More Than Just a Dime by Kimberly

More Than Just a Dime by Kimberly - October 2017 Scholarship Essay

We've all heard of the famous couple of presidents, the ones who founded America, the ones who forever changed America's society, and the ones that were just plain cool. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is known primarily for being the man behind getting out of the Great Depression, getting into WW2, and having 4 consecutive terms. Those are all pretty important, don't get me wrong- but he wasn't just a head on a dime.

One of the most glaring things about him, to me, at least, is that he was disabled. He had polio as a child, and it rendered him almost unable to walk. While many people know this, it's not just a piece of trivia. The Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, 50 years AFTER he was president. Had he not hidden that piece of information from the public, he probably wouldn't have been able to get any job, never-mind being president. Even today disabled Americans are discriminated against, yet one was one of the most beloved and respected presidents in our history. They are capable not only of just as much as abled people, but even more. I realize that if I were to have dinner with him, this is not a topic I would bring up. But it would nevertheless stick in the back of my mind the entire time, and it is one of the reasons i would choose him.

I did actually very much enjoy my US History class, as much work as it was. I noticed how long we had to spend talking about his presidency. It took about 2 or 3 units, while other presidents were barely even mentioned, if at all. Of course, a lot that was out of his control was also going on at the time, but it would be interesting to hear how he managed to deal with all of those crises, especially with his declining health. It would probably make me do a bit better with my OWN time management. He was handed the naation when it was in its worst economic state ever, was trying his hardest to improve it as much as he could,and suddenly there's a horrible bombing at Pearl Harbor and he has to make the arrangements to go to war. That's pretty unfair. Both of those things are usually what would happen about a generation apart or once-in-a-lifetime. And yet, they both occurred under the same president (who somehow managed to stay well-loved) during both.

Honestly, I think one of the main reasons I'd want to talk to him is just to see what kind of a person he is. He was a very forward thinker, and changed a whole lot of norms in the US Government during his time. Typically, when a country runs out of money, most people would say "well then the government should spend less money". That is absolutely normal to think and pretty reasonable. FDR, however, thought of a totally different approach. If the government spends more money on the citizens, the citizens will be able to put that money right back into the system, and it will be a beneficial circle of the people AND the government both having money. It's Thomas Jefferson's worst nightmare, but it did work. Before him, the government was not as directly involved with its citizens. He set a lot of firsts for this country. I want to be able to talk to someone who was that influential, someone that could break the mold without regard for how he'd be seen.

Yes, he's the popular president everyone knows, but there's a good reason for that. But often times we forget that the people we hear about in history weren't just faces on coins or dollars, but real, breathing, living people. He wasn't some sort of all-powerful figure, either, but he was still responsible for a lot of changes and progressions in American History. The chance to talk to any president would be neat, but the chance to see FDR as a person instead of just a black-and-white photo would be the experience of a lifetime.