Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Character Analysis

FDR was the 32nd president of the United States, the author of the progressive New Deal programs, and the leader of America’s entry into World War II in 1941. A progressive figure who won an unprecedented third term of the presidency in 1940 and, in spite of his detractors’ beliefs that he was a “warmonger,” did his best to prepare for war while working to keep Americans safe at all costs. Widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the United States—and, by many, as one of the country’s most progressive and popular presidents—FDR’s legacy is nonetheless complicated: he incarcerated Japanese and Japanese-American people on the West Coast in internment camps and, for a long time, he resisted entry into World War II in spite of knowing about the plight European Jews were facing. Nonetheless, within the world of The Plot Against America, FDR is a hero to families like the Roths. Herman extols Roosevelt as the greatest president in the history of the United States, and because of his father’s fervor for the man, Philip in particular comes to admire FDR. He even becomes a stamp-collector in order to emulate the president, whose hobbies include stamp-collecting. As Lindbergh’s presidency progresses, FDR becomes even more important to the Roths—they and many of their friends and neighbors see him as a voice of reason and as the only candidate who can stop Lindbergh. Roth portrays FDR as an elusive but morally staunch figure who steps in during America’s hour of greatest need to repair what Lindbergh’s presidency has broken.