FDR\'s Use of Charisma During

FDR's use of Charisma during his term as president of 'The United States of America'

Franklin Delano Roosevelt left an indelible imprint upon the history of America and American law. Thanks to FDR, America weathered a Great Depression, a World War, and the social programs he instituted during his tenure, such as Social Security, have become accepted parts of the American system. His charismatic yet comforting presence during his frequent fireside radio chats with the American people made the populace feel as if they knew their leader intimately as a friend. This helped bolster the confidence of the American people after the Great Depression, and throughout World War II. FDR was in many respects America's first people's president, thanks to the availability of radio. But to the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Congress, he was a less charming companion.

FDR's tremendous popularity enabled him to strong-arm an alphabet soup of social programs through the U.S. Congress, to alleviate the Great Depression. When these programs were challenged, he directly appealed to the American public for support. He even considered at one point enlarging the number of justices on the Supreme Court, so he could pack the court and pass the programs he felt were necessary to wrest America out of its economic downslide. Although historian Roy Jenkins has much praise for FDR, he also notes that FDR could be blindly self-serving in the sense that this president equated the personal success of his efforts with the success of America.

FDR used his popularity and charisma to support the nation, but also to at times undercut the legal system of the nation. Later, with the Lend-Lease program before the outbreak of World War II, FDR was able to extend aid to the Allied nations of Europe, such as Great Britain; even while the isolationist congress officially opposed any American partisanship in regards to the war. Jenkins is critical of some of FDR's actions in office, such as his internment of Japanese-Americans, which had dubious security value and constitutional legality. While FDR's leadership and guidance saved many American lives, he also destroyed many lives of American citizens, simply because of their ethnic origin.

However, without FDR's independence and firm guidance, which motivated America to support providing aid to England during the bombing of Britain, it is very likely that World War II would have turned against the European Allies. The congress was intent upon keeping America out of another world war, and the Lend-Lease program was the only way to prevent the balance of power from going against England. Jenkins demonstrates that it is highly unlikely that FDR 'knew' and permitted the Japanese to bomb Pearl Harbor, but he stresses that long before much of the nation and the congress were aware of Hitler's danger to America's interests, Roosevelt made a commitment to making America an international partner in the fight for freedom and justice abroad.