FDR(Franklin Delano Roosevelt) was a better president than Abraham Lincoln

Introduction The United States of America has developed a pantheon of great leaders during the course of its history; men who have accomplished great and awe inspiring things. Franklin Delano Roosevelt has rightfully earned a place of high honor in this pantheon, but the highest seat of honor should be reserved for the Great Emancipator, the man who preserved the Union, and whose name became synonymous with the virtue of Honesty itself. Executive Leadership and Ability While this debate may go back and forth on whose political achievements were greater, Lincoln’s ability to lead and manage as the head of the Executive branch is unparalleled in U.S. history. The story of Lincoln’s cabinet is famous to historians and students of management and leadership. The most prominent positions were occupied by Lincoln’s rivals for the 1860 Republican nomination- Bates, Cameron, Chase, and most notably, William H. Seward. Seward was the strong front-runner in the nomination and established as a well-known and respected statesman, while Lincoln was a one-term Congressman and twice defeated Senate candidate best known for his public speaking. The decision to include his rivals in his cabinet was a courageous and risky move for Lincoln. Seward believed Lincoln to be weak and inexperienced; Seward expected to run the presidency from the cabinet. Salmon Chase self-righteously coveted the presidency and was bellicose and difficult to work with in general. Lincoln intentionally stocked his cabinet with men who bore personal grudges against him and would be near impossible to manage because he wanted the best men he could find. Lincoln’s executive ability was on high display when, after observing chronic mismanagement by Cameron, Lincoln was persuaded by Chase and Seward to appoint Edwin Stanton. Early in his career, Lincoln had been hired by Stanton as legal support in a high profile case, only to be insultingly dismissed when the case was transferred out of Lincoln’s circuit and was also a political Democrat. Yet Stanton proved to be an exceptionally capable Secretary of War, crucial to the Union victory. Only a man of Lincoln’s exceptional humility could have rightly relied on the advice of his rivals to appoint a man who had once humiliated and politically opposed him. Conduct of the Civil War The Civil War was the single most important military conflict since the inception of the U.S. It represented a literal existential crisis and metaphorical spiritual crisis for the United States. Lincoln was able to solve both crises; not only did he preserve the Union, but he also cleansed the nation of stain of slavery and forged a greater Union in the wake of the war. The achievement these goals could not have been accomplished by a man without Lincoln’s unique virtues. The Civil War represented a challenge laced with delicate veins of domestic and international diplomacy. Lincoln had to manage domestic politics within the Union, work to prevent the international community from recognizing the Confederacy as legitimate, woo border states like Kentucky and Maryland to the side of the Union, and win the war without destroying the country he sought to preserve. WWII was in many ways a much simpler conflict. Most of the heavy warfare was conducted on the Eastern front by Old Joe Stalin- the Soviet Union suffered 9 million military deaths while the U.S. suffered only 500,000 [5]. The U.S. main contribution was economic in the form of supplies and ammunition. WWII simply did not require the level of finesse Lincoln exhibited in handling the Civil War. This point is underscored by the fact that WWII was actually won under the leadership of two presidents- FDR and Harry Truman. Emancipation of Slaves The Civil War could easily have ended without the permanent eradication of slavery from the U.S. Past crises had been resolved by kicking the can down the road- this was the case during the drafting of the Constitution and the “3/5” compromise and the Missouri Compromise. Early in the war, Union politicians argued about the Confiscation Acts- legislation which expanded the army’s ability to confiscate rebel property, including slaves. The legislation was controversial as factions developed within the Republican party over whether the Constitution authorized such broad powers over private property. In the face of this controversy, Abraham Lincoln conceived the now famous Emancipation Proclamation, in which all slaves in rebel states were emancipated as an act of war time necessity. The salient points here are that such a bold and momentous move was entirely the product of Lincoln’s mind and was done in the face of indecision and controversy. The Emancipation Proclamation was a singular act of political and moral leadership, and an act of great political vision. Perhaps most importantly, it was executed with grace. It made the issue of emancipation central to the Union cause, paving the way for the 13th Amendment. At the same time, it cemented international support for the Union cause in countries such as Britain where abolitionist sentiment was predominant. Finally, passage of the 13th Amendment can be directly attributed to Lincoln. The amendment passed the Senate but was stuck in the House were Democrats opposed the bill along party lines. Lincoln engaged a hard political push to gain the Democratic votes needed to pass the Amendment. Even so, on the morning of the House vote the final outcome of the vote was uncertain. The whole vote was put in jeopardy when a rumor that a Confederate Commission was in Washington to negotiate an end to the war- if this were true, the Democratic support for the Amendment would collapse for fear of upsetting peace negotiations. The rumor was dispelled by a letter from Lincoln stating “So far as I know, there are no peace Commissioners in the City, or likely to be in it.” In fact, peace commissioners were en route to D.C. - Lincoln issued a diplomatically worded but honest message to ensure the passage of the amendment and the permanent freedom of millions of men and women. The final vote hinged on just 5 Democratic votes. Domestic Policy: In the midst of the overwhelming conflict of the Civil War, Lincoln was able to initiate several landmark domestic policies crucial to the development of the U.S. The Homestead Act made millions of acres of western land available to citizens and the Pacific Railroad Act provided federal support for the first transcontinental railroad. Lincoln also signed the Morrill Act, which laid the foundation for the U.S. world class University system by providing land for agricultural and engineering colleges; this act directly lead to the foundation of such high profile technical schools as MIT, the University of Illinois, and the University of California. Each of these pieces of legislation was crucial to the economic development of the U.S. FDR I have a great deal of respect for FDR, but his presidential ability does not match up to that of Lincoln. FDR’s shortcomings can be seen in the Court Packing fiasco of his second term. In his attempt to expand the Supreme Court and fill it with sympathetic justices, FDR exhibited a characteristic over-confidence and aggressiveness. The Court Packing scheme failed and backfired, eroding his political capital. His second term was subsequently unproductive. Pro similarly over-credits Roosevelt in solving the great depression. Many economists believe New Deal policies had little impact on the Great Depression [6]. Others who believe government stimulus brought about economic recovery must concede that FDR’s premature slashing of federal stimulus caused the “Roosevelt Recession” of 1938. Either way, Roosevelt’s management of the economy is overstated by Pro. Sources: [1] Team of Rivals, D.K. Goodwin [2] Lincoln on Leadership, D.T. Phillips [3] FDR, J. E. Smith [4] No Ordinary Time, D. K. Goodwin [5] http://en.wikipedia.org... [6] http://employees.csbsju.edu...