Thursday, January 23, 2014

Was FDR a Dictator in an Age of Dictators?

Make a case that FDR was a dictator--with absolute power in the running of his country, much the same as Hitler and Mussolini.  Explain your response.  You may need to do some independent research to better understand why this is a strong debate.

66 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

FDR even though a president did try to be a dictator in some ways. FDR attempted to increase the number of justices hiring the people who believed in all of his laws and policies. FDR couldn't fire the current justices so he hired 6 more in order to ensure a win on his part. FDR also served for 4 terms. And when a dictator comes into power he/she serves for their whole life unless they hand it down to a son or daughter. FDR tried to serve as much as he could and was the only president to break the 2 term law which was instated by the republicans after FDR's reign. Obviously FDR was nothing compared to the onslaught of Hitler but he did have his dictator moments.

Anonymous said...

FDR was in fact a Dictator. He raised the number of justices from 9 to 15. He also served four terms, and that went against Washington who said Presidents should serve two. This made a change in the constitution which is not something you would like to do. FDR did not have a regime like Hitler but were both considered Dictators.

Anonymous said...

Franklin D Roosevelt was most definitely a dictator. This should be blatant, as he manipulated Congress to give him immense power. It is also evident that he had complete control over the United States when he passed 15 major bills through Congress in just 100 days, which became known as "The 100 Days". He also served the longest presidential term in U.S. history, which is also a strong point in proving him as a dictator. FDR also wanted to move different bureaus around different departments, as well as terminating the Civil Service Commision.

Anonymous said...

Franklin D Roosevelt was definitely a dictator in many ways. One example was he announced a plan to reorganize the executive branch. Doing that would give him more power for himself. Another example is when he asked the Congress to approve the bill of "deepest secrecy". That document would allow him to expand the government from nine justices to 15. Those are just a few examples of why FDR is a dictator.

Anonymous said...

FDR was not a dictator. He tried to give himself more power like when he tried to add more supreme court justices, but failed. However, he did not have control of the congress. Since the American public blamed the republicans for the Great Depression, the Democrats swept the next election, so the congress was vastly democratic. That is how FDR was able to pass 15 pieces of legislation through in the first 100 days. Also, he did not seize power. There was nothing in the constitution saying that you could only serve two terms. It was tradition but it is not unconstitutional. He ran for office four times, and each time he had to win a legitimate election. Also, FDR did not do everything he wanted. He wanted to get involved in WW2 a lot earlier than America did. He was held back by the isolationists in the country.

Anonymous said...

I think that he could of become a dictator since he had 4 terms as the President. People were afraid of change. If he didn't die then maybe he could of become a dictator. he also tried to do things he didn't have the power to do.

Anonymous said...

I believe that FDR was not a dictator, because dictators have complete power over the government. FDR did not make decisions alone, only presented them to congress. Congress was mostly democratic, meaning it was easier to pass some laws, but that is still not a dictatorship because the power is held in many different people rather than leaving everything up to FDR. Also, a democratic leader was what America needed during the depression, but it was definitely not a dictatorship.

Anonymous said...

Even though we elected FDR as a president, he could be considered a dictator because he would try to make sure people did certain things for him. For example, he would ask the Congress to pass certain laws for him to make sure they are enforced. Also he would hire people that had to same beliefs as him to help enforce certain things as well. Overall, even though people considered him a great president, he was also a dictator in some ways.

Anonymous said...

FDR may have been President but he could also be considered a dictator. He was the first and only president to ever serve four terms in office. He was also known to be forceful with the Congress so they would agree with him. One example is what is commonly know as The One Hundred Days. Within the first 100 days of his presidency he had already passed 15 major bills through Congress. Although he did help the American people and was not at all as terrible as Hitler, FDR could definitely be seen as a dictator.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that FDR was a dictator. To be a dictator you have power and control over the government. FDR didn't have that. In order to make decisions he had to present it to congress first. Therefore he didn't have total power over the government. Which doesn't make him a dictator.

Anonymous said...

I believe that FDR was not a dictator, but at times he may have tried too. FDR was not a Dictator like Hitler, who killed people because they of their religion or what that look like, or if there disable. FDR defiantly did not act like a dictator like Hitler.

Anonymous said...

FDR resembled a dictator. For example, he blamed large companies like General Motor, General Electric, and Colt for the war. He calls them the "merchants of death." FDR blamed the war overseas on these companies, and not progressives for putting America into the war. From then, FDR takes money from these companies to repair the war. Also, FDR passed 15 major bills through congress forcibly, which is known as "the 100 days." In conclusion, although FDR was not a dictator, in many ways, one can argue, he resembles one.

Anonymous said...

Although for many year's FDR was considered a dictator, it's hard to say he was. During his long 8 years in presidency many say he made the great depression go away he did, but to an extent. When FDR made legislation's and executive orders to bank's and job's he made the depression go down by 20 percent and from 1933 to 1937 the economy improved rapidly. One could talk hour's of all FDR did but it all comes to the defying moment where he tried to take control. By trying to seize the democratic party and breaking the tradition George Washington created.

Anonymous said...

FDR was most certainly a dictator. Maybe not in the severity of Hitler or Mussolini, but he still tried to manipulate his way into having more power. FDR tried to increase the number of supreme court justices from 9 to 15 if the current sitting ones refused to resign by age 70. He did this because during his first term, the 9 supreme court justices had repeatedly objected against FDR's New Deal policies. He would hire 6 people that would always vote for him, which was a subtle way of dictatorship, as it didn't directly give him the ultimate say. Instead he would hire people to give him the final say. FDR also served 4 terms, and he was the only president to do so. The 22nd amendment of the constitution was added to the constitution after FDR's presidency, to prevent someone from trying to take over as he did. If FDR hadn't died, he could have taken over America as a dictator. He had served 8 years already, so what was stopping him? these are the reasons that FDR was a dictator.

Anonymous said...

Even though we picked FDR to be president he still could have been a dictator. One reason why is because he was in office for 4 terms which is a long time and he was the only president that has ever done that. So while he was in there for that long he could have started using his power for bad. Not saying he was a bad as Hitler but he could could still be considered to be a dictator.

Anonymous said...
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Elena Gribelyuk said...

In truth, FDR was a dictator. The fact that he tried to rearrange the executive branch in order to give himself more power over the country. In addition, he served four terms instead of the standard - two terms.

Anonymous said...

FDR could be describe as a dictator for many reasons. First of all, he was the leader of the most powerful country in the world which also had the most powerful military in the world. Since throughout his time in office the senate was mostly filled with democrats almost all the laws that he proposed went his way. Also, In his 3rd terms he always won with 44 or more of the states voting for him. which gave him the power of almost the entire country behind him. Final, he was a very powerful figure and not many people dared to question his authority. Although FDR did not kill 100's of thousands of incessant people or discriminate severely on a race. He did have almost complete control over a very powerful country just like Hitler and Mussolini.

Anonymous said...

I think FDR was a president who acted like dictator. He did things that a lot of previous dictators did in the past. He served four terms as a US president which back then was legal. He tried to seize control of the Supreme Court in 1937 in which he would get a lot more power. FDR was and still will be considered a president but he made a couple of moves that made him look like a dictator.

Anonymous said...

FDR could have definitely been seen as a dictator. He served the longest time as President in US History, approximately four terms, and was extremely powerful. Roosevelt had so much support from the people of the USA that he could have taken advantage of them. He was a democratically elected president and he had much help from Congress. Whenever Americans were in desperate need for help, he would always use people to carry out his plans, but they always did good for the need of the country. FDR could have definitely been a dictator.

Anonymous said...

Literally, FDR was not a dictator, he was the president of the United States. But with his power he did act such as a dictator. He was able to almost reform congress so he had more power. With the power he had, he extended his presidency into eight terms. He also passed fifteen bills through congress in one hundred days, obviously through his own will. FDR wasn't selfish like Hitler but still had many dictator like qualities to him.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

FDR was in fact a dictator. He tried to increase the number of justices on the court from 9-15. He wanted to do this because he wanted people who believed in what he said. He also was a dictator because he served four terms in office, from 1933 to 1945, and he was the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. He was also able to pass 15 pieces of legislation through his first 100 days.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

A dictator can be a person appointed during a crisis to exercise supreme authority. Although FDR had Congress to back him up, he still did some dictator-like things. When he came up with the New Deal, he forced it through Congress, without giving them a say in the passing of the deal. He also appointed 8 Supreme Court Justices in order to have a majority of the Justices support his policies and would vote for them. FDR was the only president to serve 4 terms, which is the longest any president has ever served. After he passed away, the 22nd Amendment was passed, prohibiting any president from serving more than 2 terms. Although he did not kill millions in the way that Hitler and other dictators during his time period did, he was a dictator because he assumed complete power over the government.

Anonymous said...

After FDR was elected to be president he tried to become America's dictator. First off FDR asked congress to pass a bill called "Deepest Secrecy". This bill would allow our president, FDR to expand our government from 9 justices to 15. "The 100 Days" was when FDR passed 15 major bills to congress, who then passed these bills, within 100 days! He was able to serve four terms of presidency, the longest any president has ever and will ever serve. And finally, FDR created and announced a plan that would reorganize the executive branch giving him more power than he started with. These are only some of the reasons why one of our presidents, FDR, was a dictator.

Anonymous said...

I believe FDR was a dictator but not an evil one. He was a dictator because at the time he was passing bills through congress without permission, 15 bills to be exact.This was known as the 100 days because he passed all of them in the short time of 100 days. Another reason he was president is because he served four terms instead of the maximum of two terms. Four terms is 16 years which is immensly long. The government did not have much of a say at all while FDR was president, but he did not kill anyone and was truly doing something positive for his country. FDR was a positive dictator

Anonymous said...

FDR was in some ways a dictator. He was elected a dictator but wanted to change things for his own good though. After the supreme court started over, he wanted to increase the justices on the court so that he could appoint the justices that would support his own policies. He did not want to fire the justices in place so he just wanted to increase it to 15. But, the people of America still supported him and elected him 4 times.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

In many ways, FDR, acted as a dictator during his presidency. He attempted to seize control of the Supreme Court in the Court-packing incident in 1937. He also tried to eliminate dissent within the Democratic party in the South during the 1938 elections. And finally by breaking the tradition established by George Washington of not seeking a third term when he again ran for re-election in 1940. These couple of actions classified him as a Dictator because he acted like he had complete power over everything. This is why we still question today if FDR was a president or a dictator.

Anonymous said...

Even though FDR was president, he can be viewed as a dictator. He served four terms as president, longer than any other president. FDR made sure laws that he wanted were pushed through congress. Overall, technically FDR wasn't a dictator but can be viewed as one.

Anonymous said...

Although FDR was elected 32nd President of the USA, he might have been seen as a dictator through some peoples point of view. FDR was elected four consecutive terms as President. He also went through congress and took advantage of his wartime decisions. He also took advantage of his first "100" days as Leader of the US.

Anonymous said...

FDR was not a dictator. Even though he took actions to control the country, he was voted in by the people and only stayed in power because of it.

Anonymous said...

FDR was able to give himself more power then others in the government. By giving himself such power he was becoming a dictator. Dictators also control for their lives or pass it down to whom ever their successor may be, FDR broke the two term law and served for 4 terms. Though in many ways he was unlike Mussolini he showed the power to be a terrible dictator

Anonymous said...

Although a president, FDR took advantage of his power reflecting upon himself as a dictator like leader. One example to show his how he maneuvered his power to his benefit was when he had the ability to pass 15 major bills through Congress in "The 100 Days". Another one of his stealthy acts was his traditional breaking decision to go ignore the two term law and stay in power for four terms. Other selfish moves that FDR attempted were when he increased the number of justices from 9 to 15, tried to have congress allow him to gain more power, and eliminate dissent within the Democratic party in the south. Roosevelt took on the role of a president but surely acted as a dictator by his manipulative decisions.

Anonymous said...

FDR may have had been voted into office and done some great things for our country but he could also be considered a dictator. FDR may not have been as sever in power as Hitler or Mussolini, but he did take advantage of a weak time. FDR pushed 15 bills through congress which formed the basis of "The New Deal" in his first 100 days of office. he did this by filling the supreme court with people that would vote his way. He also served 4 terms and died in his last term so theres no telling how much longer he would have served had he not past away. dictators generally serve for as long as they can and keep the power within their family.

Anonymous said...

FDR was the president of the US, however he acted like a dictator. He was the only president to serve for four terms. The 22 amendment of the constitution says that you can only serve two terms, however, that was created after FDR. A dictator is someone who has entire power over a place or country, and FDR did. He made congress pass laws and bills, and he raised the number of justices from 9 to 15. FDR had many dictator like qualities, so he could have been viewed like a dictator. Overall, FDR was a dictator, however he was not like Hitler, or Mussolini.

Anonymous said...

Even though FDR was the President of the United States, he could be considered a dictator. FDR had total power of the US during the Great Depression. In order to help the US out of the Great Depression, FDR made the New Deal, which created jobs for Americans, without giving Congress a chance to say no to it. So, FDR most of the power in the US government, which is like a dictator. Also, when people in Washington D.C. wanted to limit the amount of terms a president could serve to two terms, FDR was strongly against it, implying that he wanted to maintain power for as long as he could, which is like a dictator. Although FDR was not like Hitler or Mussolini, he was dictator with total power of the US government.

Anonymous said...

FDR was a dictator, but in our minds he was a good dictator. FDR increased the number of justices from 9 to 15 with no ones say. Also, to make sure he would have a better chance of getting his way, FDR hired people who had the same beliefs as him. He also pushed laws through congress and served 4 terms. FDR was a dictator of a democratic country.

Anonymous said...

Although FDR was considered a great president, he could easily be marked in history as a dictator. For starters, FDR served the longest time in office. He spent almost 4500 days as president. Not only did he ignore the two terms, he also tried to get his ideas passed no matter what. He increased the number of justices to fifteen to get enough justices to pass his ideas. FDR ignored rules and if he was not able to, he would figure out a loop hole around it. Because he was able to do what ever he wanted and have nobody stop him, he was basically a dictator.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

FDR in some terms is a dictator. He hired 6 more people so they could help him. Also he served 4 terms. He broke the 2 term law and served 4 terms. He tried to increase the number of justices hiring. He did the 100 days which is when he passed 15 bills in 100 days. This is why FDR in some ways is a dictator.

Anonymous said...

FDR was a dictator of sorts. FDR did a lot of good for are country, but he had forest many people into believing in his thoughts. Such as, in his first 100 days in office he convinced Congress to agree to pass 15 major bills. He tried to further pass his court packing plan (Judicial Procedures Reform Bill) which allows FDR appoint new justices, giving him more power. Although it was passed, he continued to assert his dominates. In 1941 he then again showed his power by successfully convincing congress to pass the Lend Lease act which allowed him to aid England in the war despite congresses disapproval in it. For all of these reasons FDR was no less a dictator than Mussolini.

Anonymous said...

In many ways FDR was a dictator. He was manipulative with the system and twisted the rules and laws to fit him. He was not a dictator because technically he was voted into power each term. He could have become a dictator if he had lived longer but I do not beleive he was a complete dictator.

Anonymous said...

Although FDR was in fact a president, he acted like a dictator because of his strong leadership characteristics. For example, he served four terms in office which brought him great power. Also, he passed 15 major bills through congress in the first 100 days of his presidency. these are just a few examples of FDR's "dictatorship".

Anonymous said...

I do believe that FDR tried to be a dictator. He attempted to make the number of justices hiring citizens who believed in his policies. FDR also served 4 terms in office which brought him dominance. He also passed 15 new bills through congress in his first 100 days of being president. He is not a dictator like Hitler or Mussolini, but I do believe he was a dictator.

Anonymous said...

FDR was a president who acted as a dictator. He strived to gain power. An example of how FDR tried to gain power is when he moved around the bureaus and also added on to the staff of the white house. FDR was president for a total of 4 terms, after Washington said that only two terms shall be served for each president. Another way he tried to be a dictator was when he attempted to raise the number of justices in the court and when he did not get enough votes he decided to increase the number of judges from nine to fifteen. FDR was a dictator but he did not do bad deeds like Hitler did.

Anonymous said...

FDR was a dictator in some ways. FDR attempted to increase the number of justices hiring the people who believed in all of his laws and policies. FDR tried to serve as much as he could and was the only president to break the 2 term law which was instated by the Republicans after FDR's presidency. FDR It is also shows that he had complete power over the United States when he passed 15 major bills through Congress in just 100 days, which became known as "The 100 Days". To say that FDR was a dictator

Anonymous said...

FDR was president who in some ways acted like a dictator, but a good dictator. He helped the country get out of depression. He did this without asking congress. Which means he did this with his own power.

Anonymous said...

Though the mind may stray to thoughts of Hitler and Stalin, dictators don't have bear malice against anyone. FDR almost had complete control over America, he was president for four terms, even though that was against policy. He expanded he supreme court, making there be 15 justices instead of 9. He abolished the Civil Service Comission, giving him power to rearrange the bureaus among departments. FDR, though thought of as a kind man, was indeed a dictator.

Unknown said...

Franklin D Roosevelt could have been seen as a dictator but my personal opinion is that he was not a dictator. He was not a dictator because all dictators have all the power. Franklin Roosevelt was a president and a president has a government which they go to for advice and help with decisions. All presidents have the choice to go to their congress and government for more help and different ideas how to make the best decisions possible for America. The whole congress was mostly democrat which then made it easier to pass laws but it still didn't make it a dictatorship.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of FDR as a dictator, we must find out in which way they criticized him as a dictator. While in the middle of his second term, there was a fear that maybe FDR was a dictator. Endeavoring to gain authority of the Supreme Court, attempting to terminate argument within the Democratic Party, and working toward a third term as president, FDR did indeed resemble many traits of a dictator. He served through the great depression and WWII, very difficult, dangerous, but critical moments in U.S. history. There were so many complicated decisions to make and so many problems to solve. To face that, since we did not have much time to argue like the U.S. government today, we did necessitate some kind of dictatorship. Precisely at our yearning of a dictator, FDR stood up to lead America to victory.

Anonymous said...

FDR is an example of a dictator despite what many Americans believe. An example of how he was a dictator is when he put all the Japanese Americans in camps because he thought they might be spies. He did not get permission from Congress to do this because it was an "emergency". If a dictator is someone with absolute power and FDR was able to do anything he wanted during what he called an emergency, then technically he was a dictator.

Anonymous said...

FDR in some eyes was looked at as a dictator. FDR served 4 terms as the president of the United states unlike the usual 2. He was considered a dictator for multiple reasons but one major one was that he passed 15 big deals through congress in 100 days which is know as ""The Big Deal''". FDR was a great president but in some ways he did act like a Dictator.

Anonymous said...

FDR was a bit of a dictator even though he was a good leader. He did minorly corrupt things to insure his stay in power and his policies where enforced. He hired 6 justices that supported his cause so they would pass the bills he wanted. Thats why FDR was a dictator is some references

Anonymous said...

Even though FDR was a president, you could debate that he was a dictator in some ways. He hired people with the same beliefs as him do certain things that involved forcing Congress to pass laws. FDR also announced that he was planning to alter the executive branch. He would gain more power in doing this (something a dictator would do). Although FDR did help Americans and was president, you could say he was a dictator as well.

Anonymous said...

FDR does not fit the criteria of a dictator. Although he was in presidency for four terms, he was voted in for all of them. To be a dictator, one must have complete control over decisions and laws passed, however, he presented his decisions to congress who then approved them. It may have seemed like FDR had complete control and almost any idea he had was passed, but, that was because congress was mostly democratic. So, factually, he did not make the decisions by himself. One could argue that FDR acted as a dictator, but, using dictator as a literal term, he was not.

Anonymous said...

he definately was a dictator. President George Washington said that a president should be no more than 2 terms and Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in off ice for 4 terms, sure sounds like a dictator to me. When presidents make speeches they talk about of the options, when FDR would make speeches he always said what he wanted to do. If FDR wanted to do something when he was president, he would do it without any question. Obviously he never ruled like Hitler did but he did have more control than he should have had when he was president.

Unknown said...

Although he accomplished many good things during his terms, I also think he abused some of his executive authority and he abused the democratic process. He passed several laws without voting by the people, or by congress. He remained in power for 4 terms, which does show some signs of a power hungry personality. He also failed to fire the justices who disagreed with him so he hired 6 more to win the case for himself. Though he acted like a dictator he did accomplish many good things swell, such as boosting our industrial might.

Anonymous said...

I believe that in many ways FDR was a dictator. First FDR was elected for four terms instead of the normal two, with is unconstitutional. FDR also made the congress pass laws by hiring people to make them and some laws he passed with no consent from congress or the people whats or ever. He even hire six justices just to pass the bills he wanted. Besides these facts, FDR did have a very difficult time in history to take the presidency, but he also shows corruption.

Anonymous said...

FDR was a dictator in some ways even though he was a president. FDR picked the US up out of the great depression and got the US back to a decent economy. FDR was a good dictator because he helped the country in many ways. He was the only real dictator that the US had ever had. FDR was in office for 4 terms and made a lot of new laws for the US. Since he continually added new laws the senate approved pf most of them

Anonymous said...

FDR could definitely be considered as a dictator. One example is how he raised the number of justices from 9 to 15 to give himself more power. He also served four terms as opposed to two, which is longer than an other president in our history. While he was never as bad as Hitler, he is still deemed as a dictator.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

FDR acted as a dictator in someways. FDR increased the number of justices from 9 to 15. He also passed 15 bills in his first 100 days of presidency. finally he served four terms of presidency which no other president did before him.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Franklin D. Roosevelt was most definitely like dictator. Instead of two terms, he stayed for four. He changed the executive branch to give himself more power above the country and changed the number of justices from nine to fifteen. However, he was unlike other dictators. He was good because he helped the US come out of depression. Overall, FDR was a very powerful president and can be stated as a dictator.