Position Paper 1: Most Influential Person in American History Since 1900 - Essay Example

Franklin Delano Roosevelt or F.D.R. Was the 32nd President of the United s between 1933 and until he died in 1945. He is regarded in this analysis, as the most significant American of the twentieth century because of his lasting influence, his leadership during two very difficult periods of US history, and because of his impact on world affairs. Roosevelt was born into two very established and affluent families in 1882 in the Hudson Valley town of Hyde Park [Hook 15]. His childhood and early adulthood reflected this privilege.

Growing up he traveled extensively, learning new languages, went to Groton School in Massachusetts, then to Harvard College and then Columbia where he studied law. In 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt. She was the niece of then President Theodore Roosevelt, and FDR was a fifth cousin of the President [Hook 22-28]. FDR entered politics in 1910 when he was elected to the State Senate of New York. By 1913, he was appointed assistant Secretary to the Navy by then President, Woodrow Wilson and by 1920 he resigned from that position to run for Vice-President for the Democratic Party in the election of that year.

FDR lost by a significant number of votes, but his national reputation at only age 38 was solidified. In the following year or 1921, Roosevelt contracted polio while vacationing in Canada, and this was a disability that would effect him for the balance of his life as he was confined to a wheelchair [Hook 48]. The challenge of his disability can be said to be a significant contribution to his heroic qualities. Roosevelt returned to State politics and became Governor of New York between 1929 and 1932 [Maney 30] when he became President of the US.

When Roosevelt was first elected, the US was in the middle of the Great Depression. This was preceded by a stock market crash of 1929, and was characteristic of a period of high unemployment and limited economic growth. It was regarded as the biggest crisis in US economics to date. FDR's approach was the Depression was to create employment at all costs, and to this end, he created a number of government programs like the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps which hired about 250,000 individuals for a range of work projects.

This was known as the 'New Deal', and in terms of its lasting influence, FDR's measures created the infrastructure for social assistance and unemployment insurance [Maney 67]. It was his commitment to helping the average American find work or support during the Depression that is one of his greatest legacies. The second major historical crisis during FDR's Presidency, was the onset of the Second World War. At the outset of the War in 1939, the US under FDR took a neutral position and decided that it would be better to profit from the war by selling goods and materials to both side of the conflict.

However, when Japan invaded Pearl Harbor in 1941, the US were forced into the world conflict. FDR's leadership through the war was also one of his greatest legacies. FDR managed to mobilize the entire country for the war effort. He centralized and coordinated all private sector manufacturing in order to aid the war effort, and he provided the type or form of leadership necessary to motivate hundred's of thousands of Americans to contribute by either joining the military or by contributing to the manufacturing effort that was necessary to supply the US military [Maney 147-9].

While it is true that FDR did much during the Depression to improve social and living conditions, it was actually the war effort that finally brought about the type of employment conditions that would eliminate the despairing situation of the 1930's. During the war FDR was a leader both internationally as well as nationally. Toward the end of defeating Germany and Japan, FDR coordinated the US military campaigns along with those of Britain and the Soviet Union Through this period, FDR gained the reputation of a very able and respected diplomat.

Roosevelt died in office in 1945 at the end of the war. He had successfully defeated the Germans and Japanese, and had been involved with the final negotiation of peace. Roosevelt is important because of his ability to lead, and moreover, lead through some very difficult challenges. FDR's capacity to lead the US out of the Depression and through the War, make him the most significant American of the twentieth Century. Further, the infrastructure that he created to help the poor during the Depression is one of the longest lasting legacies of his leadership.

Works Cited: Hook, Sue Vander. 2008. Franklin D. Roosevelt: 32nd U.S. President. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing. Maney, Patrick J.. 1992. The Roosevelt Presence: the life and legacy of FDR. Berkeley: University of California Press. Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Most Influential American after 1900.