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Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan were both spectacular leaders, forged into their historical roles through the climates of the times in which they governed.

Roosevelt saw a problem and he addressed it; so did Reagan. The difference was in the nature of the problem rather than the nature of the man.

Consider the nature of Roosevelt's issues: a depression, a nation out of work, and Nazi Germany. He instituted the almost-Socialist reforms of the New Deal, and improved our nation both through public works and the public working. He faced a blatant aggressor in the Axis powers, and responded in kind, inspiring steadfastness and resolve in a nation hungry for justice and retribution.

Reagan had more subtle problems to attend to. Subtle, though none the less dangerous: the Soviet Union was a superpower in competition with the United States, on levels both practical and idealogical.

Roosevelt employed blood-and-guts determination in rousing a nation to action, whereas Reagan employed diplomacy and "Reaganomics."

One trait that they both shared and employed, however, was ingenuity. Both FDR and Ronald Reagan were men who understood clearly the times and troubles they were living through, and through which they must guide the nation. Each man rose to that challenge in their own way, and each man left us a legacy of American grit, determination and leadership.

Learn more about this author, Alfred Nylund.
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