He was born as the beloved only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Delano Roosevelt, both from very good families.
Life in Brief By William E. His presidency—which spanned twelve years—was unparalleled, not only in length but in scope. FDR took office with the country mired in a horrible and debilitating economic depression that not only sapped its material wealth and spiritual strength, but cast a pall over its future.
Roosevelt's combination of confidence, optimism, and political savvy—all of which came together in the experimental economic and social programs of the "New Deal"—helped bring about the beginnings of a national recovery. In foreign affairs, FDR committed the United States to the defeat of the fascist powers of Germany, Japan, and Italy, and led the nation and its allies to the brink of victory.
This triumph dramatically altered America's relationship with the world, guiding the United States to a position of international prominence, if not predominance. By virtue of its newfound political and economic power, as well as its political and moral leadership, the United States would play a leading role in shaping the remainder of the twentieth century.
Franklin Roosevelt also forged a domestic political revolution on several fronts. In politics, FDR and the Democratic Party built a power base which carried the party to electoral, if not ideological, dominance until the late s. In governance, FDR's policies, especially those comprising the New Deal, helped redefine and strengthen both the American state and, specifically, the American presidency, expanding the political, administrative, and constitutional powers of the office.
James Roosevelt was a landowner and businessman of considerable, but not awesome, wealth. FDR grew up under the watchful eyes of his mother, whose devotion to her only child was considerable, and a host of nannies.
At age 14, Franklin's parents sent him to the Groton School, a prestigious boarding school in Massachusetts. FDR went on to Harvard College, where he spent more time on the college newspaper than he did on his studies.
Roosevelt had little interest in the law, however, and his attention soon turned to politics. He ran successfully for the New York State Senate in and was re-elected in Inhe joined the Wilson administration as assistant secretary of the Navy and played a key role in readying the United States for entry into the world war.
FDR was roundly praised for his efforts and the leaders of the Democratic Party tabbed him as a Democrat to watch. Indeed, inthe party named him its vice-presidential candidate.
Tragedy struck, however, in Roosevelt contracted polio, a terrifying and incurable disease that left him paralyzed in his legs. Only through an arduous rehabilitation process—and with the support of his wife, his children, and his close confidantes—was FDR able to regain some use of his legs.
In the s, he invested a considerable part of his fortune in rehabilitating a spa in Warm Springs, Georgia, whose curative waters aided his own rehabilitation. In later years, the cottage he built there would be called "the Little White House. Eleanor later said of this time: After that I never heard him say he was afraid of anything.
The crash of the stock market in October served as a harbinger of tougher times to come and led Governor Roosevelt to focus on combating the state's economic woes. FDR implemented a number of innovative relief and recovery initiatives—unemployment insurance, pensions for the elderly, limits on work hours, and massive public works projects—that established him as a liberal reformer.
FDR's efforts also won him reelection as governor ina rare feat in the midst of depression. By the presidential election season ofthe Great Depression had only worsened and showed no signs of abating. Democrats turned to FDR, a popular and successful two-term governor with a recognizable last name, to challenge President Hoover.
In his inaugural address, Roosevelt gave hope to dispirited Americans throughout the nation, assuring them that they had "nothing to fear but fear itself. In the famous "First Hundred Days" of his presidency, FDR pushed through legislation that reformed the banking and financial sectors, tried to cure the ills afflicting American agriculture, and attempted to resuscitate American industry.
To meet the immediate crisis of starvation and the dire needs of the nation's unemployed, FDR provided direct cash relief for the poor and jobs programs. Roosevelt's reassuring "fireside chats," in which he spoke to the nation via radio about the country's predicament, calmed a worried public.
InFDR took the New Deal in a more liberal direction, overseeing the enactment of some of the most far-reaching social and economic legislation in American history. The Wagner Act allowed labor unions to organize and bargain collectively, conferring on them a new legitimacy.There was no federally financed "safety net" of welfare programs to keep the working class from falling into poverty.
The New Deal. In the new president, Franklin Roosevelt, brought an air of confidence and optimism that quickly rallied the people to the banner of his program, known as the New Deal "The only thing we have to fear is fear. In the summer of , Franklin D. Roosevelt, Governor of New York, was nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.
In his acceptance speech, Roosevelt addressed the problems of the depression by telling the American people that, "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for.
In the new president, Franklin Roosevelt, brought an air of confidence and optimism that quickly rallied the people to the banner of his program, known as the New Deal "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," the president declared in his inaugural address to the nation.
A short summary of 's Franklin D. Roosevelt. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of Franklin D. Roosevelt. and pushed a series of legislation through it each time which created the major acts and administrative bodies of the New Deal.
Roosevelt began by solving the banking crisis, shutting down banks for four days until. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Life in Brief By William E.
Leuchtenburg Faced with the Great Depression and World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt, nicknamed “FDR,” guided America through its greatest domestic crisis, with the exception .
No evaluation of the New Deal is complete without an analysis of Roosevelt himself. As a leader, his skills were unparalleled. African Americans and women received limited advances by the legislative programs, but FDR was not fully committed to either civil or women's rights.
Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal helped America muddle.