Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) entered the White House in 1933 in the
             midst of the nation's largest economic depression. Approximately 25 percent
             of the work force was unemployed, industrial production was bleak, and the
             bank system was collapsing. Overseas, the economic situation resulted in
             Faced with these challenges, Roosevelt fearlessly experimented with the
             power of the federal government. His greatest accomplishment was his
             ability to lead, inspire, and help Americans through bad spells as he
             "I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States
             about banking," he said on March 12, 1933, the first of about thirty
             informal "fireside chats" that Roosevelt gave over the radio. His ability
             to communicate directly and personally through the media, addressing each
             listener as his friend, gave Franklin D. Roosevelt a powerful tool to shape
             public opinion. This paper describes the leadership approaches that FDR
             During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, people
             believed that leaders were born (ROTC, 2002). Basically, this meant that it
             was assumed that a man's heritage provided an innate ability to lead. A
             leader was born with special characteristics or traits that gave him the
             In an attempt to prove this philosophy, researchers undertook long studies
             of existing political, industrial, and religious leaders (ROTC, 2002). They
             expected to find that these leaders possessed certain characteristics that
             would distinguish them from their followers. However, the researchers were
             unsuccessful. Their study results identified a number of traits that were
             common to those in leadership positions, including intelligence,
             dependability, sociability, aggressiveness, originality, popularity, and
             humor. However, they also discovered that different situations required the
             use of different traits. Some studies found there was no evidence to
             support that just having...