Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was best known as our 32nd president of America. He was the fifth cousin of former President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt is best known for two things; inspiring Americans during the Great Depression, and proposing the New Deal. Roosevelt was influential in restoring America's faith in their leadership, and in themselves. He told the nation, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." This quote became an inspiration for many Americans, and they were able to rally behind Roosevelt and fight through The Great Depression. The New Deal occurred when in 1932, a quarter of the American workforce was unemployed. President Roosevelt set up experimental programs in order to stabilize the economy and provide temporary jobs to those in need. It began with "The Hundred Days". That May, Roosevelt agreed to the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, which allowed the government to build dams in the Tennesse river. A m onth later, he signed the National Industrial Recovery Act, which granted workers higher wages and better working conditions. Many other acts were passed as well, and while some business leaders were angered by these new acts, it temporarily improved the economy (which would later be fixed by the job openings during World War II).