FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (Part 2)
Second Term: As casually mentioned, President Roosevelt had signed the Social Security Act into law and, as we know, that gives Senior Citizens some financial security, or at least until they vote for the morons that have always wanted to take it away from them.
The second term started with a bit of controversy as FDR made an attempt to pack the court with justices that would support his New Deal policies. The idea didn’t float well with Congress, however, and they ended up just passing a bill that gave justices over 70 full retirement benefits. No retirements were forthcoming however, and Roosevelt would take a pretty big political hit. However, some justices received the message and voted the National Labor Relations Act and the Social Security Act constitutional, and Roosevelt could breathe a bit of a sigh of relief.
By 1937, the situation in Europe was getting more tense as Hitler was beginning to flex his military muscles. In response and, knowing the Americans’ reluctance to fight another war in Europe, FDR signed the third neutrality act of his presidency which prohibited the shipping of arms and munitions to belligerents. He did approve of non-miliary sales to belligerents in something called Cash and Carry. This was an underhanded way to help Britain and France mostly as Roosevelt was clearly appalled by the human rights violations and warmongering going on in Germany in particular.
There was finally a judicial retirement and FDR made one of the most famous appointments in history in the liberal Hugo Black. Black supported Roosevelt’s New Deal policies but he was also controversial for being a member of the Ku Klux Klan in his youth.
The economy still continued to sputter despite the first term efforts. Roosevelt had taken a more conservative approach in an attempt to balance the budget, but it was obvious more relief was needed. He was talked into a five billion dollar relief bill to create more jobs, but unemployment still stagnated at a whopping 19%. It didn’t seem like anything more could possibly be done to end this depression. President Roosevelt did get one more thing passed on his domestic agenda however as the government established the minimum wage and the 40 hour work week.
Ironically, Adolf Hitler, inadvertently, would come to the rescue though not in the way anyone would have wanted. In 1938 he invaded and took over Austria. Later in the year he made a deal with “Peace in Our Time” Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of Britain, and quickly rolled over Czechoslovakia. Now, the United States was beginning to take notice. By the end of the year, Roosevelt had recalled the American ambassador to Germany over the anti-Jewish activities there.
In 1939, everything went full blown as Italy, having already conquered Ethiopia, was now invading Albania. Germany, meanwhile, after conquering Czechoslovakia, was threatening to invade Poland even as England and France vowed to defend Poland in that situation. President Roosevelt too was concerned, and he sought to cement the alliance with Britain. The US wouldn’t enter the war, of course; public sentiment would have had FDR’s head on a silver platter. But he could help in economic ways. He dropped the arms embargo while revising the neutrality law. Relations with Japan were also in tatters so the trade agreement with the military aggressor was terminated.
On September 1, 1939, the inevitable happened; Germany invaded Poland. France and Britain declared war two days later but the US, thanks to public pressure, declared neutrality.
The truth is, though, Roosevelt wasn’t comfortable with abandoning his European friends in time of need, so he was able to pass Lend and Lease laws in 1940. Germany, by now, was invading practically all of Europe and even had an Axis pact with Italy and Japan. Mussolini was trying to conquer Africa while Japan wanted all of Asia. That left Europe at the mercy of Hitler and by the summer of 1940, he had conquered Norway, Denmark, Holland, and worse of all, France. On top of that, the Luftwaffe was bombing London on a daily basis. This, needless to say, was upsetting the American public though not enough to enter the war themselves. This brought Roosevelt to declare non-belligerency as opposed to neutrality, essentially giving moral and economic support to Britain and France.
Most Americans approved of this happy medium but there was a group known as America First that wanted to stay out of the war altogether. One of its most prominent spokespeople happened to be Charles Lindbergh who must have thought people would reject the call to defend the rest of Europe from Germany. Instead, it would backfire in his face.
As for Roosevelt, he made what would be a controversial decision of his own. With the prospect of the US eventually entering the war (he would implement a peacetime draft just for that inevitability), he announced that he would seek an unprecedented third term.
Election of 1940: FDR has stated that he would only run for a third term if the situation in Europe deteriorated and if there was a draft movement for him. With Nazi Germany running amok all over Europe by the Spring of 1940, the first condition had been met. The only question now was if there would be a draft Roosevelt movement. The second condition was met, sort of, and Chicago Ed Kelly organized his own Draft Roosevelt movement, but others in his party, including Vice President Garner (who wasn’t going to run with FDR this time around), disagreed with Roosevelt breaking the two term limit tradition, never a law, but always assumed.
He also had some resistance from Southern Democrats (or the Dixiecrats) when he chose ultra-liberal Henry Wallace to be his running mate. Nevertheless, Roosevelt had no problem getting a third nomination.
As for the Republicans, they were considerably more organized than they had been in 1936 and went with Wendell Willkie of Indiana. A former Democrat, he actually supported FDR for much of the New Deal and, in some aspects, the platforms, at least economically, seemed fairly similar.
The gloves came off near election time, however, as Willkie railed at FDR’s quest for a third term while indicating that a third FDR term would mean the US would be at war. Roosevelt denied the accusation pledging that the US would not get involved in any foreign war. Sort of like the Woodrow Wilson pledge, “He kept us out of war.”
Though the candidates themselves were rather civil (they basically liked each other personally), the campaigns began to get down and dirty. In the end, it didn’t matter, however; Roosevelt again won by a comfortable margin though the Republicans did fare a bit better than they had in 1936.
Third Term: 1941 would prove to be arguably the most eventful year in American history. America was finally beginning to see the Great Depression in their rear view mirror since Roosevelt had more or less put America on a war footing. No, the United States wasn’t physically in the war, but with Cash and Carry and Lend-Lease bills supporting the Allies in Europe, war production was on all cylinders, meaning jobs were now becoming plenty.
Of course, the World War was the first thing on everyone’s mind and there was still a very vocal isolationist movement, some of whom were actually German (though not necessarily Nazi) sympathizers. One wonders if Lindbergh (who actually did meet Hitler) fell into the sympathizer category.
There was a problem on two fronts globally of course, while the American public was more transfixed on what was happening in Europe (Edward R. Murrow’s news reports during the bombings of London were listened to by millions), they were less aware of the threat in the Pacific. Militaristic Japan was set on conquering virtually all of Asia and even had eyes on Australia. All of this was affecting American interests obviously and relations between the two nations were near the breaking point. As such, Japan sent an envoy to negotiate a peace settlement with the US.
Of course, as we now know, and probably unknown to the Japanese envoy, it was all a ruse. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States territory. The isolationist movement fizzled in a matter of hours and the United States was at war.
And President Roosevelt was ready. He had anticipated the inevitability of war, possibly with Japan for certain, and he had implemented a peace draft the year before while setting aside more funds for defense. In some ways the Lend-Lease program had been a stalling tactic, so the US had time to prepare for its inevitable involvement in the war.
And, after the United States and Japan formally declared war on each other, Germany and Italy gave Europe an inadvertent gift when they declared war on the United States. The United States was in the European war as well and, basically, the Americans and British would be major factors in both Europe and Asia.
Of course, the three axis powers were constantly shooting themselves in the foot by 1942. Italy was beginning to bite off more than they could chew in Africa. Germany was in Africa too and they were faring better under Rommel, but Hitler miscalculated when he thought he could bomb England to submission as some guy named Winston Churchill had something to say about that. An even bigger, and probably fatal, faux pas, was the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Things were going swimmingly for a while and they were within miles of Moscow, then the Russian winter set in and the Germans were not prepared. Instead, the tide turned, and Russia began their slow methodical advance to drive the Germans all the way back to Berlin.
Meanwhile, in the United States, as men left for the front lines, women began to take over the jobs in the factories, all with the support of the President. President Roosevelt also took advantage of the war situation by passing some legislation that helped minorities get fair and equal treatment at the workplace. Rationing became a way of life, victory gardens were planted, women sacrificed their nylons for the war cause. And Unions pledged not to strike, and, with a couple of exceptions, they didn’t. Everyone seemed to work together for the most part and, indeed, they had to. A would under Hitler or Tojo was definitely not something that was wanted.
The war also caused a lot of xenophobia in the nation too, sadly, and while Life was briefly a little easier for African-Americans at least (many of whom were fighting bravely in the war), it would be hell for Japanese-Americans. Because of public paranoia, all aliens were forced to register with the government. Germans, Italians, and Japanese were especially singled out, but it was the Japanese who would receive the brunt of the racism. President Roosevelt ordered all Japanese, including American citizens, to live in internment camps during the course of the war. The conditions were mediocre at best and barely livable in some instances. It is the one major flaw in an otherwise solid presidency.
The war effort was slowly turning the Allies way by 1943. The US scored some major naval victories against Japan to the point where Japan would never really recover. Europe was a tougher nut to crack, primarily with Germany, but even there, things were looking up. The Russians now had their counter-offensive going and the best Germany could do on the Western front was settle for the occasional stalemate. They still occupied much of Europe, notably France, Holland, Norway, and some other countries. But there was a sense that the tide was ready to turn, especially after Mussolini fell from power in Italy and the Italians switched sides.
And, in 1944, the tide did turn in the form of what is now known as D-Day. On June 6, 1944, an Allied invasion, coordinated by General Dwight Eisenhower, stormed the beaches at Normandy, overwhelming the Germans. Within weeks, the Allies liberated Paris and now had their own counteroffensive that would end in victory in Berlin.
And President Roosevelt, in between his frequent meetings with Churchill and Stalin to discuss the war effort, was already in motion to establish relief for Europe once the war was over. The groundwork for what would become the United Nations would also be underway in 1944.
The war was going well, and the end looked as if it was in sight. The economy was never better. And, despite the ill thought out imprisonment of innocent Japanese Americans (FDR apparently forgot his own message of the only thing to fear is fear itself), civil rights had taken a tentative step forward as had the rights of women in the workplace (though just as tentative).
But Roosevelt’s health was fading by 1944 and one would think he would have wanted to retire. But he wanted to see the war to its conclusion (and the Pacific theatre still had no end in sight at this point).
So, he announced his bid for a fourth term.
Election of 1944: Despite obviously suffering from poor health, Roosevelt made it be known he was willing to run for a fourth term. This time, and likely smelling an easy victory, there was little opposition in the party as President Roosevelt was as popular as ever. Thus, it was a near unanimous vote on the first ballot.
The Vice Presidency was another matter. There was a feeling within the party that FDR wouldn’t survive a fourth term and they really didn’t want the liberal Henry Wallace in the White House (he was even accused, erroneously, by some as a Communist). So, they went for the relatively unknown Senator from Missouri, Harry Truman. A strange pick for someone they thought might replace Roosevelt, but sometimes you get lucky.
The Republicans were also fairly united as they went with the liberal Republican, Thomas Dewey, the Governor of New York. Like Willkie, he didn’t differ that much from Roosevelt. Like Roosevelt, he supported the concept of a United Nations. He basically also supported the New Deal only criticizing that it needed to be more efficient. He did note that FDR himself was an old man (He was actually 62 but he no doubt looked older).
But Roosevelt was still able to muster up his old energy noting that one shouldn’t change horses in mid-stream. Even better, he deflected some of the more ridiculous criticisms raised against him with his own brand of humor, at one point nothing that he doesn’t resent the personal attacks, nor his wife, but his dog on the other hand…
In the end, the election was a foregone conclusion. While not quite a landslide, Roosevelt nonetheless would win by a comfortable margin. Dewey would have to wait another four years to make history (though probably not quite in the way he wanted).
Fourth Term: President Roosevelt, though ailing, still managed one more trip to the Yalta Conference to discuss the final assault on Germany and how they would be treated after the war. By now, both the Russians and Allies were driving deep into Germany, and it was a foregone conclusion that Berlin would fall within a matter of months. The war in the Pacific was also going well as the US recaptured Manila and scored a decisive victory at Iwo Jima too. It only seemed like a matter of time that Japan would also lose though, as per their tradition, surrender was something that was foreign to them.
With the war effort in hand and in need of a break, President Roosevelt decided to go on vacation at his favorite retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia.
Death: As noted, FDR’s health had deteriorated a lot more than the public could have guessed. He had been quite adept, with some help from sympathetic aides, to hide the impact of his polio from the public. He was equally adept with hiding his more recent health ailments.
And it was a laundry list that included various heart ailments, high blood pressure, bronchitis and, of course, the always lingering effects of polio.
On April 12, 1945, President Roosevelt was sitting for a portrait when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. He would never regain consciousness and died three hours later.
This, of course, sent shockwaves in Washington as Harry Truman was sworn in as soon as he heard the news. He famously asked the now widowed Eleanor if there was anything he could do for her and she replied, “No, Harry, it’s what we can do for you: you’re the one in trouble now.”
Odd notes: FDR established the White House’s first movie theatre.
When the King and Queen of England visited the United States, President Roosevelt took them on a picnic and served them hot dogs. (
ids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/franklin-roosevelt)
After FDR’s presidency, the Republicans managed to pass an Amendment that from then on limited the President to two terms.
Final Summary: Franklin D Roosevelt rates as perhaps the most activist President in our history. He certainly took the initiative as soon as he took office and never seemed to waver, even as his health was declining. He created programs to put people to work and the Social Security program is today the nest egg that the elderly and disabled depend on. He also was a very forward looking President who saw the war signals much sooner than the rest of us did. On top of that, he had an extraordinary First Lady in Eleanor Roosevelt. She was destined to stay in the political arena and served in the United Nations General Assembly. She is the benchmark for the more politically minded First Ladies that we have today.
The one big flaw in Roosevelt’s resume, of course, is the internment of the Japanese-Americans. I’d like to say that was the last atrocity heaped upon a group of people in America but, sadly, I’d be wrong. It wasn’t even the worst atrocity since that time. But it is, nevertheless, a stain on what was otherwise a nearly flawless twelve years.
So, yes, I’m taking points off for that while noting that he did do things to improve life for minorities though not quite to the point where he alienated the South. We’ll save that for his successor. By the way, he was one of the first Presidents to have women in his Administration as well.
Anyway, given the times he lived in, and despite the brief xenophobia, he still has to rate as one of the best five Presidents in history.
I’ll still take Teddy though.
Overall rating: A-
https://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt