American Presidents
The Election of 1932
The campaign for president was conducted under the shadow of the Great Depression and Franklin Roosevelt won by forming his own national coalition against Hoover with powerful allies such as William Randolph Hearst, Joseph P. Kennedy and California leader, William G. McAdoo. Franklin Roosevelt devised a New Deal Coalition, which consisted of the poor, organized labor, ethnic minorities and Southern whites. The phrase "new deal" came fromFranklin Roosevelt's campaign pledge to offer "a new deal for the American people."
The First Term and The First New Deal: 1933-1937
Franklin Roosevelt created the New Deal to provide relief for the unemployed, recovery of the economy and reform of the economic system. His series of radio speeches known as "fireside chats" brought him closer to the American public as Franklin Roosevelt presented his proposals directly to them. His most important achievements in this vein include the Social Security System and the regulation of Wall Street. Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal coalition dominated politics well into the 1960s. "The First 100 Days" concentrated on immediate relief by passing a record number of bills though Congress.
Roosevelt and The Supreme Court
Franklin Roosevelt's Second New Deal challenged the business community, but it failed despite the leadership of Conservative Democrat, Al Smith. The labor unions supported by the Wagner Act, however, signed up millions of new members and became the major backers of Roosevelt's re-elections in 1936, 1940 and 1944. Because Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected by such a heavy margin, he felt the American public was behind him, and he sought to enlarge the Supreme Court, which up to that time had been blocking important New Deal legislation. While Franklin Roosevelt lost the battle, he won the war, so to speak, because the result was a revolution in constitutional law.
World War II and Death
After 1938, Franklin Roosevelt supported Winston Churchill and the British war effort. America became the Arsenal of Democracy
as he took a stand against Nazi Germany, making the United States the primary backer of the Allies and putting 16 million men and women into uniform after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Franklin Roosevelt played a critical role in shaping the post-war world as well, particularly through the Yalta Conference and the creation of the United Nations. Franklin Roosevelt's health deteriorated, and on April 12, 1945, the only president in American history ever to have served more than two terms in office died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
See also:
"The Indian Reorganization Act"
"Roosevelt: Childhood and Polio"
