Skip to main content

The War

Despite the countless pieces of legislation passed under Roosevelt, what got America out of the depression was World War II. After World War I, America was actually very Isolationist. So as Roosevelt approached the war, he gradually promoted an Interventionist mindset. I mean, if Germany's going to intervene with everyone, why can't the U.S.? 

So Roosevelt started getting involved with revising neutrality acts to allow for a cash-and-carry policy and later the Lend-Lease act so that the U.S. could provide arms and aid to the French and UK. And then, Pearl Harbor happened, so we all know what came next. Actual war. He was pretty much priming the U.S. for war so that when war actually happened, everyone wouldn't be in shock.

Although FDR didn't live to see the end of the war he brought his country into, according to my AP Gov breakout rooms, he was deemed the most worthy of all the remaining Presidents to be carved into Mt. Rushmore. Both for the democratic party and democracy as a whole, FDR made an impact. At the Yalta conference, FDR was friendly with Stalin and received his word for the installation of democratic governments throughout Eastern Europe. Just like steel, Stalin couldn't be easily molded. And Stalin, as we know him today, became the leader of the Soviet Union. So no, he did not keep his word with FDR.

Despite ending on such a low note with Communist regimes and all, after the fall of Communism, FDR's democracy spread across the world and stays with us forever.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Never Let Anyone Dull your Sparkle! (unless you're the 1920s)

Knowing that the Great Gatsby is set in the 1920s, I had been looking forward to reading the book for so long. This decade has always fascinated me because of its creation of a new society, which--for the first time in history--is relatable to ours. In my perspective, before the 1920s, history was bleak, the human lifestyle seemed near archaic, and nothing was the slightest bit comparable to the twenty-first century. But at the turn of a new decade, Roaring Twenties brought along the "New Woman" and the birth of mass culture, including a surge of trends and technology. A curtain for my car window? Of course, I'll buy it! However, in the Great Gatsby , I seemed to have forgotten that the book I was reading was about my favorite decade! Where's the excitement and innovation? Why aren't advertisements for the Model-T being shoved in my face? Needless to say, I was underwhelmed! But I don't think I was alone in thinking this. In fact, Fitzgerald's mess...

SNL: Satire Now Loud

The concept of satire in comedy is fundamentally questionable, though it works. Society's rule is generally to avoid calling out people's flaws, yet comedy finds a loophole of balance to do so without offending the general population. The obvious face of comedy in America is Saturday Night Live. Although the program is known for its many parodies of electoral debates and "Weekend Updates," most of its production is not government-mocking. It varies from commercial parodies to high school skits and more; these clearly don't target specific individuals, allowing for wide entertainment. In other cases, the subject of the joke is so absurd that everyone can enjoy it--even the subject itself. Because the principal purpose of comedy is to entertain, those being made fun of must accept that they are only a small expense of this entertainment. And even more, because these jokes are exaggerations, the audience knows not to take the message too literally. These behaviors a...

In Loving Memory of FDR

One of the most influential leaders of the democratic party and democracy as a whole, Franklin Delano Roosevelt left our world seventy-five years ago. Being such a huge part of America's development (and APUSH curriculum), I thought it would only be natural to examine FDR in history and  FDR's history. Now, let me take you along a brief, or not so brief, journey of Roosevelt's life.