President  Franklin D. Roosevelt

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/fr32.html

Research Questions

1-      How was President Roosevelt in 1940 similar to President Wilson in 1916 in regard to trying to win re-election while a world war was going on in Europe?

2-      How deep was the feeling between the leaders of the United States and England in 1940?

3-      Did Roosevelt feel an obligation to help Winston Churchill and England ?

4-      Did Roosevelt see the connection between building weapons of war and the end of the Depression by creating more factory jobs?

5-      Did Roosevelt know of the impending Japanese attack or was Pearl Harbor a total surprise?

6-      Did Roosevelt compare himself to Hitler and Stalin in trying to lead his country down the right path?

Mr. Newman's Lecture Notes:

       Franklin D. Roosevelt was a man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and took those advantages to help America out of the two most important crises of the 20th century.  He was born in 1882 at Hyde Park, New York, attended Harvard University and Columbia Law school. On St. Patrick's Day, 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt, a distant relative. He also was a fifth cousin to President Theodore Roosevelt, but chose the Democratic party rather than Theodore's Republican standard. He won election to the New York Senate in 1910, and President Wilson appointed him as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He was also the Democratic nominee for Vice-President with James Cox losing to Warren G. Harding in 1920. In the summer of 1921, he was stricken with poliomyelitis. He fought to regain the use of his legs and became a symbol of perseverance and courage. He was elected President in 1932 defeating President Herbert Hoover overwhelmingly. As he took office on March 4, 1933 the nation was in the throes of economic depression.

             For Franklin D. Roosevelt, the success of one great domestic war (his New Deal helped America recover from the Depression) merged into the decisions of a second more literal war (World War II). Many people say that World War II was the final event that lifted the country out of the Depression. How did Roosevelt use these 2 events to his and his country's advantage? As factories put people back to work, the goods that were produced, were the tools of destruction. How many of the factory workers would all too soon be using those tools as soldiers in Europe or the Pacific?

             Presidential decisions have so many consequences affecting so many people. Presidents must evaluate and carefully consider every contingency and consequence before finally making a decision. In F. D. R.'s case, as in President Wilson's, the country was fiercely isolationist.  F. D. R. needed to win an unprecedented third term to the White House. What were the parallels between Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940?

         Roosevelt was looked upon by Winston Churchill and Great Britain as a  "Holy Savior." What pressure he must have felt between September 1, 1939 (he start of the War) and December 7, 1941  (the attack on Pearl Harbor). Roosevelt's manipulation of events, similar to Lincoln's manipulation of events surrounding the Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter, shows how a master or consummate politician can maneuver or direct the enemy into attacking first. The Pearl Harbor attack was a surprise, but if people at Pearl Harbor would have responded faster when a radarman that Sunday morning about 7:55 am signaled a possible attack by the Japanese, the casualties would have been much less.

Connections: Students are to probe into F. D. R. 's understanding of isolationist's attitudes in contrasting America's preparedness for war.