Elena+R.+-FDR+-+FA12

** January 30, 1882 Hyde Park, New York- April 12, 1945 Warm Springs, Georgia ** ** Political Party: Democrat ** ** Terms: Four terms; 1933-1937, 1937-1941, 1941-1945, and part of 1945 until death ** ** Vice Presidents: John Nance Garner, 1933-1941; Henry Agard Wallace, 1941-1945; Harry Truman, 1945 ** During Roosevelt’s presidency, culture was defined by major events. The Great Depression, which lasted from around 1929 to 1939, was one of these events. After the stock market crash, times were terrible for the American economy and people. By 1933, 13 to 15 million Americans were unemployed and around half of American banks had failed. These hard times after the prosperous 1920s were incredibly hard on the American people. Many of Roosevelt’s presidential actions were in reaction to the Great Depression, but the economic crisis was also incredibly important in defining US culture during the 1930s.
 * Franklin Delano Roosevelt **
 * Thematic Context **

World War II was another important event that shaped the American culture. The United States were unofficially involved from the beginning of the war, but finally joined the fight in 1941. The war played a vital role in ending the Great Depression and bringing on more prosperous times for the American people and raising incomes. Involvement also brought the American people a sense of fighting for moral righteousness against despotic leaders such as Hitler, as seen in patriotic war propaganda. During World War II, American culture was based on the war and war prosperity.

FD Roosevelt was one of America’s most notable presidents. Taking four terms instead of the traditional two and often being a very active leader, many at the time felt he was very dictator-like. Roosevelt was president for two of America’s toughest times, the Great Depression and World War II. Even if he did make some mistakes in handling these issues, he mostly did an excellent job at running the nation during troubled times. Roosevelt deserves an A- for his presidency because he may have made some poor decisions, but he was very devoted to his country, had great leadership skills, and most of his actions were beneficial.
 * Thesis **

Roosevelt’s first major goal was recovering from the Great Depression. He wanted to do this by using government intervention to get citizens jobs and to establish a more sound national economy. Roosevelt was fairly successful in this goal with his New Deal. Many acts were created to help create jobs and stabilize banks and the American economy. Later in his presidency, Roosevelt had a new goal of victory in World War II. Though America attempted to remain isolationist for as long as possible, they officially joined the war in 1941. Focusing on a wartime economy also helped to finally solve the problems with the economy. Abandoning isolationism, Roosevelt became an international figure and helped lead American and its allies to success in World War II, even though Roosevelt did not live to see such a victory in its finality. Roosevelt did a very good job at achieving his goals, though his “experiments” were sometimes wasteful.
 * Goals **

Roosevelt had a very strong relationship with Congress. The Democrats held the majority in both houses for his entire presidency, often holding an extreme majority. From 1937-1939, there were 334 Democrats to 88 Republicans in the House and 76 to 16 in the Congress. Because of this strong relationship, Roosevelt was easily able pass many liberal acts of legislation under the New Deal. If it weren’t for this strong relationship through his presidency, Roosevelt would not have been able to take as much presidential action as he did and would not have been able to help ease and fix the economic issues of the Great Depression. The relationship weakened slightly during World War II and the later years of Roosevelt’s presidency.
 * Relationship with Congress **

The New Deal was one of Roosevelt’s most beneficial actions as president. The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis the country had ever seen, and through the New Deal, Roosevelt provided direct federal relief for needy groups and more economic regulation to stabilize the economy and prevent future incidents. There were many acts in the New Deal that did many very different things for America. The New Deal did many things to help struggling US banks in response to the Banking Crisis, including the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Acts like the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Works Progress Administration tackled the unemployment issue by creating jobs for the unemployed. Other acts like the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission helped prevent future depressions by tackling issues with the stock market. The Social Security Act provided financial assistance for certain needy groups, such as the elderly retired, the unemployed, and the disabled. These acts helped soften the blow of the Great Depression and started moving the country out of the hard times. Many criticize the New Deal, saying that Roosevelt wasted too much federal money on “experimental” acts. Some parts of the New Deal received much more criticism than others, but on a whole, Roosevelt’s New Deal was incredibly beneficial to the American people and economy during the Great Depression.
 * Outcomes **

Without a doubt, the authorization of Japanese Relocation during World War II was Roosevelt’s worst action as president. In 1942, he authorized the internment of any citizen of Japanese decent or legal Japanese alien. He also gave the military the ability to ban citizens near the western coast. These citizens could be sent to military assembly centers throughout states on or near the west coast. It also applied to people of Italian and German decent. This action was mostly a result of war hysteria in the country. It violated many citizens’ rights and liberties and destroyed entire communities. The authorization of this allowed terrible treatments of United States citizens, and was the worst action of President FD Roosevelt.

Roosevelt’s presidency was a very influential one, but perhaps one of his most influential actions came with the creation of the Social Security Act in the New Deal. The Social Security system is still in place today, and has helped provide federal financial assistance to needy groups for years. Social Security provides more benefits to the elderly and retired than other groups, but it also provides assistance to people with disabilities. The Social Security Act started a time in America where the federal government would provide assistance to such needy groups as the unemployed, elderly, and disabled. This was something that America was seen as “behind” on by other countries, that already had similar systems in place. Though the Social Security system of Roosevelt’s time and throughout the past years has been frequently criticized, the creation of Social Security was one of Roosevelt’s most influential actions because it still directly affects America to this day.
 * Future Influence **

Roosevelt was a very memorable president, and perhaps also one of the greatest. The country was off far better by the end of his presidency when his fourth term was abruptly ended with FD Roosevelt’s tragic death. Roosevelt showed an immense devotion to his country. He took action to help lead America out of the Great Depression, pulling citizens out of poverty and unemployment and stabilizing the economy with the many acts of the New Deal. His excellent leadership helped the nation through World War II and towards victory. Roosevelt took on a nation in a crisis and helped it become a nation of great prosperity. He was not an entirely perfect president, but he did an incredibly great job at running the nation.
 * Conclusion **

Bailey, Thomas A., David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.
 * Works Cited **

DeGregorio, William A. The complete book of U.S. presidents. 6th ed. New York: Gramercy Books, 2005. Print.

"Executive Order 9066: The President Authorizes Japanese Relocation." //Executive Order 9066: The President Authorizes Japanese Relocation//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. <[]>.

"The Great Depression." //History.com//. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. .

"The Impact of World War II on Postwar American Culture." N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. .

"Party Division." U.S. Senate. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. < [] >.

"Party Divisions." Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Art & History. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. < [] >.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Inaugural Address,” March 4, 1933. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, //The American Presidency Project.// <[]>.