Mistakes of Franklin D Roosevelt during his Presidency

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the longest serving U.S. president, was viewed as a hero for many at the time. He is regarded as one of the most influential presidents, next to Washington and Lincoln. Roosevelt was the 32nd president, and led America through the Great Depression and World War 2. However, looking back along his four presidential terms, you might say otherwise. In a number of instances, Roosevelt established executive decisions, that did not fall in the constitutional guidelines. In my eyes, Franklin D. Roosevelt abused his constitutional powers over the course of his president term.

One evidence to sustain this claim is his Japanese Internment Camp Policy. These camps consisted of people of Japanese ancestry, forced into relocation and incarceration in concentration camps in the west during World War 2. This policy was enacted because Americans feared these people could be spies during the war. In the constitution, it states all american citizens have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press, and right to assemble. In these camps all of those rights were violated. To further explain, the exercise of the Shinto religion was forbiddion in the camps. Also, Japanese Americans were denied the guarantee of freedom of speech and press because using the Japanese language in public meetings was prohibited. The right to assemble was broken when mass meetings were prohibited.

Franklin Roosevelt also proved to be unconstitutional from his attempt to pack the Supreme Court. He proposed new legislation that would allow him to extend the court from 9 to 15 members by adding one new justice for each judge over 70 years old who refused to retire. He did this purposefully to attain enough yes votes to pass the New Deal. This is regarded as unconstitutional because it would've destroyed the judicial branch's independence from the executive and in the end, weakened the American system of government. The checks and balances system would have been thrown off if this act was successful, proving, the unconstitutionality of the action.

Finally, roosevelt passed The New Deal, which was deemed unlawful. The New Deal was an attempt to terminate the great depression. It was a series of programs with the goal of returning prosperity to all Americans.The new deal created a very powerful president that led Congress, this was a violation of checks and balances. Also, many acts were declared Unconstitutional, including, Agricultural Adjustment Act, and the National Recovery Administration. After many attempts to carry out these plans, they were eventually shut down because they represented an unconstitutional extension of federal authority.

In conclusion, Franklin D. Roosevelt exploited his constitutional powers over the course of his president term. One evidence to sustain this claim is his Japanese Internment Camp Policy. Franklin Roosevelt also proved to be unconstitutional from his attempt to pack the Supreme Court. The New Deal was an attempt to terminate the great depression. Also, many acts were declared Unconstitutional, including, Agricultural Adjustment Act, and the National Recovery Administration.

All in all, Roosevelt made many mistakes during his time as president. This was proven because of his Japanese Internment Camp Policy, his attempt to pack the supreme court in his favor, and passing a deal that violated basic human rights.  

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