This paper will look at the similarities and differences in the Presidencies of Barack Obama and Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt became President during a trying time for America. The Great Depression was in full swing caused by the fact that Wall Street and the banks had collapsed causing millions of people or about 25 percent of the population. to be without jobs or financial security (Miller). When Roosevelt came into office he put together an economic package known as the New Deal in order to help alleviate the crisis and get men back to work.
Almost seventy years later in 2008 the country was in a recession due to another Wall Street and the banks once again collapsed due in part because of large corporations like GM defaulting on loans. As the recession took place in the last year of President Bush’s term in office, he did almost nothing to deal with it. Leaving it for the next incumbent to handle. When President Obama took office in 2009 he had a country on the verge of another Depression as businesses were closing almost daily, the national average for unemployment was somewhere near 9.8 percent nationally and it was as high as 15.3 percent in Michigan (United States Government Accountability Office pg. 53). The value of American money had diminished. In order to deal with this President Obama created the Stimulus Plan which was quite similar to Roosevelt’s New Deal Plan.
However, there are some differences (1) the Gold standard being the biggest difference. During Roosevelt’s time in office money was backed by gold. This caused it to appear as though the national debt was doubling as the government was implementing the projects put forth by the New Deal to improve the economy. The gold standard is not something that exists today.
Communication with the masses. Like FDR who engaged in radio programs called Fireside Chats in which he told the populace about the issues of the country and what was being done to address them. President Obama conducted a number of speeches vis the internet before he was inaugurated in order to address the issues he would have to face. The differences between the two were the mediums used and the amount of addresses given. Roosevelt gave 30 Fireside Chats in about 10 years (Hiltzik). He also held two press conferences a week. The fact that Roosevelt was a master when it came to manipulating the media also meant that his administration was behind many of the headlines. These headlines served as a way to address the immediate issues that Roosevelt knew were on the minds of the people.
Whereas President Obama, who used the internet and media to get elected has continued to reach out to the American people about various platforms and legislation he was fighting for by appearing on different news outlets and programs like The Daily Show has lost his connection with many of the American people. The differences between Roosevelt and President Obama when it came to the people is that for the families living during the presidency of Roosevelt the Fireside Chats were something to look forward to, something that brought people together and increased Roosevelt’s popularity. As President Obama’s time in office has continued his bond with the people has diminished. This may be because the President became too familiar to them or maybe the American people are just disillusioned about what a President can truly accomplish
The economy- Roosevelt despite his efforts did not significantly decrease the 25 percent unemployment rate during his presidency even though there was significant economic growth in 1936 before dropping again in 1937 (Miller). On the other hand, President Obama has been successful in decreasing the unemployment rate, albeit slowly. However, the economic issue that was inherited by President Obama was not anywhere near as bad as it was during The Depression. The unemployment rate in 2008 was around 9 percent, while the unemployment rate at the beginning of Roosevelt’s term was 25 percent with over 9000 banks failing compared to only 57 and the Dow dropping to 89.2 percent in 1932 compared to it falling 53.8 percent between 2007-2009 (Miller). So while President Obama came into a bad situation it was nowhere near as bad as the one that Roosevelt inherited. The truth is the situation during the Great Depression despite the stories was not as bad as it seemed. Much (75%) of the population still had jobs. Nevertheless, there was a deep seeded fear amongst the populace that they too were going to lose everything as the Great Depression had already been happening for three years before Roosevelt took office. This fear was crucial to Roosevelt getting Congress to pass many of his laws (Hiltzik).
This fear did not exist when President Obama took office so Congress was more willing to reject many of his proposals for dealing with the recession. This was because the economy and businesses were still powerful enough to stop him from implementing his plans. The fact that much of the country was not feeling the effects of the recession also made it so they saw actions put forth by President Obama like the Stimulus Plan as being an example of big government getting involved in the affairs of the populace where in their minds they had no right to be. Nevertheless, the Stimulus Plan which was part of the Recovery Act that President Obama put through was crucial in preventing the country from getting into a full on Depression. This prevention of failure will never receive the same appreciation as being brought out of financial decline. In order to achieve the support of big business and Congress President Obama had to make a number of concessions. One of these was bailing out GM and Wells Fargo in order to prevent the automobile and banking industries from total collapse. Like President Obama, Roosevelt had to cede some of his ideas to big business in order to gain support for the New Deal, reform of Wall Street and Recovery Act.
Outside of the way the both Presidents Roosevelt and Obama dealt with the economy. There is also the way that they each approach military conflict. It was under Roosevelt that America finally entered the Second World War after spending much of it neutral. This was of course motivated by Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Nonetheless, at the end of the war America was a stronger nation not only politically but also economically as many European countries were in debt to the United States.
When President Obama took office he took on the responsibility of the ongoing “war” in Iran and Afghanistan that Bush had started. However, unlike Bush who wanted to continue showing America’s military power in the Middle East and to force American values and Democracy on the people of the region. President Obama has spent much of his time in office trying to remove American soldiers from the area. This seems to have only been moderately successful and did not happen as fast as President Obama envisioned. This was due to the Republicans, who constantly rejected any proposals put forward to change the power dynamic of the United States in the Middle East. This is because unlike President Obama who tries to lead through diplomacy, Republicans feel that it is necessary to lead through demonstrations of power.
Works Cited
Hiltzik, Michael A. The New Deal: A Modern History. New York: Free Press, 2011. Print.
Miller, Aaron D. The End of Greatness: Why America Can't Have (and Doesn't Want) Another Great President. N.p., 2014. Print.
United States Government Accountability Office. "Recovery Act: Recipient Reported Jobs Data Provide Some Insight into Use of Recovery Act Funding, but Data Quality and Reporting Issues Need Attention: Report to the Congress." Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis - The Washington Post. N.p., 2009. Web. 30 July 2016.
