America’s newest president could one day be remembered as this generation’s Franklin D. Roosevelt – or Herbert Hoover.
“The next president is going to inherit one big mess,” said Leslie Burl McLemore, professor of political science at Jackson State University. “We’re in an economic morass, and we’re involved not just in one war but two.”
Less than a year after Hoover took office in 1929, the stock market crashed. The Great Depression began and worsened under his administration. Many historians regard him as one of the nation’s worst presidents.
In 1932, Roosevelt won in a landslide, telling Americans in his inauguration speech, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
His New Deal programs put many unemployed Americans back to work through public works, including the building of bridges and other infrastructure.
Through his radio “fireside chats,” Roosevelt reassured the nation through those dark days and later into World War II. Many historians regard him as one of the nation’s best presidents.
Magnolia Tribune
