Frankin D. Roosevelt

Frankin D. Roosevelt
Name	Frankin D. Roosevelt
Caption	Roosevelt in 1944
Order	32nd
Office	President of the United States
Vicepresident	John Nance Garner (1933–1941), Henry A. Wallace (1941–1945), Harry S. Truman (1945)
Term start	March 4, 1933
Term end	April 12, 1945
Predecessor	Herbert Hoover
Successor	Harry S. Truman
Office1	44th Governor of New York
Term start1	January 1, 1929
Term end1	December 31, 1932
Lieutenant1	Herbert H. Lehman
Predecessor1	Al Smith
Successor1	Herbert H. Lehman
Birth date	30 January 1882
Birth place	Hyde Park, New York
Death date	12 April 1945
Death place	Warm Springs, Georgia
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Eleanor Roosevelt (m. 1905)
Children	6, including Anna Roosevelt Halsted, James Roosevelt, Elliott Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., John Aspinwall Roosevelt
Education	Harvard University (AB), Columbia Law School
Profession	Lawyer

Frankin D. Roosevelt was the thirty-second President of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. A central figure of the twentieth century, he led the nation through the Great Depression and World War II, fundamentally reshaping the role of the federal government. His unprecedented four terms in office were marked by the transformative New Deal coalition and a pivotal leadership role among the Allies of World War II.

Early life and education

Born into a prominent family in Hyde Park, New York, he was the only child of James Roosevelt I and Sara Ann Delano. He was educated by tutors and at Groton School, an elite preparatory academy in Massachusetts. Roosevelt later attended Harvard University, where he edited the Harvard Crimson and became acquainted with his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt. He studied law at Columbia Law School but left after passing the New York State Bar Examination, beginning a clerkship at the prestigious Carter Ledyard & Milburn firm in Wall Street.

Political career before presidency

Inspired by his cousin Theodore Roosevelt, he entered politics, winning a seat in the New York State Senate in 1910 as a Democrat from a traditionally Republican district. His early support for Woodrow Wilson led to his appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1913, a role he held throughout World War I. In 1920, he was the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States on the ticket with James M. Cox, which was defeated by Warren G. Harding. The following year, he was stricken with polio, which resulted in permanent paralysis from the waist down. He returned to public life, becoming Governor of New York in 1929, where he pioneered relief programs that became models for his later federal policies.

Presidency

Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover in the 1932 election, promising a "New Deal" for the American people. His first hundred days saw unprecedented legislative activity to combat the economic crisis. He dominated the Democratic Party, creating the enduring New Deal coalition that united labor unions, big city machines, white ethnics, African Americans, and rural white Southerners. His presidency saw the creation of the Social Security Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

New Deal

The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted between 1933 and 1939. Major initiatives included the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the National Recovery Administration. These programs provided employment, reformed the banking system through the Emergency Banking Act and the Glass–Steagall Act, and established a social safety net. The New Deal faced opposition from the Supreme Court of the United States, leading to Roosevelt's unsuccessful "court-packing" plan, and from conservatives like the American Liberty League.

World War II

Initially proclaiming neutrality, Roosevelt provided material support to the Allies through policies like Lend-Lease following the Battle of France. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he led a wartime alliance with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, coordinating strategy through conferences like Casablanca, Tehran, and Yalta. He oversaw the mobilization of the U.S. home front, the creation of the Manhattan Project, and the formulation of the Four Freedoms and the United Nations as postwar goals.

Death and legacy

Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945, at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia, just weeks before the surrender of Nazi Germany. He was succeeded by his vice president, Harry S. Truman. His legacy includes the establishment of the modern American welfare state, the executive-centered modern presidency, and victory in World War II. Memorials include the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., and his home, Springwood, is a National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service.

Category:Presidents of the United States Category:1882 births Category:1945 deaths