President Franklin D. Roosevelt – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Johnathon Forgione
Mr. Matz
Honors Government and Law Period 4
Thursday, November 19, 2009
President Franklin D. Roosevelt – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Many people are led to believe that good, bad, and ugly are purely objective, and that is where they go wrong, while good and bad may or may not be subject to personal judgment, weather someone is ugly or not is a fact. And this man was by no means ugly, Standing at 6 feet 2 inches tall with brown hair and gray-blue eyes this was a man to reckon with. But dashing good looks aside Franklin Delano Roosevelt was truly a man to reckon with.
Roosevelt began his political career as any respectable politician should, by gathering experience in offices both close to the people and in the inner workings of the government itself. Roosevelt worked as both the assistant secretary of the navy, appointed by president Woodrow Wilson, from 1913 to 1920 and he was also the Governor of New York from 1928 to 1932. By having such a broad range of experience, with an equally impressive amount of time backing him, Roosevelt had wonderful credentials for running for office.
Franklin D. Roosevelt is probably best known for how he took head-on one of the largest crises in American history since the Civil War, the Great Depression. Roosevelt was getting himself into some tough work, but he had a good head on his shoulders, he had worked in his own way to help bring relief to his own people while he was Governor of New York. He did what many presidents are fearful of doing, what our government is meant to do when needed, to directly lend its power and help to the people. Roosevelt realized the need for direct, swift, and effective relief for the people of the United States. He accomplished this through his “New Deal” Program which was an implementation of various agencies and programs aimed at getting America back on its feet. “During his first “100 Days” Roosevelt worked with a special session of Congress to pass recovery legislation which set up alphabet agencies such as the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration) to support farm prices and the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) to employ young men. Other agencies insured bank deposits, regulated the stock market and aided the unemployed.” (FDR library) His New Deal policies helped to start American recovery from the depression, yet he did not think it was enough. FDR wanted to remove any and all opposition to his New Deal policies and in “In 1937 he proposed to add new justices to the Supreme Court, but critics said he was "packing" the Court and undermining the separation of powers.” (FDR Library) In 1939 Roosevelt 's focus drifted from recovery to readiness as war broke out in Europe with the Beginning of WWII. He began to attempt to make aid available to France, Great Britain and China as well as building up the armed forces. FDR knew that war was inevitable and worked against isolationists to ready the nation. The fall of France in 1940 changed the country 's attitude dramatically, FRD enacted the lend-lease policy and attempted to help preserve the democracies of Europe. America officially entered the war with one of the worst travesties of our history, the surprise bombings of Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt actively followed through with his role as Commander-in-Chief and carried America towards victory. Roosevelt 's unrelenting work both in the Nation itself and abroad at war were such that no other president has ever had to work through. Franklin Delano Roosevelt eventually wore himself out after serving his country for fourteen years, taking the ultimate sacrifice for his country which he loved so much. He died April 12, 1945 in Warm Springs Georgia after a stroke.
Works Cited
"Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt." Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. National Archives. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/education/resources/bio_fdr.html>.
"Franklin D. Roosevelt |." The White House. The White House. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/franklindroosevelt>.
Rozell, Mark J., and William D. Pederson, eds. FDR and the modern presidency leadership and legacy. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 1997. Print.

Cited: "Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt." Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. National Archives. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. &lt;http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/education/resources/bio_fdr.html&gt;. "Franklin D. Roosevelt |." The White House. The White House. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. &lt;http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/franklindroosevelt&gt;. Rozell, Mark J., and William D. Pederson, eds. FDR and the modern presidency leadership and legacy. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 1997. Print.