Ranking the Presidents #3

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (D) - 1933-1945

First, some trivia. While Franklin was Theodore's fifth cousin, Eleanor was actually Theodore's niece.

If the 32nd President had followed the Washington tradition of only serving two terms, I believe he would have gone down as a mediocre president. Despite all the government policies he put in with the New Deal, America had been in a Depression for a decade at the end of his second term.

When he first entered office, America had 25% unemployment. Congress was willing to give him a chance and he rolled out his New Deal, which included institutions like the FDIC. He increased regulations under the Federal Trade Commission, created Social Security, and claimed all privately held gold as property of the US Treasury. He repealed Prohibition. He implemented wage and prices controls (which were later overturned). He increased taxes, as high as 91% for the top earners. He tried to put a 100% tax on all salaries over $25,000 (about $337,000 today) but Congress stopped him.

Roosevelt did his best publicly to keep the US out of war, but he made secret negotiations with France and Britain on how he could still help them. After France fell to Germany, public opionion on neutrality shifted. By this time, Roosevelt had announced he was breaking with tradition and running for a third term. Even as he campaigned to do what he could to keep American out of war, he greatly increased military funding.

In 1941, as Japan occupied Indo-China, FDR stopped all oil exports to Japan, which crippled Japan. He opened up negotiations shortly thereafter, and oil exports were allowed to continue even as both sides were secretly preparing for the war with the other. Then Pearl Harbor happened. Four days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

FDR worked with Churchill and Stalin constantly to hammer out victory strategies, and while it was obvious the Allies weren't going to lose, FDR died on April 12, 1945, just weeks before V-E Day.

He had his weaknesses. He had affairs and even had his daughter help arrange meetings with his mistress. His biggest stain was caving to anti-Japanese paranoia when he ordered over 100,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps. But ultimately, in the most important World War of the century, his legacy is sealed that he was on the right side and came out on top.