At boarding school he was water boy and ball carrier and was considered an outsider. These rather unpleasant experiences in his childhood helped him understand the concerns and fears of ordinary Americans and therefore be able to empathise with the American public.
During 1896-1900, he attended Groton, a prestigious school and received a BA degree in history from Harvard in only 3 years. He then studied law at New York’s Columbia University and then practiced law with a prominent New York City law firm, but was so rich that he did not need to work. This was not a help in his career towards understanding how people could live in misery.
Instead, he entered politics in 1910, and spent money on his election campaign for the New York State Senate as a democrat from his traditionally Republican home district. Woodrow Wilson who had been supported by Roosevelt, rewarded him by appointing him Assistant Secretary of the Navy and because of his success was nominated vice-president by the Democratic Party in 1920.
Roosevelt felt that he should help families who were worse off than him and learned how to respect those below him. This was a major triumph for him to understand the problems many Americans faced.
His father suffered from a heart attack, and Roosevelt learnt a lesson from this experience, to conceal his true feelings. This would make him seem a strong and cool figure.
In 1921, while vacationing at Campobello Island, he suffered from poliomyelitis which left him close to death. Recovery took time, strength and hard work and despite his effort, he ended paralysed from the waist down.
The strike Roosevelt had suffered, provided him not only with strength and confidence, but also helped to emphasise with American people’s struggle. “The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself”. He was elected governor of New York and persuaded to spend millions on home and relief getting a closer and more touching view of the life or ordinary Americans.
Roosevelt’s background, gave him automatically respect. He used his “common touch” to communicate with people’s feelings of all social status.