FDR: America's Greatest President

History 181

Julie Wilderman

Assistant Professor Patrick McGarrity

April 20 , 2009

Our Greatest American President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt became our thirty-second President in one of the most critical times in the history of the United States since the Civil War . Born to wealth , FDR held a sense of social importance at an early age . This attribute would soon become an important part of his political career . He was also faced with the despair of a devastating disease . Roosevelt was forced to view himself in a different perspective , however he

took his illness and turned it into a way of helping others that were stricken with the same misfortune . This showed tremendous integrity in Roosevelt not only as a man but as a great President

During his tenure as Vice President , Roosevelt contracted the disease poliomyelitis and became completely paralyzed . This was one of the greatest obstacles that he had to face in his life , but he quickly overcame this hurdle and worked diligently to establish a foundation known as the March of Dimes to help other polio victims . Eventually , an effective vaccination was introduced

Roosevelt had married a distant cousin , Anna Eleanor Roosevelt , who was able to provide much support in both his personal and political lives The United States at the time was going through a critical period and the American family was important to everyone . Having a supportive first lady Roosevelt quickly gained the admiration of many Americans

The Great Depression had been present for almost three years and FDR had his work cut out for him . He had used the Great Depression as the back drop of his Presidential campaign and when he took office , he quickly set out to reform the economy and undertook immediate actions to initiate his New Deal (fdrlibrary .marist .edu ) There were some critics , but the majority of Americans welcomed Roosevelt 's policies He set up a special session of congress that lasted 100 days and was geared towards the passage of legislation that created the Agriculture Adjustment Administration , to support farm prices , and the Civilian Conversation Corps , to employ young men . The country was faced with an unemployment rate of 30 , but FDR 's efforts proved his compassion for the American people and his empathy despite the fact of his privileged birth

Roosevelt had gained extreme popularity with the American people and easily attained the Presidency for a second term . Roosevelt was faced with offense from the Supreme Court stating that some of his New Deal policies went against the principles of the United States Constitution Roosevelt attempted to add new justices to the Supreme Court that would be more tolerant of his policies . However , many even in his own party opposed him in this attempt to pack the court , and the Congress defeated it (notablebiographies .com /Ro-Sc /Roosevelt-Franklin-D .html ) This developed a bitter rapport between FDR and Congress . But , despite this scarred relationship , FDR ran for a third term

The presidential campaign of 1940 was the climax of Roosevelt 's...