Franklin D Roosevelt's Failures

Through the years of United States’ history, there have been numerous effective and ineffective leaders. One of these successful individuals is Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States. He was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York to a prominent family, making his education easily acquired and more prestigious than most. He was taught by private tutors until the age of nine, and is described as sociable, quick, and outgoing (Freidel 9). Eventually, he attended Harvard and Columbia Law School, which he dropped out of after passing the New York State Bar Exam to become a lawyer. The education aspect of his life aided his intellectual self, but he had the capacity without the extravagant education, and it also allowed
his networking to grow. One important figure in his life was his distant cousin Eleanor Roosevelt; whom he married in 1905 (Frank). In 1918, Eleanor found out of an affair Roosevelt was having with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer. This scandal almost ended in a divorce, but that would have meant the end Roosevelt’s political career and so they were convinced to stay together.
Roosevelt enters politics as a Democrat because his family were Democrats and that was the party that nominated him (Freidel 17). He feared that this would disappoint Theodore Roosevelt, his fifth cousin 26th president of the United States. Although Theodore would rather have been Franklin as a Republican, Theodore did not object. It was through opportunities such as being the Assistant Secretary of Navy under President Woodrow Wilson and governor of New York that Roosevelt learned. He reported that it wasn’t from the classroom that he was able to learn anything about the economy, but through trial and error.
Furthermore, at the age of 39, in 1921, Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio, which paralyzed him from the waist down; support from loved ones were necessary. He went through physical therapy and intensive treatments but nothing but warm waters showed any, if at all, improvement. Warm Springs in Georgia became a main interest in Roosevelt’s life because there he discovered he could walk the best in the water’s temperature. He even turned the place into a treatment center for people who suffered from polio (Freidel 46). However, polio did not prevent him from pursuing any government positions, he worked his way up and became president in 1933 when he defeated Herbert Hoover (Shmoop Editorial Team). During Roosevelt’s extended presidency, he dealt with two of America’s biggest crises and transformed the United States’ government for good. When Roosevelt first came into office, it was during the beginning of the Great Depression, that occurred 1929-1939.
When Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, thirteen million Americans were unemployed and hundreds of banks were closed (Walsh). During his First Hundred Days, he quickly proposed a plan known as the First New Deal, this provided immediate relief, and worked toward reform and recovery; which became known as the three R’s of his policies (Shmoop Editorial Team). This showed that Roosevelt came into office with ideas that came along with his background in government. He was aware of how to implement and enforce his tactics to the law, thus taking the initiative towards a visionary
change. Additionally, the experience of Roosevelt increased the reliability that many Americans felt towards this president. He had a strong connection to the people by utilizing the ratio to do “fireside chats”, informing them about his intentions and comforting their worries (Walsh). This built a foundation of trust between the nation and the president, which had not been established to such lengths before. Also, this led to the support of a number of Roosevelt’s actions and promoted a more optimistic view during this difficult time. He definitely went to extremes in his efforts to improve the situation for the nation. For example, the swift actions taken in attempt to improve the economy in his First Hundred Days (Shmoop Editorial Team). He truly dedicated himself to the cause, regardless of his own health. During the First Hundred Days, the “Brain Trust” was formed and comprised of economic advisors who designed the “alphabet agencies” because the agencies were known by their initials (Walsh).
Some of these agencies are the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), the Glass Steagall Banking Reform Act, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and National Industrial Recovery Administration (NIRA). The AAA provided relief to farmer by paying them to reduce production; this helped reduce crop surpluses and increase the price of crops. The Glass Steagall Banking Reform Act created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) which backed all bank deposits up to $2,500 so clients did not have to worry about bank failure wiping them out and thus ensured bank existence. The CCC put young men to work on public lands and national parks to reduce unemployment. The NIRA regulated wages and prices, and tightened government and business relationship; this became unconstitutional in 1935. Additionally, other agencies that insured bank deposits, regulated the stock market, subsidized mortgages, and provided relief to the unemployed. In the Second New Deal, Social Security and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) were created; Social Security offers a safety new for unemployed, elderly and people of disabilities; WPA was to further reduce the unemployment
rate. Although Franklin D. Roosevelt improved the United States’ economy from the Great Depression to a certain extent, he had made some unfair implications in his terms of office. As with presidents before and after him, Roosevelt realized that the fairness of all was not possible. Instead, his focus became primarily about the entire nation’s well-being and not necessarily about the minorities. One way Roosevelt achieved improvement was by “New Deal programs [that were] financed by tripling federal taxes from $1.6 billion in 1933 to $5.3 billion in 1940” (Powell). This strategy had the greatest impact among the poor for the taxes resulted in destroying major jobs because businesses had to lay people off in order to make up for the extra expense.