Who was a better president? Roosevelt or Truman?

Question

Who was a better president? Roosevelt or Truman?

Answer 1

Hands down, Roosevelt. He did so much for America and we're still dealing with some of the policies he created. He virtually got America on to it's feet (no pun intended) during the Great Depression. The one thing I don't agree with is what he did to the Japanese-American, basically stripping them of the rights as Americans.

Truman, I believe, gets a lot of flack. Honestly, we'll never know what Roosevelt would have done with the atomic bomb.  With the dropping of the Atomic Bomb he saved more American lives (an invasion would've caused more American casualties), and the Japanese surrendered. But on the other hand, he authorized it on Hiroshima (and the other place slips my mind at the moment), both of which were civilian land; in turn, it caused many effects to the people of both places that continue to effect them till this day.

That's the thing about history I love. It's not all black and white, it's all a gray area.

Answer 2

You're going to have to set some criteria for judging that.  They were in office during very different times, and Roosevelt served so much longer.

Answer 3

Teddy Roosevelt was the greatest president of them all...civil rights, civil service reform, environmentalism, setting up the National Parks Service and historic preservation, child labor laws, the 40 hour work week.

Cousin Franklin was a distant 4th.

Truman might make the top 20, but that's about it.

Answer 4

Truman darned near destroyed the US military, and might have succeeded had Korea not forced an about-face. And most of the good things he did seem to be things that turned out well after he tried to do something he shouldn't have. The only way you can consider Truman a good president is if you believe the old adage about "better lucky than good." NATO, for instance, is something he instituted to LIMIT the involvement of the US (and its costs) in Europe.

Answer 5

Roosevelt! Roosevelt was elected to office for 12 years, and Truman wasn't even elected at all. Truman ended WWII with a nuclear bomb...not the best way in my opinion.

Answer 6

There's a standard answer:  Most historians rate Roosevelt

(FDR) as greatest prez ever, Lincoln second, Washington third.

Truman was in for too short a time to evaluate.

Answer 7

ROOSEVELT...he was popular with politians and civilians which later presidents lacked....plus Truman was alot more inexpierenced than Roosevlt

Answer 8

Roosevelt was a better president but he also had more to define his presidency by showing leadership during the Great Depression and WWII.  Truman made the right decision dropping the bomb rather than invading Japan & suffering many more casualties.  His handling of the Korean war is a different matter.  Truman was elected to his own term in 1948 btw.

Answer 9

Not only did FDR jumpstart the economy with his New Deal post-Great Depression, but he ended WWII. He realized that pure laissez-faire doesn't work, and that the economy needs some government regulation.