So, why Franklin D. Roosevelt?
A dedicated public servant, helping to ease human suffering.
As the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt inherited the Great Depression. Implementing his New Deal in 1933 - 1939, Roosevelt focused on his ‘3 Rs’ plan: relief for the unemployed, recovery of the economy, and reform of our nation’s banking laws to prevent the events that started the Great Depression in 1929.
As part of Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Public Works Administration was formed in 1933. It was ultimately responsible for some of the largest and most notable public works projects in US history. The Lincoln Tunnel in New York and the Hoover Dam on the border of Nevada and Colorado were both PWA projects.
Closer to Mississippi, FDR also signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Project. The TVA was designed to build hydroelectric power projects in order provide jobs after the Great Depression and power to areas of the south that desperately needed it. After World War II, the TVA became the largest supplier of power in the United States.
As part of his New Deal Programs, FDR also signed into law some of America’s most well known social safety nets, Social Security and Unemployment insurance. For the first time in the United States, its citizens had peace of mind knowing they’d be able to make ends meet even in the worst of times.
Unlikely allies can change the world.
On paper, FDR and Winston Churchill would seem to be the most unlikely friends. FDR known for his sweeping social safety nets and deficit spending, Churchill known for his conservative politics and abhorrent distaste for anything like socialism. However, the two started as acquaintances and great to be friends who helped shape the course of the entire world.
While FDR dealt with specific United States non-intervention laws passed after World War I, he and Churchill kept in touch. FDR largely understood that war with Germany was inventible and if the US entered the war too late, it might be un-winnable. Churchill, likewise, knew that the US was critical for winning the war and often wrote to FDR requesting whatever help they could provide while remaining upbeat about the rather dire situation unfolding in Europe.
