Franklin Delano RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR, was born in 1882 and attended both Harvard University and Columbia Law School (White House). Serving from March 1933 to April 1945, FDR became America's longest-serving president (Miller Center). He took office in the midst of the Great Depression, America's major financial crisis. Everyone was investing in the stock market, and when it crashed, America came to the brink of bankruptcy. The stock market crash left people without money, jobs, homes, food and hope. The previous president, Herbert Hoover, created a real disaster during the Depression. Hoover simply ignored the fact that the country was in a depression because he didn't know how to deal with it. Hoover left FDR with the great task of cleaning up the mess he had left in America. FDR took the bull by the horns; he came up with many new policies through his plan called the “New Deal,” a series of economic and social reforms (Time). It was easy for citizens of the United States to identify with him. He referred to people as “my friends” and acted as if he were speaking directly to them. (History). Roosevelt also had a disability; he was paralyzed from the waist down due to the polio he had contracted early in his life. He tried not to show it to people, as there are no photos of him in a wheelchair. It can be argued, however, that FDR's policies hurt some businessmen; his policies led the country into depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an effective leader because he helped the United States recover from the Great Depression by relating to its citizens, had a different mentality in formulating policies and creating the “New Deal”. For starters, Franklin Roosevelt was an easy president to relate to. Starting from M...... middle of paper...... due to his disability and his famous “fireside chats”. Because of his disability people sympathized with him and considered him more of a normal person than a political figure. Unlike many other presidents, what made him so successful in formulating his policies is that he thought about many things, such as the future and whether it mattered to our country. His policies stemming from the “New Deal” helped the country emerge from the Great Depression.Works CitedFDR Library. nd Web. 12 April 2014.Franklin D. Roosevelt - American Heritage Center, Inc. nd Web. 12 April 2014.History. nd Web. 12 April 2014. History. nd Web. April 14, 2014. Kennedy, David M. Time. June 24, 2009. Web. April 14, 2014. Miller Center. nd Web. April 13, 2014.PBS. nd Web. April 14, 2014. The White House. nd Web. 12 April. 2014.