Fdr American Hero
Matthew Zeppieri
Mr. Kilgallin
AP Language and Composition
30 April 2013
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, An American Hero During Depression On March 4th, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took the oath of office for President of the United States, having defeated the incumbent Republican president, Herbert Hoover. President Roosevelt initiated his major political legislation, known as the New Deal, during his famous first one hundred days as President, changing the landscape of American politics. During this time in American history, President Roosevelt started to deliver his famous “fireside chats” over the radio, explaining what he had planned for the country in the coming future. In these first one hundred days, the Congress at that time came to be known as the Hundred Days Congress for passing nearly all the important bills that he requested to help the common man in America (World Book 416). Not all of these acts of legislation were ultimately successful. President Roosevelt ended many of his programs after a short while, and then would present a new bill to counteract what he did not like in the previous acts of legislation. President Roosevelt served the American people with charisma and fearless actions during a unique time in our country’s history, but one issue that occurred during his presidency was the famous “court packing” issue. In 1937, President Roosevelt introduced the Judiciary Reorganization Bill which would have added a judge to the Supreme Court for every current judge over the age of seventy-and-a-half. This bill went straight into controversy as people across the nation, supporters of Roosevelt and non-supporters alike, feared that President Roosevelt might become a power hungry leader and “pack” the Supreme Court with judges who would be biased towards the New Deal (417). President Roosevelt, during the midst of The Great Depression, did not use his role as President to become a man who sought for power, but a true American hero who
Mr. Kilgallin
AP Language and Composition
30 April 2013
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, An American Hero During Depression On March 4th, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took the oath of office for President of the United States, having defeated the incumbent Republican president, Herbert Hoover. President Roosevelt initiated his major political legislation, known as the New Deal, during his famous first one hundred days as President, changing the landscape of American politics. During this time in American history, President Roosevelt started to deliver his famous “fireside chats” over the radio, explaining what he had planned for the country in the coming future. In these first one hundred days, the Congress at that time came to be known as the Hundred Days Congress for passing nearly all the important bills that he requested to help the common man in America (World Book 416). Not all of these acts of legislation were ultimately successful. President Roosevelt ended many of his programs after a short while, and then would present a new bill to counteract what he did not like in the previous acts of legislation. President Roosevelt served the American people with charisma and fearless actions during a unique time in our country’s history, but one issue that occurred during his presidency was the famous “court packing” issue. In 1937, President Roosevelt introduced the Judiciary Reorganization Bill which would have added a judge to the Supreme Court for every current judge over the age of seventy-and-a-half. This bill went straight into controversy as people across the nation, supporters of Roosevelt and non-supporters alike, feared that President Roosevelt might become a power hungry leader and “pack” the Supreme Court with judges who would be biased towards the New Deal (417). President Roosevelt, during the midst of The Great Depression, did not use his role as President to become a man who sought for power, but a true American hero who
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