MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT
By Louise Heiselman
May 7, 2004
I was once asked who my favorite president was and why? It’s hard for me to say; I really liked Ronald Reagan but I believe I would have to say Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Maybe its because he was the first President I really felt like I got to know and he did so much for our country.
During his three terms of office we went through the Great Depression & World War II. I remember while living in Aurora, Illinois we would gather around the radio and listen to his "Fire Side Chats", trying to keep the country informed on what was going on. Back then we didn’t have the TV commentators every day telling us their views and trying to keep us up on world conditions and everything that had happened that day. He didn’t let his Polio hinder his life. He started the March of Dimes campaign which continues today.
While in office he faced many difficult problems and came up with some good solutions. He started the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) to employ young men as well as the WPA (Works Projects Administration). These two programs alone put thousands of people to work and beautified and helped the country. He set up the AAA to help support farm prices and one of the biggest helps to many of us today was his creation of the Social Security Administration. He tried to keep us out of the war. He helped the British and French and some other countries making American Aid available without us going to war. During this time he was continuing to build up our armed forces. But on Dec 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor staying out of the war was no longer possible. These are some of the reasons Franklin Delano Roosevelt was my favorite President.