Roosevelt is considered near the top of the list because of his leadership during the travails of the Great Depression and World War II. He connected to the people with his Fireside Chats and economic legislation designed to bring relief and recovery to many of those who were suffering. Along with Winston Churchill, he stood as a strong leader when one was needed to ensure victory in World War II against the dangerous threat posed by Nazi Germany and Japan.

While the law did not specifically mention the Japanese, military commanders used this executive order to intern more than 110,000 Japanese Americans for the duration of the war. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt opposed the measure. Even FBI director J. Edgar Hoover opposed the measure, believing that the Japanese spies had been caught shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.