Matt+K.+-+FDR+-+SP10

Franklin Delano Roosevelt January 30, 1882-April 12, 1945 Democrat Terms: March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945 Vice presidents: John Nance Garner-1933-1941 Henry Agard Wallqace-1941-1945 Harry S. Truman-January to April 1945

Franklin Delano Roosevelt deserves an A+ for his presidency because of the accomplishments achieved through his actions. FDR helped America move through the Great depression and proved to be a talented war-time leader during WWII. Really the only goal of FDR at the beginning of his presidency was to lead the nation out of the great depression. FDR planned to do this through a series of legislation such as the New Deal, which focused on relief, recovery, and reform; relief for the unemployed and poor; recovery of the economy to normal levels; and reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression. The legislation also included emergency banking laws, new regulations for the securities and insurance industries, establishment of a civilian conservation corps, and the Agriculture Adjustment Act. There were also a number of new agencies put in place to help with the crisis, such as the National Recovery Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Federal Relief Administration, and the Public Works Administration. In the beginning of FDR’s second term, he was faced with the growing conflict in Europe. FDR tried to remain neutral by not taking any side in the growing conflict between Britain, Russia, and Hitler’s Germany. The United States was eventually pulled into the conflict by the attack on Pearl Harbor, marking the beginning of the US involvement in WWII. Since the wartime industry pulled the nation out of the great depression, FDR’s main goal was to now get the United States through WWII. FDR’s relationship with Congress was pretty good. The majority of Congress were Democrats, so almost all of FDR’s legislation was passed. An example of this is the Hundred Days period where FDR passed almost all of the legislation dealing with the Great Depression. The Supreme Court is what gave FDR the most trouble, but for the most part FDR’s relationship with Congress was pretty good. The action that had the most positive outcome was FDR’s passing of the New Deal. The New Deal and all of the legislation that came along with it was very helpful in pulling the country out of the Great Depression; although the New Deal and all of the extra legislation didn’t really end the Great Depression, it definitely helped in moving it along and in giving hope back to the people when they needed it the most. FDR didn’t really make too many negative decisions, but one that he did make was when he tried to put more Democrats in the Supreme Court. He wanted these new Democrat Supreme Court Justices in place so the Supreme Court would be more lenient and pass some of his New Deal acts. This angered a lot of people including some of his supporters. This was probably one of FDR’s worst decisions. One of the decisions made by FDR that has had the greatest impact on the United States as a whole is probably the decision to enter WWII. Even though this wasn’t really a decision but more like an unfortunate event, the United States’ entrance into WWII completely brought the country out of the seemingly unending Great Depression, and by the war’s end boosted America to its position as a world superpower, a position which it retains today. Without the United States’ entrance into WWII, the country may not have ever completely left or recovered from the Great Depression and the United States may not be the superpower that it is today. The country was definitely better off at the end of FDR’s presidency than at the beginning. The Great Depression and WWII had officially ended and the economy was on the rise; because of this FDR deserves an A+ for his presidency.

Sources Affairs, In Foreign. "American President: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: A Life in Brief." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 16 May 2010. . "Franklin D. Roosevelt." //The White House//. Web. 17 May 2010. . "Franklin Roosevelt." //American History and World History at Historycentral.com the Largest and Most Complete History Site on the Web//. Web. 17 May 2010. .