Franklin D. Roosevelt (30 Jan. 1882 - 12 Apr. 1945)
Roosevelt was elected for an unprecedented third term in 1941, the year which saw the beginning of conflict for the United States. He had already begun rearmament, supplying Allied nations as the “Arsenal of Democracy” and was planning for total American involvement in the war. He had a close relationship with Churchill, signing the 1941 Atlantic Charter. The Americans also began a “shoot on sight” policy with German U-boats when escorting Allied shipping across the Atlantic.
Before Pearl Harbour, Roosevelt had begun to increase aid to the Republic of China and ban oil sales to Japan. Roosevelt figured that the Japanese would attack, but was unprepared for the assault on Pearl Harbour. Although some conspiracy theorists claim Roosevelt had knowledge beforehand, most scholars reject this. He contacted Churchill to confirm the attack, and delivered the “Infamy Speech” to Congress, who passed a declaration of war on Japan. In 1942, Roosevelt established a command structure for the military.
Roosevelt soon developed a war strategy, to halt the German invasion of Russia and Africa, launch an invasion of Western Europe to defeat the Nazis, and to defeat Japan. Antiwar sentiment in America disappeared after Pearl Harbour, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States soon after Japan and Roosevelt began making informal alliances among the enemies of the Axis powers.
One of the controversial issues in Roosevelt’s presidency was the internment of Japanese residing in the United States. This was extended to Germans and Italians who were feared to have fascist connections. Although the internment kept America secure on the coast, it was also controversial for the imprisonment of innocent civilians.
Roosevelt would later meet with as part of the “Big Three” to determine wartime plans. In Casablanca, Tehran and Yalta, Cairo and Potsdam, the leaders of the Allied nations met to decide the continuing fate of the war, and the fate of the post-war world. He was elected for a fourth term in 1944, and continued to meet world leaders and military commanders despite his decline in health. He would die in office in April 1945, the war still continuing.
For more information on Franklin D. Roosevelt:
Burns, James. Roosevelt: the Soldier of Freedom (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich), 1970.
Dallek, Robert. Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932 – 1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 1995.
Smith, Jean Edward. FDR (New York: Random House), 2007.
Before Pearl Harbour, Roosevelt had begun to increase aid to the Republic of China and ban oil sales to Japan. Roosevelt figured that the Japanese would attack, but was unprepared for the assault on Pearl Harbour. Although some conspiracy theorists claim Roosevelt had knowledge beforehand, most scholars reject this. He contacted Churchill to confirm the attack, and delivered the “Infamy Speech” to Congress, who passed a declaration of war on Japan. In 1942, Roosevelt established a command structure for the military.
Roosevelt soon developed a war strategy, to halt the German invasion of Russia and Africa, launch an invasion of Western Europe to defeat the Nazis, and to defeat Japan. Antiwar sentiment in America disappeared after Pearl Harbour, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States soon after Japan and Roosevelt began making informal alliances among the enemies of the Axis powers.
One of the controversial issues in Roosevelt’s presidency was the internment of Japanese residing in the United States. This was extended to Germans and Italians who were feared to have fascist connections. Although the internment kept America secure on the coast, it was also controversial for the imprisonment of innocent civilians.
Roosevelt would later meet with as part of the “Big Three” to determine wartime plans. In Casablanca, Tehran and Yalta, Cairo and Potsdam, the leaders of the Allied nations met to decide the continuing fate of the war, and the fate of the post-war world. He was elected for a fourth term in 1944, and continued to meet world leaders and military commanders despite his decline in health. He would die in office in April 1945, the war still continuing.
For more information on Franklin D. Roosevelt:
Burns, James. Roosevelt: the Soldier of Freedom (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich), 1970.
Dallek, Robert. Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932 – 1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 1995.
Smith, Jean Edward. FDR (New York: Random House), 2007.