Did Roosevelts upbringing, background and character make it easy for him to understand the fears and concerns of the ordinary Americans?

FDR’s entry into the political world was also a huge changing point in his life. He attended Columbia Law School and after passing his examinations, he worked as a lawyer but did not enjoy his work as he desperately wanted to go into politics and follow in the footsteps of his distant relative Theodore Roosevelt who had been president. FDR had also married his distant relative Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905 who was Theodore Roosevelt’s favourite niece.  In 1910, at the age of twenty eight, FDR was elected to the New York Senate. He was the first democrat in thirty two years to be elected in that district and became well known in Washington and also for his support of Woodrow Wilson. In 1913 FDR took over the position of assistant secretary to the Navy, a job he had long been aiming for. FDR was excellent at his job but restless and arrogant as an assistant, and did not bother to hide the fact that he believed he would go far. He was however, hard working and efficient and by 1920 he had resigned and was campaigning to become Vice President. FDR gave countless speeches all over the USA and found that he was a dynamic public speaker who was able to communicate with the people.  Even though FDR lost the campaign, he managed to get a lot of publicity which could have been helpful at a later date. FDR entering the political world may not have helped him understand the needs of the public but it did prove his determination and desire to please and succeed in everything that he did. The tenacity in FDRs character would enable him to pursue his goals in helping ordinary Americans without being hindered by the social expectations of the time. A less tenacious individual may have been deflected by such an obstacle.

The factor which is possibly the most important in FDRs understanding of the American people and of the needs and concerns of the American people was when he caught polio. FDR was told that he would never be able to walk again when he contracted the crippling disease, but refused to believe it. FDR would never be able to fulfil his political ambition if he was permanently in a wheel chair, and he was not going to give up on what he had worked tirelessly to obtain. He tried different exercises to try and help regain the use of his legs, but to no avail. FDR was feeling desperate to walk again and sank into a state of depression. He spent a lot of time away from his family and with friends, in an attempt to make himself feel better. After a long time of suffering, FDR went to some mineral streams in hope of healing, though it did not miraculously restore his former fitness, FDR fell in love with the springs and wanted to build a hotel to help cure infantile paralysis. This shows FDR had a true care for ordinary people, and how much he truly wished to help them. Through the warm springs project he met many ordinary people, many of them black, who talked to him about the poverty and despair that had gripped the American people. This educated him on the issues that people faced. His wife Eleanor once said that through polio ‘he learnt what suffering was.’ This is why without polio; he may never have become president. FDRs own suffering was an advantage over his political opponents as he understood what it was to suffer and to be disadvantaged.

FDR never properly regained the use of his legs. Although, did manage to develop a method that looked a lot like walking, which he needed to make a speech nominating Al Smith as a democrat candidate. If he fell, his political career would be over, however he did not fall, and the speech was a huge success and viewed a sort of come back after his many years of recovery. He was elected Governor of New York State in 1928 and just a year after he was elected, the Wall Street crash happened. The whole country fell into economic depression as so much of peoples social wellbeing depended on the stock market. The Republican government, who were in power, were not pro-active in their approach to the crisis, believing that the economy would straighten itself out. Eventually, the government would set up schemes to help those who had nothing at all, by providing clothes, food and shelter. FDR responded to the crisis very differently and showed that he understood the fears and concerns of the people. So it was not very surprising, after the success he had had in New York State, that he stood for, and won the presidency in 1932.

In conclusion, through FDRs upbringing, background and character, he could understand the fears and concerns of the American public. The biggest contributor however, was when he caught polio. Without polio he would never have been able to understand and empathise with ordinary people and the disadvantaged. This empathy that he felt, was unusual for somebody of his class and background and without this he would not have gone down in history as one of the greatest presidents ever, or may never have made it to the presidency at all.