Franklin D. Roosevelt: Contemporary Heroes And Hero
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Franklin D Roosevelt
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance,” (Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). This quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt is considered his greatest and most famous quote. Roosevelt deserves a lifetime achievement award because he helped win World War II against all odds and put programs in place as a part of his “New Deal” to help catapult the country out of the Great Depression (Contemporary Heroes and Heroines). FDR was the 32nd president of the United States. He was born on January 30th, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York (Merriam-Webster). Roosevelt served his first term in 1933 and he would go on to be elected 4…show more content… The magnitude of this collapse was unprecedented (Darity 367). To give an idea of how bad the depression was, the unemployment percentage of the labor force reached 25% (Darity 367). Roosevelt wasn’t president in the beginning of the collapse but in 1933 the recovery process began (Darity 369). Roosevelt took office and the country was doing poorly. Almost every bank was closed and as much as 25% of people were unemployed. Roosevelt attempted to rally the nation and said his famous quote during his inauguration, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Roosevelt promised work and promised reforms and change would come. (Darity 369). When Roosevelt took office in 1933 the country was in bad shape. He helped Americans by telling them they were going to make it out of this depression and they trusted him. He also immediately started to help America recover. This should contribute to president Roosevelt winning a lifetime achievement award because he confidently established a plan to help get America out of the worst depression in…show more content… The next program that was put into place was called the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This program employed millions of Americans by creating a work relief program. Men that were employed by the WPA built bridges, roads and public buildings. Women were commonly given jobs in child care and jobs such as sewing, art and theatre (Brannen 1129). The final part of Roosevelt’s New Deal were his recovery measures. These were designed to regulate the economy and restore confidence in the banks as well as people’s trust in them (Brannen 1129). Some of these recovery measures included programs like the Emergency Banking Act, which required banks to pass an inspection in order to reopen. This was an attempt to combat the national bank crisis. This was successful in because people began believing in the banks again (Brannen 1129). Another recovery measure put into place was the National Industrial Recovery Act. By establishing this act, it created the Public Works Administration (PWA) which employed private firms to build airports, dams, bridges, warships, schools and hospitals (Brannen 1129). The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built a series of dams on the Tennessee river. This was intended to generate electricity and control flooding in this region of the Southeast. This act was considered a success (Brannen 1129). The Resettlement Administration and Farm Security Administration gave farmers loans