Franklin D. Roosevelt's economic and political goals during World War Two

WW2

For FDR, the Second World War served as a vital opportunity to revitalize the American economy after years of depression. Therefore, a large part of Roosevelt's justifications, ideas, and visions of the war centered on the economy. The war boosted employment levels, helped involve more women in the workforce, and propelled the industrial development of the nation. The war machine offered impetus for financial investments in industry as well as impetus for developing new technology. In fact, the war era led directly to the consumer culture that was to rise to the fore in the Truman years. Roosevelt had also promoted a bigger federal government even in the years prior to entering the war. The war gave the president the ultimate excuse to further his New Deal plans for greater federal powers.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor served as a convenient excuse to shed America's neutrality and enter into the war on the Allied side in December 1941. Roosevelt has been often accused of wanting to go to war far before the Japanese attack: Hamilton Fish, a Republican congressman who stood in direct opposition to Roosevelt's war polices, stated of the President, "He would have gotten us into the war six months or a year before Pearl Harbor."

During the course of World War Two, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt justified the war effort through increased use of propaganda, stimulating public opinion via clever ideas like war bonds, and envisioned a wealthier, more powerful America. Investing in war bonds became a means for ordinary Americans to feel like they were integral in promoting peace and democracy everywhere. The rise of communism and the military threats it implied especially by the Soviet Union immensely assisted Roosevelt's war efforts.