Franklin D. Roosevelt
Coming into office, Roosevelt faced the worst economic crisis the nation had ever faced. He is best known for introducing numerous programs in the so-called “New Deal” that were aimed at fixing unemployment and bringing money into the economy. Perhaps the biggest influence FDR had that is still around to this day was the Social Security Administration. Social Security is something that almost every American citizen relies on when they retire.
Another contribution that is still felt today is the regulation of banks and the stock market. Before FDR took office, regulations on both the banking and brokering systems were very lax, which is what led to the collapse of the economy in 1929. And while regulations have both increased and decreased over the years, they have never gone back to that the pre-1929 levels. It is commonly accepted by those in Washington that at least some regulation on the financial system is a good thing.
On the other hand, FDR had a lot of failures in his four terms as President. From a domestic standpoint, Roosevelt had a ton of opposition to most of his programs, even if they eventually found success. For every program that was accepted, another was shot down before it was instituted, or was nixed by the Supreme Court.
Outside of the United States, FDR preached staunch isolationism, going so far as to send Japanese immigrants to concentration camps in order to prevent their influence on American society. It is also often said (with no insubstantial evidence) that without World War II, the U.S. economy might not have recovered from the Great Depression, even with the amount of money thrown at it.
Despite his many failures, FDR was very popular, and he had a significant influence on the United States’ economy for generations to come.