Skip to content
12 Axes Test
Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thirty-second US president

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s political views

The US president who led the country through the Great Depression and most of the Second World War, and whose New Deal created Social Security and extended federal regulation of the economy.

Presidency
32nd, 1933–1945
Party
Democratic
Lived
1882–1945
Scored on
11 of 12 axes

Strongest documented leanings

  1. Democratic80%
  2. Planned80%
  3. Progressive78%
Where F. Roosevelt stood on the twelve axes
Take the quiz

Where F. Roosevelt stood on the twelve axes

Each bar is one axis, between its two poles. Only axes with a documented position are scored; the others are shown as faint stubs on the icon and listed below, never as neutral.

Based on his New Deal speeches and Four Freedoms. He expanded public employment, social security, and democratic resilience against economic ruin.

  • Federal vs UnitaryUnitary 75%
    FederalUnitary

    Massive expansion of federal administrative power to combat the Great Depression.

  • Democratic vs AutocraticDemocratic 80%
    DemocraticAutocratic

    Preservation of democratic constitutional legitimacy amidst the global rise of fascism.

  • Security vs FreedomSecurity 62%
    SecurityFreedom

    The Four Freedoms speech pairs civil liberties with “freedom from fear”, and Executive Order 9066 led to interning Japanese Americans.

  • Nationalism vs InternationalismInternationalism 70%
    NationalismInternationalism

    Backed the Four Freedoms “everywhere in the world” and the founding of the United Nations.

  • Militarist vs PacifistMilitarist 70%
    MilitaristPacifist

    Signed the Selective Training and Service Act in September 1940, the first peacetime draft, and the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941, after calling the United States the arsenal of democracy.

  • Assimilationist vs MulticulturalistAssimilationist 55%
    AssimilationistMulticulturalist

    Issued Executive Order 8802 in June 1941 banning discrimination in defence industries, but Executive Order 9066 in February 1942 led to the internment of Japanese Americans.

  • Collectivize vs PrivatizeCollectivize 70%
    CollectivizePrivatize

    Social Security, Tennessee Valley Authority, and public safety nets to curb private economic ruin.

  • Planned vs Laissez-fairePlanned 80%
    PlannedLaissez-faire

    The New Deal: regulatory oversight of finance, labor rights, and extensive public works.

  • Isolationism vs GlobalismGlobalism 65%
    IsolationismGlobalism

    The Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934 let the administration cut tariffs by treaty.

  • Irreligious vs ReligiousReligious 62%
    IrreligiousReligious

    Named freedom of worship among the Four Freedoms in January 1941 and led the nation in a prayer in a radio address on D-Day, 6 June 1944.

  • Progressive vs TraditionalProgressive 78%
    ProgressiveTraditional

    Appointed Frances Perkins, the first woman in a cabinet, in March 1933 and signed the Fair Labor Standards Act on 25 June 1938, which set a minimum wage and limited child labour.

No documented position, so not scored: Acceleration vs Bioconservative.

What shaped the scores

Dated actions from the record. Each is tied to the axis it informs.

  1. He signs the law creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.

    Collectivize vs Privatize

    Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1941) · Wikipedia

  2. He signs the Glass–Steagall Act, which separates commercial banks from securities firms and insures deposits.

    Planned vs Laissez-faire

    Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1941) · Wikipedia

  3. He signs the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, which lets the administration cut tariffs by agreement with other countries.

    Isolationism vs Globalism

    Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1941) · Wikipedia

  4. He signs the Social Security Act, funded by a payroll tax paid equally by employers and employees.

    Collectivize vs Privatize

    Social Security Act · Wikipedia

  5. His Four Freedoms speech names freedom from fear and want beside freedom of speech and of worship.

    Security vs Freedom

    Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1941) · Wikipedia

  6. He signs Executive Order 9066, which leads to the internment of about 120,000 Japanese Americans.

    Security vs Freedom

    Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941–1945) · Wikipedia

F. Roosevelt compared with other presidents

Measured on the axes both presidents are scored on, with the same rules as the quiz.

Most like

Least like

Questions about Franklin D. Roosevelt’s politics

The US president who led the country through the Great Depression and most of the Second World War, and whose New Deal created Social Security and extended federal regulation of the economy. On our twelve axes, the strongest documented leanings are Democratic 80%, Planned 80%, Progressive 78%.

Those labels changed meaning over time, so this site describes F. Roosevelt on twelve axes instead. On the economy, F. Roosevelt’s record leans toward government action and public provision. On social questions it leans progressive. The scores above give the evidence behind each axis.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was a Democrat. F. Roosevelt was the 32nd president, serving 1933–1945.

On the axes they are both scored on, F. Roosevelt is closest to Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson and furthest from James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson, Ronald Reagan.

Signed on 14 August 1935, it created old-age insurance funded by a payroll tax paid equally by employers and employees, the first federal unemployment insurance program, run by the states, and Aid to Dependent Children.

Something else on your mind? Get in touch

Sources and credits

Main source: FDR and the Four Freedoms Speech · FDR Presidential Library & Museum

Also read

Portrait: Leon Perskie, 1944 · CC BY 2.0

Scores are editorial estimates from the public record, not measurements. A place on this site is not praise.

Keep exploring

How close are you to F. Roosevelt?

Take the test and see how your twelve scores compare, axis by axis.

Start the test