Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the longest serving president in U.S. history. President Roosevelt was elected to third term during the Great Depression. His economic policy was questionable. World War II would bring war to our shores. FDR had an unusual friendship with Joseph Stalin. He broke his oath to keep the Constitution. President Roosevelt died in his fourth term.

The economic policy of FDR violated the Constitution. He meddled in farming. He created the Federal Grain Act which was similar to Stalin’s communist control of wheat in Russia. He destroyed food to raise the prices of cotton, wheat, …etc. A farmer in Ohio, (Wickard vs. Filvurn 1942), was told he could not grow his own wheat for his family’s use. Roosevelt’s Public Work’s Program took money from the productive in the form of taxes, which extended the Depression. His foreign policy was not any better than his economic policy.

President Roosevelt’s foreign policy was unconstitutional. He provoked the Japanese by sending American “cruisers” near Japanese warships. FDR said, “I don’t mind losing one or two cruisers (1,800 men), but do not take a chance on losing 5 or 6.”. He also put pressure on Japan to break their alliance with Italy and Germany. It worked, and Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, killing over 2,400 men. Roosevelt’s response was, this as quoted by his wife Eleanor, “In spite of his anxiety, Franklin was in a way more serene (after the attack) than he had appeared in a long time. I think it was steadying to know finally that the die was cast… [It] was far from the shock it proved to the contrary in general. We had been expecting something of sort for a long time.”. FDR accomplished his goal of getting America into WWII.

Many people do not know about Roosevelt’s unusual friendship with Joseph Stalin. He nicknamed him “Uncle Joe”. FDR gave legitimacy to Stalin’s eastern European takeover. It seemed that they agreed with each other. Socialism was more of FDR’s goal than liberty.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt robbed Americans of their liberty. He expanded and created many government programs. His domestic policies in agriculture disrupted the free market. Thousands of young boys/men where killed in WWII. Communist expansion in Europe occurred without disapproval. FDR’s presidency trampled individual rights, prosperity, and foreign policy.

Bibliography

1) Woods,Thomas E. The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. Washington, DC; Regnery Publishing Inc, 2004.

2) Napolitano, Judge Andrew P. Lies The Government Told You. Nashville, Tennessee; Thomas Nellson, 2010.