Franklin D. Roosevelt the United

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The United States can be considered to be the result of its presidents and of the politics they undergone. More importantly however, almost all the presidents of the United States are considered to have been leaders in their own times. From this point-of-view, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is one of the most influential and most powerful men in the history of the U.S. And of the world. His time in office was the longest of an American president, the challenges he faced were some of the toughest, and despite it all he led the United States out from a crisis the U.S. would emerge victoriously and into a war it would win. However, these are all characteristics of a man who was born to become a leader and succeed in his endeavors, despite all the challenges of history.

There are numerous books written on the personality of FD Roosevelt and on his leadership. "The Exemplary Presidency: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the American Political Tradition" by Phillip Abbot focuses however not necessarily on the personality of the former president but rather more on the actual premises which led to his becoming and which defined the guidelines for his leadership.

The challenges identified by the author are the ones traditionally considered for Roosevelt's era. More precisely, "FDR may be credited with holding the nation together during the catastrophe of the Great Depression, patching together a welfare state American-style, and bringing a reluctant citizenry to support the embattled nations of Europe" (1990, ix). In this sense, the author identifies the Crisis of 1929-32 as being the cornerstone for the Roosevelt Administration. At that moment in time, the entire population was in disarray from an economic and social point-of-view. In Europe, as well as in the United States, there was a constant desire to break away from the premises of the economic crisis and manage to reconstruct their nations.

Another crucial element at the beginning of the Roosevelt Administration was the reconstruction attempts. More precisely, they had to focus on the best means available for reconstructing the country as well as its citizens. Finally, the Second World War and all the political elements it entangled played a significant role in the way in which the United States would reshape its place in the world in the second half of the 20th century. Most importantly, however at this point was winning the war as well as the peace. Unlike the current situation in Iraq where it is a lot more difficult to win the hearts and minds of the people than to actually achieve military dominance, during Roosevelt's Administration and especially considering the conditions of the global war, the president was faced with a much more difficult situation. On the one hand, he had to win the actual war, and on the other hand, to construct the peace (Schlesinger, 2003).

Taking into account the challenges Roosevelt had to face, Abbot points out the actions he underwent but not from a military or functional point-of-view, but rather in the beginning from the point-of-view of the ideology that drove Roosevelt forward. In this sense, it has been argued that in fact Roosevelt was a mix of several presidents. Thus, "FDR always professed puzzlement when asked directly about his own political philosophy. He was a Christian and a Democrat" an assessment Abbot agrees with (1990, 4). This self-assessment came from the consideration the president had for both Hamilton and Jefferson as two of the most important figures in American history. Therefore, the strength and the power to succeed came precisely from the 18th century spirit of the Revolution and of the empowerment of the American democracy.

Roosevelt addressed the challenges he faced in a very pragmatic manner. While running for president, he underlined the need for employment as a result of the 1929 crisis. More precisely even, in order to reach the highest position in the United States, he used his conceptions regarding the reorganization of the United States in order to defeat Hoover. In this sense, "the Hoover administration was accused of being the "greatest spending Administration in peace times in all of our history." It had "piled bureau on bureau, commission on commission..." At the same time Hoover was condemned for the modesty of his relief efforts" (Abbot, 1990, 22). Still, once he reached the President's office he dwelt on the need for the U.S. To recover and created the New Deal, a program that would ensure the recovery of the economy as well as that of the population. These discussions however made him one of the most popular presidents of the history of the U.S. especially taking into account the fact that at the moment of Roosevelt's election, there were over 13 million unemployed (Abbot, 1990, 4).

Concerning the reconstruction of the country, he introduced measures which were considered at the time to be of socialist nature. However, despite the general opposition he went forward with them because he believed in the power of his conviction and in the benefits the New Deal would bring for the national economy as well as for the citizens of the United States.

Winning the war and the emergence of a new peace would prove to be the most challenging and health consuming of all its endeavors as president of the United States. He proved to be a world leader at the moment of the meetings with Churchill and Stalin in order to establish the new equilibrium of power. Most importantly however, he knew when to enter a war in order to win it (Abbot, 1990). From this point-of-view, he accepted the advice of his counselors and offered the image of a diplomacy which followed the national interest in the first place.

The greatest challenge can be considered to be the establishment of peace. This is not necessarily from the point-of-view of the end of the hostilities, but rather from that of the peace that would be established. In this sense, Roosevelt tried along with his team to build a consensus around the idea of the United Nations as a global organization that would ensure peace and security for the decades to come. The engagement of the U.S. In the United Nations was considered a success for President Roosevelt as well as for his administration (Abbot, 1990).