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  1. Some have called him the best president yet. Others have even claimed that he was the
  2. world's most influential and successful leader of the twentieth century. Those
  3. claims can be backed up by the overwhelming support that he received from his citizens
  4. throughout his four terms in office. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt began a new
  5. era in American history by ending the Great Depression that the country had fallen into in
  6. 1929. His social reforms gave people a new perspective on government. Government
  7. was not only expected to protect the people from foreign invaders, but to protect against
  8. poverty and joblessness. Roosevelt had shown his military and diplomatic skill as the
  9. Commander in Chief during World War II. This wartime leadership and international
  10. relations policy won him an award in the hearts of many Americans.
  11. Roosevelt threw his hat in the ring in 1931 in order to prepare for the
  12. election of 1932. Democratic Party chairman James A Farley directed his campaign.
  13. He
  14. started a nationwide radio address, outlining a program to meet the economic problems
  15. of the nation. He coined the term forgotten man to mean all of those who had been
  16. hard hit by the evils of the depression. These radio addresses were the start to what he
  17. called the fireside chats. Overall, Roosevelt was the most energetic and dynamic
  18. candidate, and he was nominated by the party on the fourth ballot. Although he
  19. displayed excellent characteristics, his competition was fairly tough. He was up against
  20. John Nance Garner of Texas (who would be his Vice Presidential running mate);
  21. Newton
  22. D. Baker of Ohio, who was former Secretary of War; and former Governor Alfred E.
  23. Smith of New York. For three ballots, Roosevelt held a large lead, but lacked the two-
  24. thirds margin necessary for victory. Farley then promised John Garner the vice
  25. presidential nomination, which he accepted grudgingly. Then FDR took the presidential
  26. nomination on the fourth ballot.
  27. One of the purposes of the national convention is to bring the party together in a
  28. movement of support behind the nominated candidate. Although there was rough
  29. competition during the choosing process, most party leaders were happy with the
  30. Roosevelt choice. It would help pull votes from the urban-Eastern region of the country.
  31. Also, Roosevelt made a dashing introduction at the Chicago convention by being the first
  32. nominee to ever write an acceptance speech. In this speech, he brought emotions from
  33. the audience in his last line, I pledge to you, I pledge to myself, to a new deal for the
  34. American people.
  35. During the November campaign against Hoover, Roosevelt suggested a few parts
  36. of the so called New Deal. He spoke of relief and public works money. He wanted to
  37. develop a plan to cut agricultural overproduction. He was for public power,
  38. conservation
  39. and unemployment insurance. The repeal of prohibition and stock exchange regulation
  40. were also big items on his platform.
  41. However, other than the aforementioned items, Roosevelt was quite vague about
  42. other plans. He mentioned little about his plans for industrial recovery or labor laws. As
  43. much foreign policy experience as he had, he talked very little of it during the campaign.
  44. Many believe that he was simply trying to home in on the problems that the American
  45. public saw most prominent at the time.
  46. When it came to election day, Roosevelt was the only viable alternative to
  47. Hoover, who many blamed for the Great Depression, although critics argue that it was
  48. the presidents preceding the Hoover Administration. The outcome reflected this
  49. thinking: Roosevelt won 22,821,857 votes compared to Hoover's 15, 761,841.
  50. Roosevelt
  51. also won the electoral 472 to 59. The voters had sent large majorities of Democrats to
  52. both houses as well, which would enable Roosevelt to accomplish more by pushing
  53. through more bills.
  54. Roosevelt's second election was in 1936. The Democratic National Convention
  55. re-nominated him by acclamation-- no vote was even taken. Vice President Garner was
  56. also nominated. The Republican opponents were Governor Alfred M. Landon of
  57. Kansas
  58. and Frank Knox, a newspaper publisher. Republicans, seeing Roosevelt's overwhelming
  59. popularity, were reaching for a tomato to throw. They claimed that he had not kept his
  60. promise to the people to balance the budget. Roosevelt replied by pointing to the
  61. actions
  62. of fighting the depression and returning the nation to prosperity to precedence over the
  63. budget.
  64. As expected, Roosevelt won by a landslide. He received 27,751,491 popular
  65. votes and carried 46 states with 523 electoral votes. His opponent only received
  66. 16,679,491 popular votes and 2 states with 8 electorals. This reflected the nation's
  67. confidence in the man and his leadership ability. However, the nation still had a long
  68. way to go. He stated in his inauguration address, I see one-third of a nation ill-housed,
  69. ill-clad, and ill-nourished.
  70. After another over-all successful term, Roosevelt ran again in 1940. The
  71. Democratic Party broke precedent with his re-nomination. There were some party
  72. members that felt it was unfair to elect him again, so his margins of popularity fell
  73. slightly. This time, he was not the only one up for the nomination. There was James
  74. Farley, who received 72 13/30 votes, previous Vice President John Nance Garner,
  75. receiving 61 votes; Millard Tydings of Maryland, receiving 9 1/2 votes; and Cordell Hull,
  76. former Secretary of State, who received only 5 2/3 votes. Secretary of Agriculture
  77. Henry
  78. A. Wallace was chosen as a Vice Presidential running mate. The Republicans nominated
  79. Wendell Wilkie of Indiana, a corporation president, to oppose the Roosevelt/Wallace
  80. team. The two candidates had some similar views. Wilkie supported Roosevelt's
  81. foreign
  82. policy and favored many New Deal programs already in effect. However, Wilkie
  83. opposed the controls that the Democratic Administration had put on business.
  84. To obtain more Republican support for this campaign, Roosevelt used his
  85. executive power of appointment to appoint two republicans to his Cabinet in 1940. The
  86. first was Henry L. Stimson for Secretary of War, who held the office under the Taft
  87. Administration. He also held the office of Secretary of State under President Hoover.
  88. Stimson replaced Harry Woodring who was regarded as isolationist. Roosevelt's
  89. previous
  90. opponent who ran for as Vice President on the republican side, newspaper publisher
  91. Frank Knox, was placed as the Secretary of the Navy.
  92. The Republicans based their campaign on the tradition that no President had ever
  93. gone for a third term in succession. To counter this, Roosevelt put the spotlight on his
  94. administration's achievements. Because of the risky situation abroad, many felt that
  95. Roosevelt's expertise was needed if war occurred.
  96. The election results were closer this time than the previous two times. Roosevelt
  97. received 27,243,466 popular votes and 449 electoral votes. Wilkie received
  98. 22,334,413
  99. popular votes and 82 electoral votes.
  100. When it was time for Roosevelt's third term to end, he initially said he wanted to
  101. retire. However, he later declared that he felt it was his duty to serve if his country called
  102. on him. Much of this feeling was based on the idea that it would be a bad thing for the
  103. country to change leadership in the middle of the war. Many of the president's advisors
  104. felt he would not live through a fourth term, considering his heart disease, hypertension,
  105. and other cardiac problems. Because of his condition, the Vice President nomination for
  106. the 1944 election was of utmost importance. Roosevelt was persuaded to drop Henry
  107. Wallace, whom many regarded as too liberal and emotionally unsuited to be president.
  108. Harry Truman of Missouri was chosen to fill the spot. Although Roosevelt received
  109. party
  110. nomination on the first ballot, there were two other candidates: Harry Byrd (89 votes)
  111. and James Farley--again-- (1 vote).
  112. The Republicans nominated Thomas Dewey of New York for President and John
  113. Bricker of Ohio for Vice President. Again, their argument was term length. No
  114. President should serve for 16 years, they declared. The opposing argument by the
  115. Democrats was that no country should change horses in mid-stream. Roosevelt drove
  116. around the streets of New York City in a rainstorm and then made a speech to show that
  117. his health was not a major issue.
  118. The election outcome was even slimmer this time, but Roosevelt still captured a
  119. hearty vote. Roosevelt received 25,602,505 votes and 432 electoral votes and his
  120. Republican opponent received 22,013,372 popular votes and 99 electoral votes.
  121. Many of the advisers who helped Roosevelt during his presidential campaigns
  122. continued to aid him after he entered the White House. Below are the four cabinets:
  123. FIRST TERM
  124. March 4, 1933-January 20, 1937
  125. POSITION NAME/ STATE DATE OF
  126. INDUCTION
  127. Secretary of State: Cordell Hull, TN 3/4/33
  128. Secretary of Treasury: William Hartman Woodin, NY 3/4/33
  129. Henry Morganthau, Jr., NY 1/1/34
  130. Secretary of War: George Henry Dern, UT 3/4/33
  131. Harry Woodring, KA 9/25/36-5/6/37
  132. Attorney General: Homer Stille Cummings, CN 3/4/33
  133. Postmaster General: James A. Farley, NY 3/4/33
  134. Secretary of the Navy: Claude A. Swanson, VA 3/4/33
  135. Secretary of Interior: Harold Ickes, IL** 3/4/33
  136. Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, IW 3/4/33
  137. Secretary of Commerce: Daniel Calhoun Roper, SC 3/4/33
  138. Secretary of Labor: Frances Perkins, NY* 3/4/33
  139. * first female to be appointed to the Cabinet
  140. **previously the leader of the Chicago NAACP
  141. SECOND TERM
  142. January 20, 1937-January 20, 1941
  143. POSITION NAME/STATE DATE OF
  144. INDUCTION
  145. Secretary of State Cordell Hull, TN from previous admn.
  146. Secretary of Treasury: Henry Morgenthau, Jr., NY from previous admn.
  147. Secretary of War: Harry Woodring from previous-5/6/37
  148. Henry L. Stimson, NY 7/10/40
  149. Attorney General: Homer Stille Cummings, CN from
  150. previous-1/17/40
  151. Robert Houghwout Jackson, NY 1/18/40
  152. Postmaster General: James A. Farley, NY from previous-9/1/40
  153. Frank C. Walker, PA 9/10/40
  154. Secretary of Navy: Claude Swanson, VA from previous-7/7/39
  155. Charles Edison, NJ 8/5/39-1/12/40
  156. Frank Knox, IL 7/10/40
  157. Secretary of the Interior: Harold Ickes, IL from previous
  158. Secretary of Agriculture: Henry A. Wallace, IW from previous
  159. Claude Raymond Wickard, IN 8/27/40
  160. Secretary of Commerce: Daniel C. Roper, SC from previous
  161. Harry Hopkins, NY 12/24/38
  162. Jesse Jones, TX 9/16/40
  163. Secretary of Labor: Francis Perkins, NY from previous
  164. THIRD TERM
  165. January 20, 1941-January 20, 1945
  166. POSITION NAME/STATE DATE OF
  167. INDUCTION
  168. Secretary of State: Cordell Hull, TN from previous
  169. Edward Stettinius, VA 11/30/44
  170. Secretary of Treasury: Henry Morgenthau, Jr., NY from previous
  171. Secretary of War: Henry L. Stimson, NY from previous
  172. Attorney General: Robert Jackson, NY from previous
  173. Francis Biddle, PA 9/5/41
  174. Postmaster General: Frank Walker, PA from previous
  175. Secretary of the Navy: Frank Knox, IL from previous-4/28/44
  176. James Vincent Forrestal, NY 6/18/44
  177. Secretary of the Interior: Harold Ickes, IL from previous
  178. Secretary of Agriculture: Claude Wickard, IN from previous
  179. Secretary of Commerce: Jesse Jones, TX from previous
  180. Secretary of Labor: Francis Perkins, NY from previous
  181. FOURTH TERM
  182. January 20, 1945- April 12, 1945
  183. POSITION NAME/STATE DATE OF
  184. INDUCTION
  185. Secretary of State: Edward Stettinius, VA from previous
  186. Secretary of Treasury: Henry Morganthau, Jr. NY from previous
  187. Secretary of War: Henry Stimson, NY from previous
  188. Attorney General: Francis Biddle, PA from previous
  189. Postmaster General: Frank Walker, PA from previous
  190. Secretary of the Navy: James Forrestal, NY from previous
  191. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, IL from previous
  192. Secretary of Agriculture: Claude Wickard, IN from previous
  193. Secretary of Commerce: Jesse Jones, TX from previous
  194. Henry Wallace 3/1/45
  195. Secretary of Labor: Frances Perkins, NY from previous
  196. By the time Roosevelt was inagurated on March 4, 1933, the economic situation
  197. was desperate. Between 13 and 15 million Americans were unemployed. Of these,
  198. between 1 and 2 million people were wandering about the country looking for jobs.
  199. Thousands lived in cardboard shacks called hoovervilles. Even more were standing in
  200. bread lines hoping to get a few crumbs for their family. Panic-stricken people hoping to
  201. rescue their deposits had forced 38 states to close their banks. The Depression hit all
  202. levels of the social scale-- heads of corporations and Wall Street bankers were left on
  203. the
  204. street begging-- brother, can you spare a dime? became the catch phrase of the era.
  205. Roosevelt's action would be two parted: restore confidence and rebuild the
  206. economic and social structure. In one of his addresses, he pushed confidence with his
  207. statement, the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. It is here where he would push
  208. his presidential powers farther than almost any other president in history during
  209. peacetime. He made the bold request to Congress to allow him broad executive power
  210. to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if
  211. we were invaded by a foreign foe.
  212. One of his first steps was to take action upon the bank problem. Because of the
  213. Depression, there were runs to the bank that people were making to pull their deposits
  214. out in return for paper cash and gold. Many banks were not fit to handle this rush.
  215. Roosevelt declared a bank holiday that began on March 6, 1933 and lasted for four
  216. days. All banks in the nation were closed until the Department of Treasury could
  217. examine each one's fiscal situation. Those that were determined to be in sound financial
  218. condition were allowed to reopen. Those that were questionable were looked at more
  219. deeply. Those banks who had been badly operated were not allowed to reopen.
  220. During
  221. the FDR administration, 5,504 banks had closed and deposits of nearly $3.5 billion
  222. dollars were lost.
  223. Shortly after the President restored confidence in the banks, what is now known
  224. as the 100 days began on March 9 and ended on June 16, 1933. The President at
  225. once
  226. began to submit recovery and reform laws for congressional approval. Congress passed
  227. nearly all the important bills that he requested, most of them by large majorities. The
  228. fact that there was a Democratic party majority in both houses helped speed things
  229. along.
  230. What emerged from these 100 days was a 3-fold focus,
  231. RELIEF-RECOVERY-REFORM.
  232. One of the relief actions was known as the Emergency Relief Act. This
  233. established the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and he pushed an
  234. appropriation of $500 million to be spent immediately for quick relief. Harry Hopkins
  235. was appointed to the head of FERA as the Federal Relief Administrator.
  236. The Reforestation Act of 1933 killed two birds with one stone. First it helped
  237. stop and repair some of the environmental damage that had occurred as a result of the
  238. industrial revolution. More importantly, however, it created the Civilian Conservation
  239. Corps, which eventually employed more than 2 1/2 million men at various camps.
  240. Projects included reforestation, road construction, soil erosion and flood control as well
  241. as national park development.
  242. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was designed to raise crop prices and
  243. raise the standard of living for American farmers. Production was cut to increase
  244. demand, therefore raising the price. Also, various subsides were set up to add to the
  245. farmers income. It also gave the president the power to inflate the currency by
  246. devaluating its gold content or the free coinage of silver and issue about $3 billion in
  247. paper currency. The AAA was later struck down as unconstitutional by the US
  248. Supreme
  249. Court-- US vs. Butler.
  250. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), another recovery measure, was
  251. designed to balance the interests of business and labor and consumers/workers and to
  252. reduce unemployment. This act set codes of anti-trust laws and fair competition, as well
  253. as setting a new standard-- minimum wage. Section 7A of the law guaranteed collective
  254. bargaining rights to workers. NIRA also established the Public Works Administration
  255. (PWA), which supervised the building of roads and public buildings at a cost of $3.3
  256. billion to Uncle Sam.
  257. A new idea came about in those 100 days, it was known as the federal
  258. corporation. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was the first agency to work much
  259. like a private enterprise. The goal of the TVA was to reform one of the poorest parts of
  260. the country, the Tennessee River Valley. The TVA was responsible for the construction
  261. and management of power plants, dams, electricity, flood control systems and the
  262. development of navigation systems.
  263. The Federal Securities Act required the government to register and approve all
  264. issues of stocks and bonds. This act also created the Securities and Exchange
  265. Commission (SEC), which regulates exchanges and transactions of securities.
  266. Other reforms included the Home Owners Refinancing Act, which established
  267. mortgage money for homeowners to refinance and the Banking Act of 1933, which
  268. created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It was empowered to guarantee
  269. individual bank deposits up to $5000.
  270. After the initial 100 days, reform continued throughout the first part of the
  271. Roosevelt Administration. In November, 1933, the Civil Works Administration was
  272. created by executive order, which provided temp jobs during the winter of 1933-34.
  273. The
  274. Gold Reserve Act helped fix some of the problems of the economy at the roots. First all
  275. gold was transferred from the Federal Reserve to the National Treasury. FDR was also
  276. empowered to fix the values of the dollar by weighing its value in gold. He later set the
  277. price of gold at $35 per ounce, which in turn stabilized markets. The Silver Purchase
  278. Act
  279. followed, allowing the government to have not only gold in the Treasury, but Silver as
  280. well-- valued at 1/3 the price of gold. The Communications Act of 1934 established one
  281. of the most active federal agencies today, the Federal Communications Commission
  282. (FCC). It general purpose was to monitor radio, telegraph, and telephone
  283. communications.
  284. In Roosevelt's Annual Address to Congress on January 4, 1935, he outlined phase
  285. two of the New Deal, whose main component would be the establishment of the modern
  286. welfare system. The federal government would withdraw from the direct relief, leaving
  287. it up to state and local governments. A program of social reforms would also be
  288. included
  289. in the second half of the New Deal. This would include social security for the aged,
  290. unemployed and ill, as well as slum clearance and better housing.
  291. One of the first acts of the New Deal, Phase II was the Emergency Relief Act. By
  292. Executive Order, Roosevelt created three new relief agencies in 1935. The first would
  293. be
  294. the Work Progress Administration (WPA), which would spend $11 billion on temporary
  295. construction jobs. Schools, theaters, museums, airfields, parks and post offices were
  296. constructed as a result. This increased the national purchasing power.
  297. Another part of the Emergency Relief Act was the Resettlement Administration
  298. (RA). Its goals were to improve the condition of farm families not already benefiting
  299. from AAA, prevent waste by unprofitable farming operations or improper land use and
  300. projects such as flood control and reforestation. This agency also resettled poor families
  301. in subsistence homestead communities. These were basic suburbs constructed for the
  302. city's poor workers. Many times, these communities were known as greenbelt towns
  303. because of their proximity to open space. Two model suburbs were set up-- Greenbelt
  304. in
  305. Washington DC and Greenhills in Cincinnati. Another aid to the farmer was the Rural
  306. Electrification Administration (REA). Its goals were to provide electricity to isolated
  307. areas where private utility companies did not see it profitable to run lines and set up
  308. service.
  309. The year of 1935 brought with it numerous reform efforts. These were the final
  310. efforts of the New Deal before the nation geared up for war. Included in this was the
  311. National Labor Relations Act, whose most important function was to set up the National
  312. Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which monitored corporations to ensure worker rights
  313. and safety. The National Housing Act created the US Housing Authority (USHA) to
  314. administer low-interest 60-year loans to small communities for slum clearance and
  315. construction projects. This agency also gave subsidies to those landlords willing to offer
  316. low-income housing. A Revenue Act of 1935 capped off the New Deal with a tax on
  317. the
  318. rich, and a tax break on the middle classmen.
  319. One of the most important and lasting effects of the Roosevelt Administration
  320. was his into push for the Social Security Act of 1935. This was an innovative plan that
  321. was supposed to lead to a nation-wide retirement system. It also established a
  322. cooperative federal-state welfare system/unemployment system. A tax was levied on the
  323. employee, which was met dollar for dollar by the employer. This tax went into a special
  324. fund operated by the Social Security Administration. Later in life, when a person
  325. reached retirement, they could draw the money out of this account that they had placed
  326. in
  327. for the last few decades.
  328. The Supreme Court was fairly conservative, and attempted to shoot holes in
  329. many of Roosevelt's New Deal Programs. It felt that Roosevelt had taken his legislative
  330. presidential power to recommend legislation too far, and that Congress was equally
  331. responsible for allowing him to usurp the powers for reasons of what Roosevelt claimed
  332. was a national emergency. In a statement made in May of 1935, one of the Supreme
  333. Court Justices announced that Congress had delegated virtually unfettered powers to
  334. the
  335. [Roosevelt] Administration.-- something truly inconsistent with the constitutional
  336. prerogatives and duties of Congress. The Supreme Court even went as far as to strike
  337. the entire AAA program down, claiming that it violated state's rights.
  338. FDR was infuriated at the actions of the Court. He thought of them as nine old
  339. men who were living in days gone by-- far too conservative to see the economic and
  340. social needs of today. He soon began to plan retribution, however in secrecy. Two
  341. days
  342. after inviting the Justices to a formal social function at the White House, he called upon
  343. his staff to write up the Judicial Reform Act of 1937. Essentially, this document alleged
  344. that the Judicial Branch of the federal government was overwhelmed. The Act described
  345. a desperate situation in which reform and recovery issues were not flowing through
  346. government on a timely basis--simply because the Supreme Court was backed up. His
  347. answer to solve the dilemma was to use his executive power of appointment and place
  348. more Justices on the Court. Another section of the Act suggested that at age 70 (most
  349. of
  350. the Justices were above this age), each Justice would be supplemented with an additional
  351. Justice. This meant up to 15 Supreme Court Justices serving at one time. Roosevelt
  352. hoped to load the Court with social liberal Democrats who would not oppose his New
  353. Deal Programs. This became known as his Court Packing Scheme.
  354. The President can appoint Justices, however, they must be approved by Congress.
  355. After a long period of embarrassing debate, the Senate rejected Roosevelt's proposal.
  356. This, in turn, caused Roosevelt to reject the Senate. He set out on a mission to purge the
  357. Democratic party of the moderate type thinker, replacing him with the ultra-liberal.
  358. Roosevelt used his diplomatic and military powers in the later part of his
  359. Administration nearly as much as he used his executive and legislative powers in the first
  360. half. At the time Roosevelt took office, the nation was suprisingly isolationistic. This
  361. started in the late nineteenth century, and continued up to the Roosevelt Administration.
  362. When the Great Depression hit in the 1930's, America became even more concerned
  363. with
  364. its own problems. However, seeing the importance of a global view and seeing the
  365. possible impact of World War II, Roosevelt directed the country toward nations abroad.
  366. Roosevelt described his foreign policy as that of a good neighbor. The phrase
  367. came to be used to describe the US attitude toward the countries of Latin America.
  368. Under the policy, the United States took a stronger lead in promoting good will among
  369. these nations. The Platt Amendment of 1901 gave the US the right to intervene in the
  370. affairs of Cuba. In May of 1934, the government repealed this amendment. It also
  371. withdrew American occupation forces from some Caribbean republics, and settled long-
  372. standing oil disputes with Mexico. Roosevelt was the first to sign reciprocal trade
  373. agreements with the Latin American countries, including Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica,
  374. Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Nicaragua. In 1935, the US signed treaties of
  375. non-aggression and conciliation with six Latin American nations. This desire to spread
  376. ties across the Western Hemispheres led to reciprocal trade agreements with Canada.
  377. Roosevelt also used personal diplomacy by taking trips to various Latin American
  378. nations. In July, 1934, he became the first American president to visit South American in
  379. his trip to Columbia. In 1936, he attended the Inter-American Conference for the
  380. Maintenance of Peace, in Buenos Aires.
  381. Roosevelt used his diplomatic power of recognition to resume trading between
  382. the Soviet Union and the US The recognition was given to the Soviet government in
  383. November of 1933. This was the first attempt at civil relations since the Russian
  384. Revolution in 1917. In 1933, for the first time in 16 years, the two nations exchanged
  385. representatives.
  386. In 1937, Japan, at war with China, attacked a US river gunboat, the USS Panay,
  387. on the Yangtze River, killing two US citizens. This event infuriated the American public
  388. as well as the Roosevelt Administration. However, the US protested the Japanese
  389. action
  390. rather than demanding action taken against them. Roosevelt used his diplomatic power
  391. and refused to recognize the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Northern China
  392. until
  393. there was an official apology. Shortly after Roosevelt's statement, Japan made an official
  394. apology to the US and offend to pay for the damages in full.
  395. Although Roosevelt set his sights upon a global society, many Americans
  396. disagreed. This school of thought led to the Neutrality Acts of the 1930's. These acts,
  397. passed by Congress, prohibited the US from furnishing weapons or supplies to any
  398. nation
  399. at war. President Roosevelt hoped that any more of these laws that would be enacted in
  400. the future would allow more flexibility. He disliked the fact that these Acts treated all
  401. nations the same, whether a country had attacked another or not.
  402. World War II began on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Still,
  403. many Americans did not agree that the situation was as dangerou
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