FDR: New Deal and Later Years
A look at FDR, the Great Depression, the New Deal and World War II.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt led America through some of the darkest days in its history. Upon his inauguration in 1933, the Great Depression had taken its terrible hold throughout the land, and he was faced with the nation's need for "long-term fixes" on a scale never before presented to an American president. The economy was in a shambles, and tens of millions of people were unemployed. Recovery would require a major boosting of the economy. Roosevelt, believing in the power of change, brought his proposals for relief and reform into the living rooms of the American public with his series of "fireside chats." He gave hope to bruised morale with his famous slogan, "We have nothing to fear except fear itself."
During World War II, Roosevelt took a defiant stand against the murderous regime of Adolph Hitler, and made America "the Arsenal of Democracy" as the principal arms supplier of the Allied forces. His term saw the end of unemployment, the restoration of prosperity, the establishment of the Social Security System and important changes in taxation and constitutional law. He also helped to shape post-war policies though his efforts at the Yalta Conference and the formation of the United Nations.
His administration redefined the concept of liberalism for many generations to come. On a poignant note, the man who was the only one to ever serve more than two terms as president and who led America to victory through its darkest hours, died on the eve of victory in World War Ii, almost as if his job was done and it was time to go.
And in a certain sense, it was.
Read on to learn more about this amazing man.
