Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, NY. The only child of James and Sara Delano Roosevelt and was privileged to have been born into a wealthy family.

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, NY. The only child of James and Sara Delano Roosevelt and was privileged to have been born into a wealthy family. His father instilled many values on him and taught him that being wealthy also brought with it the responsibility of helping those who were not as fortunate.

FDR was a very smart and educated young man. His parents took him on many trips abroad where he learned to speak a variety of different languages. He graduated in 1903 from Harvard and later received his degree from Columbia University Law School, even though he showed no interest in legal work. He married his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt on St. Patrick’s Day in 1905 and together they had six children. FDR took much pride in his family and it was at this time he decided to get involved in politics.

Roosevelt entered the political arena supporting the Democrats in 1910 at the age of 28. He won the election into the New York State Senate despite the fact that Republicans had controlled the district for over fifty years. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1913 and he remained in this position throughout World War I (WWI). This assignment taught him about national politics, but more importantly, it also taught him how to get along with the members of Congress.

In August 1921 tragedy struck. While sailing, FDR fell into the water. This left him paralyzed. To compound matters even more, he also had been stricken with a severe case of polio. Many thought his career in politics would come to an end but he continued working out of his home, eventually getting back the use of his hands and arms while developing strong shoulders. He was determined to fight his illness as hard as he could and in the process he helped others. In 1924 he established the Warm Springs Foundation, a treatment center for polio victims. Treatment was provided regardless if a patient could afford it or not.

By the time he returned to politics later that year, he had mastered his walking with the help of braces. FDR’s first major public appearance since the polio attack, was to give his nominating speech at the National Convention for Governor Smith of New York. He had regained significance as a Democratic leader and a man who had overcome personal tragedy. Smith did not win this election but did get the presidential nomination in 1928 and encouraged FDR to run for Governor of New York; he ran and won the election. During his time as Governor he proved to become very popular with the voters by obtaining relief systems for both farmers and the unemployed, gaining control of public utilities and services, strengthening prisons, getting better pensions for seniors, and taking better care of the environment. FDR stated to the nation: “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” This gained Roosevelt much admiration from the public. He was now in a position to take on a more challenging position and was nominated for President in 1932. FDR was the first ever to make an acceptance speech at the National Convention, during which he promised the people of the United States a “new deal” to get the nation out of the Depression and prevent it from happening again.

During his campaign, he traveled to 38 states, showing the nation he could physically take on the job as President. It was at this time he told the world “the fate of America cannot be dependent on any one man. The greatness of America is grounded in principles and no on any single personality.” He was very convincing and received 472 electoral votes, winning the Presidential election by a landslide.

FDR entered office on March 4, 1933 and was the last US President to be inaugurated in March. Stepping into the Presidency while the nation was in the midst of ...

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FDR entered office on March 4, 1933 and was the last US President to be inaugurated in March. Stepping into the Presidency while the nation was in the midst of a depression would be a tremendous undertaking, and Roosevelt knew there would be many immediate problems that needed to be handled, such as the banking crisis and he was prepared to make immediate changes. On March 6th, only two days after becoming President, he declared a “bank holiday.” This meant that all banks would shut down until the Department of Treasury could review every bank’s books and make sure they were stable. By doing this he ended the banking crisis and restored American confidence.

Three days later he tackled another problem, and with congressional approval, he began to pass recovery and reform laws. Congress approved almost all of the important bills with large majority rulings. The session of Congress passing laws is known as the “Hundred Days.” On March 12th, Roosevelt began giving his famous “fireside chats” over the radio, explaining the new laws that were being passed and how the American citizens would benefit from them.

Roosevelt described his reform program the “New Deal” as a use of authority of government; an organized form of self-help for all classes, groups and sections of our country. There were many different parts to the program, all of them working towards the goal of relief for the United States.

Listed below are the different “New Deal” programs, when they went into effect and how they helped the people of America.

• Agricultural Adjustment Act – 1933 – Protected farmers from price drops by providing crop subsidies to reduce production; Educational programs to teach methods of preventing soil erosion.

• Civil Works Administration – 1933 – Provided public works jobs at

$15.00 per week to four million workers.

• Civilian Conservation Corps – 1933 – Sent 250,000 young men to work camps to perform reforestation and conservation tasks. Removed surplus of workers from cities, provided healthy conditions for boys, provided money for families.

• Federal Emergency Relief Act – 1933 – Distributed millions of dollars in direct aid to unemployed workers.

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – 1933 – Created federally

insured bank deposits ($2500 per investor at first) to prevent bank

failures.

• National Industrial Recovery Act – Created to enforce codes of fair

competition, wages, and bargaining for workers.

• Public Works Administration – 1933 – Received $3.3 billion appropriation from Congress for public works projects.

• Tennessee Valley Authority – 1933 - Federal government built a series of dams to prevent flooding and sell electricity. First public competition with private power industries.

• Securities and Exchange Commission – 1934 – Regulated the stock market and restricted margin buying.

• National Youth Administration – 1935 – Provided part-time employment to more than two million college and high school students.

• Rural Electrification Administration – 1935 – Encouraged farmers to join cooperatives to bring electricity to farms. Despite its efforts, by 1930 only 40% of American farms had electricity.

• Social Security Act – 1935 – Provided pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to blind, deaf, disabled and dependent children.

• Wagner Act – 1935 – Allowed workers to join unions and outlawed union-busting tactics by management.

• Works Progress Administration – 1935 – Employed 8.5 million workers in construction and other jobs; more importantly provided work in arts, theater and literary projects.

Roosevelt did a remarkable job of strengthening relations and promoting goodwill among other nations. One of the first things he did was to get the Platt Amendment of 1901 repelled. Upon accomplishing this, the United States signed Reciprocal Trade Agreements with six Latin American countries, promising non-aggression and conciliation with all of them.

FDR also visited other countries as a gesture to make peace. He was the first US President to visit South America and attend the Inter-American Conference. He also succeeded in restarting trade between the US and Soviet Union. All ties had been broken with them since the Russian Revolution in 1917. With Roosevelt’s assistance, the two nations exchanged diplomatic representatives for the first time in sixteen years.

Roosevelt ran for re-election, winning his second term, again by a landslide. The opposing Republicans tried to bring him down by claiming he failed to keep his promise to balance the budget. FDR’s response was telling the voters how he ended the Depression and brought America back to becoming a prosperous nation. After his term was up, he ran for the third consecutive time and many factors led to his successful re-election. He had appointed Republicans to his Cabinet, hoping to gain some Republican support; he managed to keep the United States out of war; and the people believed the nation needed a President with good experience and leadership skills.

Upon entering his third term in office, he gave Great Britain the help they needed with the war. He met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1941 and together they created the Atlantic Charter. Under this Charter, there were no territorial gains and all nations had the right to choose their own government, world trade could be conducted peacefully and there was freedom of the seas. Roosevelt also granted all Americans “Four Freedoms” which are freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom of want and freedom from fear.

By 1935 relations with Japan were not very stable and the United States had reduced trade with them. US officials met with Japanese diplomats, unaware that their planes were attacking US fleets in Pearl Harbor. This led the United States into World War II. FDR met with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union and formed the United Nations, or Allies that opposed the Axis Powers. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin became known as “The Big Three” and together created a strong pact to stick together and defeat the Axis Powers. Their goal was to drive all Italians, Germans and Japanese out of any territory where they did not belong, beginning with North Africa.

In 1944, FDR was ready to retire but felt strongly that it was his duty to run for a fourth term since the war was still going on. He was re-elected President of the United States for the fourth time, even though his health was failing.

He met with Churchill and Stalin for the Yalta Conference in the Soviet Union in February, 945. The “Big Three” discussed plans for organizing a peace treaty with the United Nations when the war ended. It was at this time FDR began to have doubts about the Soviets and told Churchill to keep on top of Stalin, and to keep him posted if any changes took place. He headed to Warm Springs for a break from politics and to get the rest he needed. On April 12, 1945 he passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage. America was devastated they had lost their beloved President.

Serving his country as President for more than twelve years, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the only President to be elected four times and is still one of the most remembered US Presidents. He led the United States through its worst Depression and it’s worst War, while trying to stay optimistic about the country and the decisions he made. He helped the American people regain faith in themselves and gave them the hope they needed throughout his twelve-year term as the 32nd President of the United States.