Franklin Delano Roosevelt Ethical Issues

947 Words4 Pages

Has there ever been a president as influential as Franklin Delano Roosevelt? Truly Roosevelt was a unique man that lead American through one of its hardest times. WWII threatened world peace and the Great Depression was actively wearing the U.S. away. Few other times in U.S history required someone of FDR's caliber to lead America through such a storm. Roosevelt was undoubtedly meant with much success and love. However, even with such widespread success many of Roosevelt's actions must be questioned ethically. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York. Roosevelt was born into a wealthy family that made their money primarily in real estate trade. The path that lay before Roosevelt, which help lead him to …show more content…

At the start of his presidency, the biggest threat to America was the Great Depression. Within his first 100 days, Roosevelt introduced his first set of New deals. They were a large amount of various acts, that called for radical action. Some of the most notable accomplishments of Roosevelt's new deal included the AAA, the Social Security Act, and the Emergency Banking Act. The Agricultural Adjustment Act allowed the government a firmer position in American agricultural. The act allowed the government to pay farmers to limit the crops they grew and buy livestock. The Social Security Act is probably the most famous of Roosevelt's acts. The act set up a huge pension system that covered 35 million people. The Emergency Banking Act was imperative at the time. The act help increase the public's trust in banks when they had none. Roosevelt's Second set of deals came much later, but were just as important. The most notable of the acts in the second wave was probably the Fair Labor Standards Act. The act established a maximum amount of working hours for any employee and a minimum wage. Many of Roosevelt's deals were meant with success, but it is important to note that some were declared unconstitutional at later dates. The AAA was one of such acts declared unconstitutional in 1936, however, it was rewritten and implanted again at a later date ("The New Deal", n.d.). Roosevelt actually faced a large amount of resistance when trying to pass his new deals. During one of his terms, Roosevelt announced a controversial plan to expand the supreme court. He was quickly criticized of trying to "Pack" the courts in order to neutralize hostile opinions towards his new deals ("Roosevelt announces 'court-packing' plan", 2010). Later in his presidency Roosevelt had to manage the daunting task that was World War II. Before America even enter the war, Roosevelt was working to provide

Open Document