Franklin D. Roosevelt: American Icon

¶ … Era Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1945: A Brief History With Documents Richard Polenberg -- 4 Polenberg quotes, brackets quote i.e [polenberg, page number] 2.Franklin Delano Roosevelt Alan Brinkley- 4 quotes brackets [Brinkley, page number] 3.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt has had a strong impact on U.S. politics for several decades during the twentieth century. The fact that he had influential roles throughout some of the era's most significant events made it possible for him to develop attitudes that put him in an advantage. Even with this, his leadership abilities are also remarkable when considering his background without taking into account events like the Second World War or the Great Depression.

One Roosevelt's most impressive early achievements involved the founding of the United States Navy Reserve. As a person in charge of this institution, he got actively involved in a series of dealings involving influential individuals and communities in U.S. politics. In spite of being defeated on several occasions as he tried to gain a more active role in politics, he cemented his position in the domain and made it possible for people to get a more complex understanding of his qualities.

By observing how Roosevelt reacted to the Great Depression, one can get a better grasp of his philosophy -- he was determined to assist the masses regardless of the gravity of the situation. "Roosevelt was acutely aware of these challenges to his leadership, and he responded aggressively with a wave of new initiatives that came to be known as the "Second New Deal." (Brinkley 1928)

To a certain degree, it would be safe to say that the U.S.' involvement in the Second World War helped it recover faster from the problems it had as a consequence of the economic crisis in the 1930s. "At home, wartime spending ended the Depression and launched a period of vigorous economic growth." (Brinkley 1941) This enabled Roosevelt to direct his attention toward providing a solution both to economic problems and to the war.

Roosevelt acknowledged the suffering the war could inflict on the American peoples and thus concentrated on strategies that could put the nation at an advantage. "Unknown to all but a few, the United States was by then far along in an effort Roosevelt had authorized early in the war: the Manhattan Project." (Brinkley 1946) The project involving the atomic bomb was practically a means to use a limited number of soldiers while dealing a blow that could destabilize the enemy.