peculated that an attack was the only alternative. Some historians believe that had Roosevelt not applied the embargo that Pearl Harbor may not have taken place, ?No amount of Rooseveltian charm and manipulative skill could change Japan?s realization of its actual situation, which, thanks to the trade embargo, was indeed dire? (Davis 313). After his health began to fail those around FDR felt that maybe his political days were over, however the Commander In Chief ran again in 1944. Again an overwhelming majority elected him, but he died one year later in 1945, at the age of 63. Harry S. Truman, his vice president, took office, as FDR was laid to rest three days after his death at Hyde Park. The two presidents of our past widely considered the greatest, Lincoln and FDR, instituted ?constitutional dictatorships? in wartime. Both used their constitutional sanctions, even when it meant going around Congress, to get things done in a time of peril. But both did so while at the same time holding free elections in which their opponents might have won the office. Through vast national support, Roosevelt was able to rekindle America?s spirit in itself, ?A man who could not walk became president of a country that had lost hope. With a simple set of beliefs- a belief that things could be improved, a belief in the Democratic process- he transmitted his own confidence to the nation? (Morgan 772). And the nation followed his lead....
