts, but was unable to repeal them. Roosevelt sent the British goods and provisions, everything short of war. At the beginning of the war, many Americans agreed with the Neutrality Acts and isolationism. They believed that there was no way the war would reach America, but as the war drew on, they started to change their mind, wanting America to intervene. The second major development would be the actual war: World War II. America’s first major victory came against the Japanese in the Pacific islands, halting Japan’s advances. FDR was convinced to invade Italy, a bloody war that took two years to win. Roosevelt made some crucial decisions in his Presidency that helped America and the Allies to stop Nazi domination. If the United States had not entered the war, Germany would have most likely conquered all of Europe. As the Allies closed in on Germany, the scale of the concentration camps was revealed. America knew about the killing of Jews, but did not know that it was this bad. Americans were disgusted and even questioned Roosevelt for not doing anything about it. In the end, citizens of America were relieved of the victory of World War II and Roosevelt’s role in it. Franklin Roosevelt was so favored during the war that he was reelected to serve America four times. Even though he did not live long enough to see the end of the war, he was remembered as the man who saved the world from Nazi domination.

Thesis: Franklin Roosevelt definitely deserves an A for his efforts in office. Roosevelt was elected during the midst of the Great Depression. During the first 100 days of his presidency, Congress created many reform programs to assist the unemployed and those about to lose their homes or farms. He helped many become employed with his New Deal programs. As the war began to rise, Roosevelt helped to create the United Nations, which would help international conflicts. Roosevelt tried to remain neutral early in the war, but was drawn into the fight for fear of Britain defeat. Roosevelt did not stay alive long enough to end the war, but was able to give the Allies the advantage they so desperately needed. Franklin Delano Roosevelt deserves an A for reforming America to overcome the Great Depression and stopping the Nazi and Communistic advances.

Goals: In Roosevelt’s first inaugural address, he states that the Nation will revive and prosper. His main goal in his first term was to employ the people and to redistribute industrial centers to give the land to those better fit for the land. Many of his goals in his first address were confronting the Great Depression. He believed that the federal government had to treat this problem as if they were dealing with war. He wanted to greatly reform banking by supplying strict supervision over all banks and to put an end to the speculation of other people’s money. His second inaugural address, much like his first, confronted the idea of employing citizens and attacking the economic problems that America was facing. His third inaugural address was about the war. He stated that Democracy was not dying and that America would fight for that belief. The main purpose of this address was to protect the integrity of Democracy.

Relationship with Congress In the beginning of Roosevelt’s time in office, Congress was willing to comply with his ideas. The nation was in a state of crisis, so Congress was desperate to reform America any way possible, resulting in the 100 days. Once things died down slightly, Congress was stricter on what they allowed to pass, upsetting Roosevelt. The majority of both the House of Representatives and the Senate were Democratic. Roosevelt felt slightly betrayed, so he attempted to expand the Supreme Court to help him with his New Deal programs, but failed to do so. All this did was cause Congress to become even more conservative and difficult to deal with. During the war, Roosevelt was bound by numerous Neutrality Acts. Congress had more isolationist views than Roosevelt, separating the two even further. While Roosevelt wanted to intervene in some way, Congress stated that it was not their war to fight. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, they both agreed that they could not avoid this conflict any more. Both Congress and Franklin Roosevelt agreed that it was time to intervene in World War II. During this time, the President and Congress probably had the best relationship in all of Roosevelt’s four terms. It presented more of a checks and balance type of government, no one branch stronger than the other.

Positive Event: The most positive event in Roosevelt’s four terms was the New Deal. The New Deal encompassed programs and reforms to help anyone unemployed or farmers. The Emergency Banking Act gave the government the power to inspect the health of all the Banks. Because of this act, many Americans faith in Banks were restored. They were no longer afraid that they would lose all their savings in a bank. The Civil Works Administration gave jobs to the unemployed to do tasks like building or repairing roads, parks, or airports. This act helped nearly four million citizens to start to recover from the Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps gave 2.5 unmarried men jobs to maintain and restore forests and parks. It also gave 8,500 women the same opportunities. Even though they were not paid much, they were taught how to live independently, which increased their self esteem. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 banned selling tribal lands and restored unowned lands to the Native Americans. This created highly beneficial relations with many Native American tribes. The Tennessee Valley Authority created jobs in one of the worst territories hit by the depression. It gave prosperity to the farmers that lived in the Tennessee Valley, giving them cheap electricity and recreational opportunities. These are a few of many acts and reform programs passed by Congress during the New Deal. In all, the New Deal helped reshape America to get them past the economic catastrophes.

Negative Event: Franklin Roosevelt’s most negative event actually happened in one of his New Deal programs, the Agriculture Adjustment Administration. This act was passed in an attempt to raise farm prices. It gave tax money to farmers to not raise a certain crop or animal. Roosevelt’s though process was: lower production equals higher prices. The farmers therefore complied with the Agriculture Adjustment Administration, killing off several crops and animals. This act was thought of to be unconstitutional because there were thousands of Americans who were dying of starvation. Those crops and animals could have gone to the hungry instead of the trash. Even though it was designed to help farmers, Roosevelt did not take into consideration the impact it would have on the rest of America.

Influential Decision: Roosevelt’s most influential decision was the decision to enter World War II. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt and Congress decided to enter the war along with popular approval. This decision impacted the lives of Americans in the future because it preserved Democracy. If Roosevelt had decided not to intervene in the war, the world would have been at risk. At the time, Britain was the only strong opposing Ally force. If it would have fallen, all of Europe would have been compromised to the Nazi power. Germany and the other Communistic forces would then most likely turn on America anyway. By entering the war when he did, Roosevelt ensured to have an Ally who would fight for the beliefs of Democracy.

Conclusion: Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered the Presidency when the nation was in a state of crisis. He reformed the United States, bringing them out of the Great Depression and into a state of prosperity. He then decided it best to enter the war after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. This was another smart move by Roosevelt because he realized that the Communist powers were becoming too strong and needed to be stopped. He led the Allies to victory over the Axis. Although he died before the end of the war, Roosevelt was one of the contributing factors to the defeat of Germany, Italy, and Japan. With Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, he guided the nation to prosperity after the Great Depression and then he helped preserve the idea of Democracy by defeating the Axis in World War II, therefore earning an A for his amazing efforts in office.

Works Cited:

"73rd United States Congress - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2013. .

"American President: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs." //Miller Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2013. .

"Franklin D. Roosevelt: First Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." //Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2013. .

"Franklin D. Roosevelt: Second Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989." //Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2013. .

"Franklin D. Roosevelt | The White House." //The White House//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2013. .

 "Franklin D. Roosevelt - American Heritage Center, Inc.." //Franklin D. Roosevelt - American Heritage Center, Inc.//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2013. .