Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, August, 1932.This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
FDR
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is remembered as an icon, sometimes mentioned in the same breath as Lincoln and Washington. Over the decades, most polls place Roosevelt, or FDR as he was referred to, in the top ten and usually in the top five most effective Presidents. His accomplishments as President are unmatched.
He was the only person elected four times to the presidency and, by wide margins. He led the nation through the scary darkness of both the Great Depression and World War II. FDR’s best work, however, was his ability to inspire Americans even when times were grim.
Generations of school children have learned about Roosevelt’s historic Social Security Administration, the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), and their promise of financial security for Americans. Other programs, such as the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and the CWA (Civil Works Administration), were effectively trying to put people back to work and end the Great Depression.
He is the man who addressed the nation a day after the attack on our country at Pearl Harbor referring to the attack as “a date that will live in infamy.” He inspired us and made us proud to be American.
Churchill
At his funeral in 1945, the British politician Winston Churchill eulogized him, saying,
“that in Franklin Roosevelt there died the greatest American friend we have ever known and the greatest champion of freedom who has ever brought help and comfort from the new world to the old.”
Enemies
Despite the lionization of Roosevelt and similar expressions from others, he had enemies who felt very differently. FDR’s massive push of social programs launched an explosive reaction among the now-growing number of Fundamental Christians, more recently referred to a Evangelicals.
They thought that a larger government would reduce individual rights. To them, Roosevelt’s programs were tantamount to Hitler and the rise of the Third Reich and Mussolini’s rebuilding of the Roman Empire. The Evangelical Fundamentalists were afraid of the coming of Roosevelt-styled Armageddon.
Oddly, in the beginning, many of Roosevelt’s hater had been supporters. Some even expressed their “we love Franklin Delano Roosevelt.” Over time his enemies began to show themselves.
Although he won the 1932 election in a landslide, waves of dissenters started to form. That group also included Hoover, who scoffed at the “New Deal.”
Hoover
It was Herbert Hoover’s own lack of a plan, and his reluctance to involve the government that caused his Presidency to fail. Despite losing the election, he was still convinced that FDR’s plan would be a disaster. Hoover remained relentless in trying to persuade Roosevelt to give up his ideas of a “New Deal.” As Hoover later put it, the promise of a “New Deal” was both “socialistic and fascistic.” He fell short of calling FDR a communist or a socialist. Hoover did write that Roosevelt would one day lead the country on a ” march to Moscow.”
Hearst
Shortly after FDR unveiled his plans many of his early supporters began singing a different tune. William Randolph Hearst owned the largest newspaper chain in America. He used his platform to consistently frame Roosevelt in a positive light. Hurst broke with Roosevelt when his administration increased taxes on the wealthy and closed tax loopholes that protected the wealth of individuals like Hurst.
Long
Democratic Senator Huey Long of Louisiana, easily the most corrupt politician in the nation, had supported Roosevelt in 1932. Long had even campaigned for FDR, but now felt that he was too power-hungry. He felt that his federal programs would ultimately destroy the rights of individuals. Like Long, West Virginia Senator Rush Holt had initially proclaimed that he was an “unequivocal” supporter of Roosevelt. By 1936 he was consistently opposed to Roosevelt’s domestic and foreign policies.
Garner
And even Roosevelt’s own hand-picked Vice President, John Vance Garner, stopped supporting him. They disagreed on many issues, especially Garner’s concern about Roosevelt’s “court packing” scheme. This plan would increase the number of Supreme Court justices and influence the balance of opinion in Roosevelt’s favor. The measure failed, but Garner continued to distance himself from Roosevelt, even quitting the ticket as Vice President.
Taft
Other members of Congress continued to denounce Roosevelt and his programs, including Robert A. Taft of Ohio. Taft was the leader of his party’s conservative wing and he consistently referred to the New Deal as “socialism”. He argued that it harmed America’s business interests and gave too much power to the central government.
Lindbergh
Almost as famous as Franklin Roosevelt was the aviator Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh was a proclaimed isolationist, white supremacist, and most historians agree – a Nazi sympathizer. He actively campaigned to “protect the white race”. He wanted America to stay out of the war. Because his beliefs were similar to those held by members of the Third Reich, he was honored by one of Hitler’s top men, Hermann Goering with the German Eagle medal.
Lindbergh and his wife Anne were so impressed with the growing power of Hitler’s regime. His wife Anne Lindberg wrote “I have never in my life been so conscious of such a directed force. It is thrilling when seen manifested in the energy, pride, and morale of the people–especially the young people.” By 1938, the Lindbergh’s were making plans to move to Berlin.
Lend Lease
While neutral, the Roosevelt administration chose a side in the early days of the war, even asking Congress to provide military equipment to Great Britain. Lindbergh testified before Congress in January 1941 against Roosevelt’s “Lend-Lease Program,” saying, “I see no possibility of success of a war involving the invasion of the European continent.”
Pearl Harbor
Despite Lindbergh’s influence, Congress passed the measure in March 1941. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Lindbergh had changed his mind and was eager to fight. He requested to be reinstated as an officer in the Air Force. Roosevelt denied his request saying, “You can’t have an officer leading men who think we’re licked before we start….” In private, FDR referred to Lindbergh as a “Nazi.” Lindbergh blamed Jews, Great Britain, and the Roosevelt’s administration for creating the German war machine.
Communism
The Communist Party (USA) also referred to Roosevelt as a dictator. They felt that his New Deal policies were inspired by fascism. In May 1933, the CPUSA ran a series of newspaper advertisements denouncing FDR’s programs. One stated “the whole Roosevelt program of preparation for fascism and war.” The ads alleged fascist activities, including “forced labor for the unemployed”. In its propaganda attacking Roosevelt, the CPUSA intentionally omitted the part that employment was not “forced”, unlike Nazi Germany’s system.
The reality, however, was that the CCC offered jobs to millions of young unemployed men. That offer was embraced by many with great enthusiasm. Their projects strengthened the country’s infrastructure with improved roads, bridges, airports, and national parks. Nevertheless, former President Herbert Hoover supported the notion that the New Deal modeled fascism and was frankly “un-American.”
Father Couglin
Among Franklin Roosevelt’s harsher critics, Father Charles Coughlin, a Catholic priest from Chicago. Coughlin held a unique position of influence. A radio priest, he broadcast weekly radio sermons that by 1930 drew as many as forty-five million listens. Like others, Father Coughlin was originally a vocal supporter of FDR. Soon Coughlin felt that the President was too cozy with bankers, especially Jewish bankers, capitalists, and socialists.
Champion of ordinary people
Father Coughlin cast himself as the champion for the rights of ordinary people. He condemned those he felt represented the elite, especially President Roosevelt. Coughlin frequently attacked capitalism, communism, socialism, and dictatorship. He did this while praising the fascist leaders Mussolini and Hitler. He was venomous in his attacks on Franklin Roosevelt, referring to him as the “great liar and betrayer.”
His condemnation of Jews, however, was particularly appalling. Father Coughlin said this in a broadcast “”Must the entire world go to war for 600,000 Jews in Germany who are neither American, French, nor English citizens, but citizens of Germany?” “When we get through with the Jews in America, they’ll think the treatment they received in Germany was nothing.”
Reverend Gerald LK Smith
The Reverend Gerald LK Smith was another nationally recognized religious zealot who loathed Roosevelt and his programs. Wildly popular, Rev. Smith traveled the U.S. delivering fiery speeches all laced with conspiracies. According to Smith, the Great Depression, World War I and II, and even the Bolshevik Revolution should be blamed on Jews. I
In Reverend Smith’s conspiracy plot, Franklin Roosevelt was a Jew, and Adolph Hitler was a “good Christian.” In Smith’s delusional world, he demonized not just Roosevelt and Jews, but blacks, communists, and generally people of color.
First Term
During FDR’s first term, the editors of The Moody Bible Institute’s magazine entitled “Moody Monthly” compared FDR to Hitler. They said this about Roosevelt “preparing the people for what is coming later, and perhaps not much later—the big dictator, the superman, the lawless one at the head of the ten kingdoms of the prophetic earth.”
Moody Bible Institute
Professor Wilbur Smith of the Moody Bible Institute explained his troubling belief in a letter to the Sunday School Times editor Charles Trumbull. Smith called “the sudden, amazing rise of dictatorships throughout Europe” and the surrender to “dictatorship” in the United States “preparation for the coming of a great world dictator.” The Sunday School Times and others, had no doubt that Franklin Delano Roosevelt would indeed become the “great world dictator.”
Evangelicals
Evangelicals were convinced that Franklin Roosevelt was laying the foundation for a revolution. His controversial policies, expansion of his power as chief executive, and connections with bankers and politicians seemed to parallel biblical descriptions of the general unrest reflected in the last days. Historian, Matthew Sutton, makes the case that FDR’s programs resembled to Evangelicals an “American style communism.”
Social Security
FDR’s flagship program, the Social Security Act, received surprising criticism from fundamentalist ministers. It was not what FDR had hoped for. They believed that as more Americans turned to the federal government for help, the fewer rights they would retain.
Eventually, they would be powerless when the government ceded control to the antichrist. “In my humble judgment,” the Wheaton College president J. Oliver Buswell explained to Roosevelt, “you are seriously in error. In fact, your administration’s socialistic or communistic tendencies and the legislation to which your letter refers are entirely contrary to the spirit and the detailed teachings of the Word of God.”
Support for Programs
During the summer of 1935, a political analyst working for FDR traveled the country hoping to gauge levels of support for the administration. Instead, the Democrats were looking ahead to the 1936 campaign. Nevertheless, the analyst’s August report contained some important conclusions, which his secretary insisted the President read personally. “I have said for some time,” the analyst explained, “that, in my opinion, the strongest opposition to Mr. Roosevelt in 1936 would come, not from the economic reactionaries, but from the religious reactionaries (if you can separate the two). … The opposition of what one can call the evangelical churches is growing steadily more bitter and open.”
Apocalypse
Sutton suggests that during the 1930s, Evangelicals were confident the apocalypse was within sight and that Roosevelt was leading the charge. It was Roosevelt’s big government, and its recognition of the communist Soviet Union was a sign of the end. The rise of Mussolini and Hitler and Jews fleeing back to Israel were seen as prophecy being fulfilled.
Staunch Christians
These staunch Christians fought against Roosevelt unsuccessfully; however, they set the stage for future success. That future success would in decades later appear in the form of Evangelist Reverend Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, and many others, all leading to the ideologies of the “Moral Majority” and the election of Ronald Reagan as President in the 1980s. Professor Sutton suggests that the roots of the Evangelical movement as a political force began in the 1930s.
Did FDR Serve Too Long?
Ultimately, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency will only be judged by the prevailing winds of time. He challenged the norms and traditions, but he presided during a period of our history that was not normal but full of crisis and peril. Perhaps FDR served too long because it allowed a growing body of dissenters more time and opportunity to voice their objections loudly. Or maybe, Roosevelt felt that facing the challenges of the Great Depression and World War II required pulling out all the stops, even if it meant creating a more extensive and stronger central government.
All the Critics
All of his critics failed to grasp that comparing Franklin Roosevelt to the dictators of the day, Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin was not logical. They were in power due to force, violence and the absolute silencing of dissenters. Roosevelt was in power because the American people elected him four times, not because of violence or some type radical overthrow of government. Franklin Roosevelt believed whole-heartedly in democracy and understood that the truest expression of democracy was to allow dissent; public dissent was good and the end result would be what the people wanted.
Summary
Despite the chorus of criticisms, Roosevelt was undaunted and carried on doing the “work of the people”, as he called it. A president from a prior century, Abraham Lincoln had faced the most critical challenge the nation had ever endured, its own survival as a republic. He was also engulfed and surrounded by harsh critics, some he invited, including his own hand-picked cabinet, which historian Doris Kearns Goodwin referred to in her book “Team of Rivals.”
Like Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt understood that the success of democracy depended entirely on encouraging political and social discourse and not discouraging it. In referring to his critics, he quietly referred to them as his haters; Roosevelt said, “They are unanimous in their hate for me–and I welcome their hatred!!”
About the Author
Goes to show you that when you have spine you will attract enemies..no one with courage and conviction can avoid that.
I have him at number five on my personal list. My grandmother absolutely loved him.
One of the GREATEST Presidents of the 20th Century.
I’ve heard the negative comments through the years. Don’t care to read them.
FDR WAS THE GREATEST!
My Favorite President!
He was a great president
There will always be haters who feel fulfilled when they have said their piece, but the rest of us know & recognized him for all his good deeds which will live on in the history of our country!
Of course anyone with courage, conviction and spine will attract fierce enemies. Thank God he was not harmed by them. We are still surviving because of his policies and his wife’s example and contributions. Like Social Security among others. Being a leader takes it toll but he didn’t give up.
He was alright but I prefer the other Roosevelt
the best president usa has ever had. ,no one will ever surpass his greatness
Prime Minister Churchill knew that it was Roosevelt and the United States that helped aid Great Britain and Russia to help win WWII
I have heard so much about the Roosevelts. They made American great
I liked Roosevelt..As I was told he was a great president. Our entrance into ww II was great and the Holocaust ended.
People were crying in the streets when he died.
When I was younger my family including myself we visited his home a few times in Hyde park NY
Eleanor was wonderful too.
Him and Abe were the BEST!
Perfection perfection perfection. Every one wants perfection. Work on yourself first
Was FDR great? Depends who you ask. People who lost everything in the Depression & got back on their feet with the New Deal would say yes. Jews who lost their families in the Holocaust because the US didn’t do everything it could to help would say no.
Not nearly as great as the voters made him out to be.
The greatest of presidents
Roosevelt was a great president, made all the right decisions during the depression, and during the war. A visionary leader.
It was his policies that made the Great Depression last ten years, he weaponized the IRS, expanded the role of the federal government way beyond its intended purpose, he tried to pack the Supreme Court, created the Fairness Doctrine to squelch honest reporting and political opposition, etc.
He and Churchill sold Eastern Europe out to the Soviet Union!
He was very flawed but helped to save the world.
From what I understand he knew the Japanese were going to bomb pearl harbor ahead of time but refuse to do something cause that would get america into the war
C+ President. Tried to pack court, prolonged Depression, defied two term limit, hides how terminally sick he was in 1944 campaign and the “New Deal” was leveraged against Republican districts to make them play ball.
Most of the negative reviews are from people who assume that given social security to those people who worked all their lives, is socialist. Completely wrong/
Yeah, umm I don’t know. He’s like the granddaddy of entitlement, and look at that legacy.
Honest buddies. Churchill liked his drink. Roosevelt not so much but a bit of a smoker
Oh please! Can we stop all this over the top fawning of him. He had many flaws. Did prosecute the war well? yes. When you hire General Marshall to figure it out for you. All his silly alphabet anti depression programs never did anything for the economy. Our gearing up for war was the cure. Did he make people feel better? Sure he gets an A+. But ‘feeling better’ didn’t buy the shoes or pay the rent.
Mixed feelings. Moved the country towards socialism. Yet, if he didn’t, leftist extremism would have had a stronger foothold. Did not prepare country enough for war, but rose to the occasion when we were attacked. He didn’t end depression. The war did.
One of our Greatest President. The people loved him. His legacy will live forever.
He led the country out of the Great Depression, thing is – did he know Pearl Harbor would get hit AND that by getting hit he’d have no problem getting the USA into the war.
That’s the question.
FDR was our Augustus Caesar.
FDR: The greatest presidente, mistakes and all.
He fared better than Lincoln, JFK and even Reagan. All great men have many enemies.
Even with his faults (no one is without them), FDR was one of the “greats”.
Read WALL STREET AND FDR By Anthony Sutton for interesting insight on the REAL FDR….
The true story of Pearl Harbor might speak differently about FDR. IF he knew beforehand what was coming and he did nothing just to get America into WWII….then shame on him.. still a big “IF” !!!
Not in my eyes
Roosevelt got in the way of men’s greed and power searching.
Of course he had enemies.
He was both great and flawed. Eleanor strongly disliked his outrageous treatment of American citizens of Japanese descent. It took them.decades to get compensated for the homes that they lost.
IT was His wife who did, He follow her. If she would have not pushed Him to do right He himself would have done nothing. Social security came about cause of the great depression, if not it would have been made. IT was Her not him
He was an elitist!
Under the circumstances, FDR was the right man at the right time. He carefully, strategically guided us through a myriad of tough situations for the betterment of us all….for the world as it turned out. The “religious right” fought him and they still fight true progress.
I find it intriguing that FDR came to power at the same time as Hitler. A true counterbalance
There will always be haters who feel fulfilled when they have said their piece, but the rest of us know & recognized him for all his good deeds which will live on in the history of our country!
Of course anyone with courage, conviction and spine will attract fierce enemies. Thank God he was not harmed by them. We are still surviving because of his policies and his wife’s example and contributions. Like Social Security among others. Being a leader takes it toll but he didn’t give up
Roosevelt was a great president, made all the right decisions during the depression, and during the war. A visionary leader.
From what I understand he knew the Japanese were going to bomb pearl harbor ahead of time but refuse to do something cause that would get america into the war
Most of the negative reviews are from people who assume that given social security to those people who worked all their lives, is socialist. Completely wrong/
Prime Minister Churchill knew that it was Roosevelt and the United States that helped aid Great Britain and Russia to help win WWII
He and Churchill sold Eastern Europe out to the Soviet Union!
He was very flawed but helped to save the world.
He fared better than Lincoln, JFK and even Reagan. All great men have many enemies.
Even with his faults (no one is without them), FDR was one of the “greats”.
The true story of Pearl Harbor might speak differently about FDR. IF he knew beforehand what was coming and he did nothing just to get America into WWII….then shame on him.. still a big “IF” !!!
Roosevelt got in the way of men’s greed and power searching.
Of course he had enemies.
He was both great and flawed. Eleanor strongly disliked his outrageous treatment of American citizens of Japanese descent. It took them.decades to get compensated for the homes that they lost.
IT was His wife who did, He follow her. If she would have not pushed Him to do right He himself would have done nothing. Social security came about cause of the great depression, if not it would have been made. IT was Her not him
the best president usa has ever had. ,no one will ever surpass his greatness.
Mixed feelings. Moved the country towards socialism. Yet, if he didn’t, leftist extremism would have had a stronger foothold. Did not prepare country enough for war, but rose to the occasion when we were attacked. He didn’t end depression. The war did.
He was the Man on Horse Back who saved many during WW2 ….helped with the Depression but most of all people knew America was strong
The Nazis and other antisemites were numerous in America at the time. Check out Burns’s documentary on antisemitism in America to see what he was up against.
In world history, people such as Churchill, Gandhi, Roosevelt, Hitler, Stalin will rise up together and face each other on the world stage.
Roosevelt was one of the best Presidents, perhaps there is Lincoln, and FDR as the best.
Enemies of political grievances old world bigots and anti modern thinking who wanted the old values to stay He was a man from wealthy aristocratic thinkers who could see those unacceptable values of aristocracy only and saw the people in front of him He did so with elegance
and and grace and helped in the war effort to makethose alliances that defeated the catastrophic Nazis. Franklin Roosevelt fought a war both with the help of Eleanor on the side too to create a new generation of hopefuls in their lives !!
There are people voting democrat today because their parents and grandparents voted for Roosevelt.
Believe this or not,any one that help the poor and needy , has enemies
Unfortunately I did not read to much about him. More about his wife which was a very intelligent woman and worked at UN Constitution
New deal made us the welfare state we are today. The first communist president.
Enemies? He aligned with Churchill One Senator Republican voted against declaring war on Japanvoted against declaration of war after The Japanese attack on America. Republican. But the two Churchill and Roosevelt stayed fast and broke the fascists!!!
The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was passed specifically because of FDR. The unwritten rule amongst all gentlemen who won the presidency dating back to our first, and greatest president George Washington, was that you would serve two terms then peacefully relinquish power to the next person. Of course like most Democrats, Roosevelt felt the rules, both written and unwritten, didn’t apply to him. So he ran a third and fourth time and won. Almost immediately after his death they began putting together the 22nd Amendment because they realized how dangerous it was to have someone in the presidency in an open ended manner. He could, in effect, become like a dictator because incumbency is very difficult to defeat. Of course the Senate and House of Representatives didn’t apply term limits to themselves. They want their free lunch to last forever. Hopefully when we elect a new president in a couple of years that person will have the strength and wherewithal to make Term Limits a Hill They Are Willing To Die On
Roosevelt started more government. He was not great.
Good or bad, in many things he had to deal with Congress
Wouldn’t have social security if it wasn’t for him.
You are known by your enemies. Republicans and Nazi hated his social programs. They still do today.
He imprisoned Americans of Japanese descent without Due Process of Law. We’re just going to let that one go?
FOR SURE GOD WAS WITH HIM ( you like him or not ) THIS IS 2023 AND OUR AMERICA IS CONTINUE TO STAND AFTER THAT MOUNTER “”DEPRESSION” AND FOR THAT SIMPLE HISTORICAL FACTS WE CAN CONTINUE TO SAY “”GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!””
From one of the wealthiest families in the country and he still got legislation passed that helped the working man, the veteran, and the elderly. He was so popular that after four terms, Congress passed a law that limited presidents to only two terms. It’s funny that todays GOP with their MAGA leader claim to want to return America’s to its most idyllic era while eliminating all the policies that this great man enacted to make that era possible.
Everytime my Social Security Check comes in. I will thank him . Yeah, he might of been a liberal, by today’s standards. But he had his good points. If you disagree, fight me!!!!
He entered in to the election only to protect his wealth ,the wealth of the Richest Americans. He refused refugees to enter America; his heroism was a place he accidentally fell in to. He had no intentions to achieve what he happened to do. Much like all History of this country we were not painted such an accurate picture
All the good that he did is counted, but when he didn’t let ship with Jewish immigrants come to America and they come back to Germany and were killed
Just looking at the comments its unfortunately that we are so divided. People can’t see the benefit of SSI, Mininum Wage and so much more. People were ready for a New Deal.
Roosevelt started social programs back then he wanted us to be a socialist country back then.
A would-be dictator. Ethel wanted him to be one. And he arguably lengthened the Great Depression
Roosevelt started all those socialist programs in our country. He was turning our country into a socialist country back then he wanted us to depend on the Government back then. Truman was a very good president he gave the rights and spoke up for Israel to be a country again to have their own country where Roosevelt was against it.
Everyone is flawed and will have nay sayers. Nay sayers will always have negatives to spew. He lead this country through very hard times with Polio and all. *The one mistake I still don’t understand, was the turning away of a ship of Jews fleeing the beginning of Nazi Europe when it arrived at our shores near NY. That is a hard one for me to fathom, if in fact it’s true. I think it is. Late 1930s.
Every time a democrat was in there they tried to destroy America it took a Republican to bring it back up. Roosevelt knew about the bombing Pearl Harbor before it happen he let it happen now you have a President Biden wants to take all freedoms from us is putting a wedge between the American people he’s bringing in all the illegals and the taxpayers are taking the bill for them. Look what Obama did he brought America to its knees he was going around apologizing for no reason. Look what Clinton did he was a pervert how many times did he go to the Epstein island. The Democrats during the Civil War they were the ones for slavery and for the KKK. The Republicans demolished slavery. The Democrats now Biden is putting his back in all into slavery. And taking our freedoms away from us
Roosevelt had to carefully become a full ally with Churchill and England. He had to maneuver his knowledge that the United States had to assist England but it would not be agreed on by The Senate until we were brought into the war when we were attacked by Japan. Then he could collaborate with Allies
And Now the Russan government is killing their own children, horrible. The people must raise against their governments ways.