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Fdr Was An Unethical Leader

Decent Essays

Imagine it is 1933, although Thomas Edison had created the light bulb more than 50 years earlier, rural areas across the country were still without power. Flash-forward eight years later, the lights are on and you can see your fellow neighbors being uprooted from their homes and communities by the military. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was a visionary leader, but he was also an unethical leader who permitted both events to occur. In this essay, the claim that FDR was a visionary leader will be supported. In particular, how he overcame tragedy, learned to empathize with Americans, and how his New Deal polices employed millions will be discussed. Afterwards, the allegation that FDR was an unethical leader will be …show more content…

During FDR’s rehabilitative travels to Warm Springs, Georgia he met and spoke with some of America’s most underprivileged citizens. The town of Warm Springs gave him healing waters and a first-hand perspective of his future constituents. FDR observed the hardships of poor southerners and it was in Warm Springs that the privileged born New Yorker was able to empathize and put himself in shoes of the common man. By 1932, although he had become handicapped to leg braces and required assistance when walking, FDR had completed two terms as Governor of New York. In 1933, FDR triumphed over disability and had become the 32nd President of the United States. When FDR took office, the Gross National Product had been slashed by more than 50%. Donald Holley, the author of the article Great Depression explains that during this time in our history an estimated 16 million Americans were out of work. To put things in perspective, 25% of the labor force was unemployed (Holley & Trescott, 2014). Comparable in name with the Great Depression, the majority of attitudes across the country were that of despair. Many families relied on charitable organizations for their next meal. Nevertheless, FDR remained optimistic, by doing so he created a sense of hope. FDR had promised Americans jobs during his campaign, and he wasted no time in his first days in office. Although he had no specific plan prepared to create jobs, he

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