Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidency, Research Paper Example

The Great Depression was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized world, starting in 1929 and lasting until 1939. By the late 1932, the combined value of the stock market had fallen to about 20 percent of their 1929 level and by 1933, 11,000 of the United States’ 25,000 banks had failed due to insolvency. By 1932, U.S. manufacturing output stood at only 54% of its 1929 level while the unemployment rate stood at a record 25-30 percent[1]. Herbert Hoover was the U.S. President at the time of the Great Depression start but he believed that the market forces had the ability to correct themselves and refused to authorize large scale relief programs as well as federal dollars to stimulate the nation’s economy[2].

Franklin Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States[3]. In a sharp contrast to Hoover as well as the dominant capitalist ideals of the time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a huge believer in the government’s role in managing national economy. President Roosevelt believed in American capitalism but he also believed that capitalism requires government intervention to function properly[4]. President Roosevelt also believed that putting people to work is more important than anything else and the government intervention should take place with the intention of putting nation’s idle factors of production into work[5].

President Roosevelt took active measures to kept himself knowledgable and informed which may be why he had immense confidence in his visions and strategies. understood the importance of different point of views which is why he often employed cabinet members and advisors with differing ideologies. This helped the president being exposed to different ideas which would help him make more effective decisions. The fact the Roosevelt era is marked by unprecedented government intervention in economic affairs[6] shows that Roosevelt didn’t constraint himself with conventional wisdoms.

Historians divide President Roosevelt’s domestic policies into three eras for the sake of scholastic research and historical analysis but only first two eras are historically significant. During the First New Deal which lasted from 1933 to 1935, President Roosevelt temporarily closed banks to halt bank panics and passed recover legislation to set up agencies such as Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) to support farm prices and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to employ young men. He also passed the Securities Act which required corporations and stockbrokers to release accurate information to the public as well as the Glass-Steagall Act which created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In 1934, the Securities and Exchange Act created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the financial markets. President Roosevelt also helped pass the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) which created Public Works Administration (PWA) in order to revive the national economy by creating jobs and ordering materials from American manufacturers[7].

The Second New Deal which lasted from 1935 to 1938, began with a shift in President Roosevelt’s policy direction due to growing opposition from both the left and the right as well as from within his own party ranks. The critics of the First New Deal argued that it ignored the very people it was supposed to help such as the poorly, the elderly, and the working class. President Roosevelt also felt pressure as Supreme Court struck down some of the most important pieces of New Deal Legislation. The three most important legislations to come out of the Second New Deal were the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Wagner-Connery National Labor Relations Act (the Wagner Act), and the Social Security Act. WPA was intended to provide jobs to Americans through public projects, the Wagner Act provided protection and greater rights to the labor unions, and the Social Security System was designed to provide economic security to Americans in retirement phase of their lives[8]. The Second New Deal was dominated by President Roosevelt’s clashes with the Supreme Court and the Congress which may be why sought to increase his authority and bureaucratic power, for example, by seeking a greater role in budget planning and for calling to bring every executive agency under the control of one of the cabinet departments.

While Roosevelt pursued an aggressive role in government management of domestic affairs, he didn’t show the same enthusiasm for foreign affairs even though he did believe that U.S. had an important role to play in the world. He tried to keep the country out of the WWII that had engulfed most of Europe. Ideologically, Americans were supporting the Allied forces but they hoped to stay out of the war. Before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the debate was going between two main groups: Isolationists who wanted to keep America out of the war and the Interventionist who wanted America to fight alongside the Allied forces. But after Pearl Harbor attack, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the Congress to pass a declaration of war and the Congress declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941[9].

President Roosevelt together with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged to work for a post-war world which would be founded on Four Freedoms that were freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every person to worship god in his own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These Four Freedoms were meant to work for a world in which all inhabitants of the world can exercise free speech and not punished for their beliefs as Jews were by the Germans. It also stressed the need of economic prosperity and reduction of arms to create a peaceful world[10].

President Roosevelt deserves a great credit for helping the nation recover from the Great Depression and his New Deal was a solid proof of his wisdom as well as courage to challenge the norms. In order to achieve his objectives, President Roosevelt also sought greater political power but one of the reasons was to protect New Deal policies and bring greater performance efficiency in the government. President Roosevelt also adopted a cautionary approach towards foreign affairs in order to maintain a positive image of the country and avoid unnecessary waste of the nation’s military resources and finances. It is no wonder that President Roosevelt is considered the second grestest U.S. President of all times, only behind Abraham Lincoln and ahead of other great presidents such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (Leuchtenburg).

References

Foner, Eric. “Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Greater Security for the Average Man” (1934).” Voices of Freedom. W.W. Norton Company, Inc., n.d. 172-173.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Biographies. 9 April 2012 <http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/education/resources/biographies.html>.

History. Franklin D. Roosevelt. 9 April 2012 <http://www.history.com/topics/franklin-d-roosevelt>.

Leuchtenburg, William E. The FDR Years . 9 April 2012 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/fdryears.htm>.

Miller Center, University of Virginia. Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Domestic Affairs. 9 April 2012 <http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/4>.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs. 9 April 2012 <http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/5>.

United States History. Herbert Hoover. 9 April 2012 <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1580.html>.

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. About the Great Depression. 9 April 2012 <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/about.htm>.

[1] About the Great Depression, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 9 April 2012 <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/about.htm>

[2] Herbert Hoover, United States History, 9 April 2012 <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1580.html>

[3] Biographies, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 9 April 2012 <http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/education/resources/biographies.html>

[4] Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Domestic Affairs, Miller Center, University of Virginia, 9 April 2012 <http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/4>

[5] Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom (W.W. Norton Company, Inc., n.d.), Greater Security for the Average Man (1934), 172-173

[6] Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Domestic Affairs, Miller Center, University of Virginia, 9 April 2012 <http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/4>

[7] Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Domestic Affairs, Miller Center, University of Virginia, 9 April 2012 <http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/4>

[8] Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Domestic Affairs, Miller Center, University of Virginia, 9 April 2012 <http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/4>

[9] Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs, Miller Center, University of Virginia, 9 April 2012 < http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/5>

[10] Franklin D. Roosevelt, History, 9 April 2012 <http://www.history.com/topics/franklin-d-roosevelt>