why do people think FDR was bad

[Steve Thompson]

I could be considered an extreme right-winger, and I think FDR had some good points, but overall I don't like him that much. Then again, there's not many US presidents I do like that much... But I have to say I like him a lot more than Wilson, the other WW president.

 

[YotoKiller]

We were witholding a resource that Japan needed very badly.

They very badly needed it to fuel their tanks, battleships and bombers that were being used to conquer China and attack our allies. Japan wouldn't need all that oil if they had stayed in Manchuria and didn't attempt to conquer a quater of the world would they?

 

[bombshoo]

Not like we were the only ones with Oil either....Parts of China they hadn't conquered yet also had oil, so did the Dutch East Indies....They WANTED war with us, much more then we wanted war with them. They were eager to prove that the Japanese were equel (or even better) then White people, and that the Russo-Japanese War was not just a fluke.

 

[North King]

They very badly needed it to fuel their tanks, battleships and bombers that were being used to conquer China and attack our allies. Japan wouldn't need all that oil if they had stayed in Manchuria and didn't attempt to conquer a quater of the world would they?

Hahaha. Try going about modern life without using any oil. ANY.

Not like we were the only ones with Oil either....Parts of China they hadn't conquered yet also had oil, so did the Dutch East Indies....They WANTED war with us, much more then we wanted war with them. They were eager to prove that the Japanese were equel (or even better) then White people, and that the Russo-Japanese War was not just a fluke.

I doubt it, they were proving it easily enough with their other attacks.

 

[YotoKiller]

Hahaha. Try going about modern life without using any oil. ANY.

Yeah, as if the nice Japanese Army and Navy wanted the oil to heat and power the civilian's homes. Think again. ALL of their oil input from asia was going into their military machine in 1941 when the embargo was enacted.

 

[luiz]

Well, compared to Brazilllian political economics a brilliant planner, just look at the placement in the Gini Index.

Some brazilian economic planners kick FDR's butt, like Henrique Simmonsen, Pedro Malan and Armínio Fraga. Others manage to be worse then the crappy FDR. I am not known for nationalism, and I openly admitt that my country is backwards and the brazilian people is to blame.

However I must say your post make no sense at all. One planner can't be held responsible for centuries of history. The USA was better managed then Brazil for 200 years, it would take more then a terrible president to make the US worse-off then Brazil.

 

[amadeus]

...the USA's imperialism in SouthEast Asia and the oil embargo FORCED Japan to war...

North King, you need to brush up on your history.

Japan conquered Taiwan in 1895, Korea in 1905, Manchuria in 1931, occupied Jehol in 1933, and invaded China in 1937.

Over a period of fifty years, Japan constantly invaded weaker neighbors to expand their empire.

 

[luiz]

I ask all who approve FDR's economic policies to read this article. It is a macro-economic analysis of how the New Deal actually made the Depression worse and longer.

 

[DexterJ]

It is a macro-economic analysis of how the New Deal actually made the Depression worse and longer.

ahahaahaaaa!!!!!!!
FDR was the greatest american president of all time, he was also the greatest individual of the 20th century.
he saved the usa from the great depression, ended unemployment, saved the us banking system, saved us farmers from complete bankrupcy, was able to isolate and therefore neuter extremists of the left and right, was an important force for the conservation of forests etc, stopped and reversed the dust bowl process of the mid-west, provided electrification for rural america - the vast amount of farms had no electricity before, provided important reforms for the american economey, allowed unionisation of us industry which allowed for an increase in real wages (something which had not happened during the 1920s 'boom', he was able to ounmanouver the dangerous us isolationists, he prepared the usa for ww2 so that when it occured (which was inevitable) the usa could quickly dominate in all theatres therefore keeping the uk and ussr in the war, he had the vision of a post-war order in which liberal social democracy would be the dominant force - eroding communism and the european imperialism.
he made safe capitalism in america (and therefore the world) by making it fairer, he made america (and therefore the world) safe for democracy by defeating the militarist, fascist nations.
any other (lesser) evaluation is absurd.
I know what you're saying - wheres the proof, the evidence etc. when i get back from work I will provide facts.
i have just read conrad black's new biog of 'FDR: champion of freedom' which is very good, interesting and well written. its a bit of a monster (1000+ pages) but is supposed to be the new definitive one volume of the great man. I was suprised by it actually because conrad black is a bit of a righty (he is/was chairman of the hollinger group (think thats what its called) which owns lots of centre-right papers in Britain). I always had a lot of respect for FDR but this has been increased somewhat by this book. I would heartily recommend it.

 

[DexterJ]

i was gonna put some evidence up for my claims last night, but i went out drinking instead. something you wouldnt be able to do without roosevelt (who ended prohibition). oh and i thought of something else he introduced - social security.

 

[Reno]

North King, you need to brush up on your history.

Japan conquered Taiwan in 1895, Korea in 1905, Manchuria in 1931, occupied Jehol in 1933, and invaded China in 1937.

Over a period of fifty years, Japan constantly invaded weaker neighbors to expand their empire.

Still they were not going to attack US without the oil embargo, and i don't consider US a weak nation during the 1930's. Plus Korea was taken by Japan in 1910 not 1905.

 

[YNCS]

I dislike him...for his terrible warmongering foreign policy, the USA's imperialism in SouthEast Asia and the oil embargo FORCED Japan to war, so yes, in a sense, he brought us into World War 2.

The long term cause of WW2 (at least the Japanese side of it) was Japan's rampant militarism and the attitude that, as Asians, the Japanese should run Asia without interference from Western powers. The dark side of this concept was that the Japanese felt they should be the "elder brother" to other Asians and, in general, in charge of any part of Asia that Japanese troops could control. This point of view met with resistance from other Asians, particularly the Koreans (who were Japan's first victims) and the Chinese. This Japanese aggression, underway since the 1870s, came under increasing criticism from Western powers. The desire of the Western nations, particularly the U.S. and Britain, to rein in Japanese aggression led to an embargo on Japan when Japanese troops entered French Indo-China (Vietnam and adjacent areas) in 1941 and took over. The embargo was the short-term cause of the war. Japan had few raw materials of its own. While it could get coal and mineral ores from its Chinese and Korean territories, oil was available only from Western-controlled sources, primarily Indonesia. Japan's Navy and air forces were useless without oil, so the embargo would eventually disarm Japan. Faced with the choice of surrender or striking back, Japan chose the action her history dictated. To many Japanese, the Pearl Harbor attack was an act of self-defense.

Japan's expansionist war aims were established over half a century before Pearl Harbor. No one was able to dissuade Japan from these goals short of a full-scale war. Curiously, the Japanese still hold the view that "they couldn't help themselves" and that the war, and its consequences, made Japan a victim as much as anyone else. This is what's taught in Japanese schools today and the opinion held by many Japanese. Because of this, and Japan's current economic power, other Asian nations are still concerned about century-old Japanese intentions.

 

[puglover]

In a nutshell he was more concerned about his public image than the people. Plus he gave America a government spending philosophy we still haven't been weaned off of.

 

[Sargon of Agade]

I can't believe people are dismissing the Internment camps as a simple black eye, he not only deprived these people of basic civil rights based only on race, but he allowed the taking away of Japanese American property, possessions and money simply out of rascist paranoia and fear. I agree that he may have been one of the best presidents of our nation, but this is not the only thing I view he did wrong. I don't think he should have been negotiating with the Russians during the end game of the war considering his health, which many believe was the reason Stalin was able to keep unapossed much of the territory the Red Army had taken from the Germans... That was a mistake and caused the oppression and deaths of millions of people after the war was over.

 

[Mei]

Still they were not going to attack US without the oil embargo, and i don't consider US a weak nation during the 1930's. Plus Korea was taken by Japan in 1910 not 1905.

Ah, but the Japanese wanted to attack the US primarily because of their navy- they wanted the US naval power in the Pacific out of the way so they would have full control over the Pacific Ocean. That's why Pearl Harbor was attacked first and not the Phillipines or any other US possesions near Japanese- held islands iirc, and though it's true that the oil embargo caused this attack to be brought forward, I don't think, in the long run, Japan would've attacked the US primarily for resouce- gaining purposes.

On Roosevelt, I was always under the impression that he was well- liked in the US. Guess not.

(I too thought this thread was about the FDR of Germany. :\)

 

[Atlas14]

FDR waited too long to enter the US into the war. WWII would have ended a lot quicker had he actually been more prepared and ready to enter sooner than waiting for half the pacific fleet to be destroyed.

 

[DexterJ]

FDR could not have entered the USA in WW2 any earlier than he did. American public opinion was far too isolationist and without the attack on america he never would have got the declaration of war through congress.
for example the lend lease bill (bill 1776) which allowed the US to provide military aid to the UK was passed 260 to 165 in the house of represenatives and the senate passed it 60 to 31 in feb 1941. though it got passed by a fairly large margin this was purely a bill providing weapons to a fellow democracy fighting the most evil regime on earth and it was still had a fairely large number of opponenets in congress. there is no way FDR could have delclared war on japan + germany without the us being attacked first.

half the pacific fleet

ie 2 battleships and several lesser ships, 188 planes and 2403 men. obviously not a good thing but not at all crippling the us navy for example in december 1941 the us had 8 battleships under construction. the only reason pearl harbour was even this damaging to the americans was because of the verging on criminal failings of the commanders at pearl harbour (no torpedo nets around the battleships, no constant air patrols, the ignoring the radar outpost which reported large numbers of incoming planes, the ignoring of the intelligence report warnings from washington, the fact that none of the ships had any steam up which would allow early activation of the fleet, the fact that allmost all the planes that were lost were destroyed on the runway where they had been nicely lined up rather than in bomb proof hangers, etc)
the japanese had studied the british attack on italy at taranto and copied it at pearl harbour. the american commander at pearl harbour had not (and dismissed torpedo nets as unnecesary)

 

[DexterJ]

Fair Labor Standards Act - banned child labor and set a minimum wage.
Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) In order to help people keep their houses, the HOLC refinanced mortgages of middle-income home owners. In 1936 4 million home owners had been saved from eviction by this.
Corporate America ran a $2 billion deficiet in 1933 - ran a $5 billion profit in 1936.
The New York Times business index in 1936 rose to 100 for the first time since 1930.
In 1936 unemployment declined from 13 million to 8 million.
In 1936 13 million had worked a New Deal relief programme and 1/2 had returned to the permanent labour force.
Farm Security Administration (FSA) - lent farmers $1 billion to prevent farm closures.
Agriculture Adjustment Administration (AAA) - raised farm produce prices (33% increase in one year)
The list goes on and on and on....

 

[DexterJ]

one of FDR's most successfull reform legisalation was the :
1944 GI Bill of Rights

Perhaps the greatest area, in terms of the federal government's participation in education, was the GI Bill of Rights. The bill, signed by President Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, provided federal aid to help veterans adjust to civilian life in the areas of hospitalization, purchase of homes and businesses, and especially, education. This act provided tuition, subsistence, books and supplies, equipment, and counseling services for veterans to continue their education in school or college.

1. The Federal Government would subsidize tuition, fees, books, and educational materials for veterans and contribute to living expenses incurred while attending college or other approved institutions.

2. Veterans were free to attend the educational institution of their choice.

3. Colleges were free to admit those veterans who met their admissions requirements.

Within the following 7 years, approximately 8 million veterans received educational benefits. Of that number, approximately 2,300,000 attended colleges and universities, 3,500,000 received school training, and 3,400,000 received on-the-job training. By 1951, this act had cost the government a total cost of approximately $14 billion.

The effects of increased enrollment to higher education were significant. Higher educational opportunities opened enrollment to a varied socioeconomic group than in the years past. Engineers and technicians needed for the technological economy were prepared from the ranks of returning veterans. Also, education served as a social safety valve that eased the traumas and tensions of adjustment from wartime to peace. For the American colleges and universities, the effects were transforming. In almost all institutions, classes were overcrowded. Institutions required more classrooms, laboratories, greater numbers of faculties, and more resources. House facilities became inadequate and new building programs were established. New vocational courses were also added. This new student population called for differential courses in advanced training in education, commerce, agriculture, mining, fisheries, and other vocational fields that were previously taught informally. Teaching staffs enlarged and summer and extension courses thrived. Further, the student population was no longer limited to those between 18-23. The veterans were eager to learn and had a greater sense of maturity, in comparison to the usual student stereotype. Finally, the idea that higher education was the privilege of a well-born elite was finally shattered.
Sources:
Butts, R.F. & Cremin, L.A. (1953). History of Education in American Culture. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Gutek, G. (1986). Education in the United States: A historical perspective. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Noble, S. (1960). History of American Education. New York: Rinehart and Company.

http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/1944gibill.html

 

[Huzzamaster]

The Bill of Rights were great, but it causes some people to let the government care for things they should be caring for.

FDR never really ended the Depression, it was the WWII war economy. Mobilization!