by P P

Created on: August 07, 2009   Last Updated: August 08, 2009

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

The Great Depression

FDR, What a man! This is the man who brought us through the Great Depression and WWII. He lifted us from the abyss. He helped the factory worker, the farmer and the industrialist alike. He gave us hope when we had nothing left to live on. FDR redesigned the Tennessee valley. He helped our economy during a time where that seemed impossible. FDR got us jobs, with Public Works, helping ourselves while helping our community. With strong hands and the persistence of a lion, FDR helped lift America out of poverty.

FDR created the New Deal which had three parts: relief, recovery, and reform. He helped us in our time of need, brought us back to prosperity and tried to make sure a depression would NEVER happen again. He created FDIC to insure deposits in banks and employment insurance to help us after being laid off. FDR made many reforms; he helped Americans get through daily life.

As FDR started his first term, he made a bank holiday, all banks closed and only secure banks that could pay their debtors could reopen. This helped us, the average Americans, trust that our money was safe. As a result, we put our money in the bank. FDR gave us comfort through his fireside chats, he talked to us casually and simply about America's present state. These were called fireside chats because they were given from the fireplace in the white house.

FDR helped America guard our democracy during WWII. FDR gave a higher budget to the army and to build weapons. Thus, he gave us the means to fight. Otherwise we would have only had outdated weapons from WWI. He pulled us through WWII. He said, if our neighbor's house is burning, we must send them a hose to help them. He struggled to keep peace; however, he had to give way to reality, it was war and we had to fight for democracy. Sadly, FDR did not live to see the victory over Japan. He died in April 12, 1945. However, he will be remembered for all he did for this country. When it seemed there was no one to draw us out of the abyss, he was there. He helped us when we needed him most.

FDR will be remembered as being the man who, when we were struggling to lift ourselves out of the abyss (the great depression), gave us a hand and lifted us out.

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