Which US President of the 20th century had the biggest impact on our nation's economy?

Question

This could be a good impact or a bad impact. Why?

Death Toys, my question is the 20th century, not the 21st century. We
have only had one president this century.

Joe Bleu--again---20th century.

Answer 1

FDR's "New Deal" policies eased the Great Depression. I don't think any other President comes close to FDR. I would say that the President that preceded FDR, Herbert Hoover, was the worst President in terms of economic impact. Reagan and Carter's Administration were marked by recession. They would be runners-up.

Answer 2

You only have to read my profile to know my opinion of President Ronald Wilson Reagan. What irritates me about so many historians is that they look for excuses not to credit Reagan with ending the Cold War. They think he just stumbled into the right place at the right time. They have a word for people like that, but "idiots", "morons", "feeble minded" doesn't even start to cover it. Reagan was shrewd. He was a master negotiator, a skill he learned fighting the toughest adversary known to man: the tightfisted Hollywood studio bosses who would have paid actors with a cup of rice every day if they could. Reagan was far wiser and cleverer than people gave him credit for. He knew that SDI might not work for decades, he knew it might only provide enough of a shield to protect certain sensitive U.S. military targets. But he bet that it would scare the Bejesus out of the Soviets, and it did. He bet they would start panicking as a result of all this, and they did. That's where Reagan made his move. He outmaneuvered the befuddled Gorbachev like Kasparov on the chess board. He kept chiding and prodding Gorbachev to institute this reform, eliminate that requirement, broaden this, tighten that, until one day the Politburo realized they they had been painted into a corner, and the satellite countries were about to revolt. There was no options left. Reagan's secret financial war against the Soviets had bankrupted them, and now they couldn't even control Eastern Europe. Game over. Reagan won. (Gorby just took the credit like some grinning fool).

Answer 3

Bill Clinton. When he left office, the country had a budget surplus. In a few short months, George W. Bush put us all TRILLIONS of dollars in debt.
Franklin D. Roosevelt also had a major economic impact on this country after pulling us out of a great depression. but that was also assisted by World War II (which, some say, FDR deliberately got us into as a means of boosting a stagnating economy). -RKO- 08/11/07

Answer 4

Well since the 21st century didn't officially start till 2001 that would have to be the present president bush and his vice dick.
bush has put this country and all her future children deeper in debt then anyone I know of and for the worst reasons
A country doesn't go in debt to give rich people tax cuts, but then those of you who actually get the really big cuts like bush you could care less about this country or it's future.

Answer 5

Franklin D. Roosevelt, easily. He inherited the Great Depression, a time when our country was in the worst economic shape it has ever been in. His programs put people back in the work force. When FDR died in office in 1945, he had turned the American economy and the living conditions of the people completely around.

Answer 6

Calvin Cooldlige and treasury Secretary Mellon, gave us the roaring 20's with their hands off economic policies.
It was the Federal reserve that was responsible for the great depression, not Herbert Hoover!

WW2 did more to end the depression than the New deal did..

Answer 7

Bad> Herbert Hoover with his 'trickle down' economics(copied by Reagan) that led to the Great Depression.

Good> Franklin D Roosevelt for his programs to build the U.S. infrastructure, circulate the money, and pull us out of the depression.

Answer 8

Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Hands down winner.

Answer 9

FDR got America out of the Great Depression and led it through almost all of the Second World War.

Answer 10

FDR had the biggest "impact"--His legacy is not so good (in my view), but he brought the US out of the Depression and there's no question that he had the biggest impact--he was also President longest, of course...