2007-04-09 09:29:35 · 7 answers · asked by JBWPLGCSE 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
That depends on your definition of a good president. If you mean effective (as in effective at getting legislation through Congress), then yes, he was pretty good after a few years of fighting Congress on getting his New Deal legislation passed.
If you means good as in did he have a positive effect on the country (i.e. was FDR the man who got us out of the Depression?), that's a tougher question.
He was certainly better than President Hoover, who did almost nothing to help stop the Depression. Did the New Deal end the Depression? Not really. It sure helped though. I'm not saying the New Deal wouldn't have pulled us out of the Depression eventually, but it was World War II that really got us out of the Depression.
As far as foreign policy is concerned, he was actively trying to steer us to war with Germany. You can think of that as a good thing or a bad thing, it doesn't really matter. That's because the Japanese took care of that for him.
He certainly has faults. Its hard to justify the Japanese Internment camps, which were done with his knowledge and consent.
I'm sure someone else will come along to add plenty more to this question, so I'll end here.
Ultimately, whether someone is a "good" president or not often depends on whether you're happy with the results. I will say this though, when FDR was president, the people loved him. His picture decorated walls in thousands of homes and thousands of small businesses. Think what you will of George Bush or Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan, no president has ever been so popular (that I can recall) while still in office.
2007-04-09 09:44:34 · answer #1 · answered by Robert J. Bliss 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He was an excellent president. He saved America from depression by creating a public works program. Franclin Roosevelt is the greatest president in American history. President Bush II is the worst.
2007-04-09 16:39:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Quite possibly the best in modern times in terms of doing what was best for the USA. He got us out of the depression, prepared the US for WWII, and as Commander in Chief won WWII (along with the allies). I guess he was the last US President to win a war(?).
2007-04-09 18:30:49 · answer #3 · answered by cranknbank9 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, as he was able to get us out of the Great Depression of the 30's. He also helped set up safegaurds to prevent any further depressions in the U.S.
2007-04-09 16:35:06 · answer #4 · answered by viking165301 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He brought us out of the Great Depression and guided the nation through WWII. I'd say, yes.
2007-04-09 16:37:48 · answer #5 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In comparison to the recent ones, yes he was. Please keep in mind that being a good president does not mean he was a perfect person, husband or father.
2007-04-09 16:34:39 · answer #6 · answered by justme 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most definitely; you don't get elected to 4 terms being a dud.
2007-04-09 16:34:36 · answer #7 · answered by csucdartgirl 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋