Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, on a large estate near the village of Hyde Park, New York. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the only child of wealthy parents, James and Sara Delano Roosevelt. He was educated by private tutors and attended elite schools, Groton and Harvard. Early on he began to admire and emulate his fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, elected president in 1900. While in college, Franklin fell in love with Theodore’s niece, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, and they married in 1905. The couple had a daughter, Anna, followed by five sons, one of whom died in infancy. Roosevelt attended law school at Columbia University and worked for several years as a clerk in a Wall Street law firm. In 1910, he entered politics, winning a state senate seat as a Democrat in the heavily Republican Duchess County. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson named Roosevelt assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy. He would hold that post for the next seven years, traveling to Europe in 1918 to tour naval bases and battlefields after the U.S. entrance into World War I.
In 1932, Roosevelt was elected the nation’s 32nd president. At the time he was in his second term as the governor of New York. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. During his presidency, he led America through the Great Depression and World War II. When Roosevelt won election, he immediately acted to help restore the public’s confidence, and spoke directly to the public in a series of radio broadcasts known as “fireside chats.” With his ambitious slate of New Deal programs and reforms, he redefined the role of the federal government in the lives of Americans. Re-elected by comfortable margins in 1936, 1940 and 1944, Roosevelt led the United States from isolationism to victory over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. He led the successful wartime alliance between Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States and helped lay the groundwork for the post-war peace organization that would become the United Nations.
In 1932, Roosevelt was elected the nation’s 32nd president. At the time he was in his second term as the governor of New York. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. During his presidency, he led America through the Great Depression and World War II. When Roosevelt won election, he immediately acted to help restore the public’s confidence, and spoke directly to the public in a series of radio broadcasts known as “fireside chats.” With his ambitious slate of New Deal programs and reforms, he redefined the role of the federal government in the lives of Americans. Re-elected by comfortable margins in 1936, 1940 and 1944, Roosevelt led the United States from isolationism to victory over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. He led the successful wartime alliance between Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States and helped lay the groundwork for the post-war peace organization that would become the United Nations.
FDR & The New Deal
Other key pieces of legislation during FDR’s first “Hundred Days” created some of the most important programs and institutions of Roosevelt’s New Deal, including the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), the Public Works Administration (PWA), the Civilian Conservations Corps (CCC) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). In addition to programs aimed at providing economic relief for workers and farmers and creating jobs for the unemployed, Roosevelt also initiated a slate of reforms of the financial system, notably the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to protect depositors’ accounts and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the stock market and prevent abuses of the kind that led to the 1929 crash.
In 1935, after the economy had begun to show signs of recovery, Roosevelt asked Congress to pass a new wave of reforms, known as the “Second New Deal.” These included the Social Security Act, which for the first time provided Americans with unemployment, disability, and pensions for old age and the Works Progress Administration. The Democratic-led Congress also raised taxes on large corporations and wealthy individuals, a hike that was derisively known as the “soak-the-rich” tax.
Other key pieces of legislation during FDR’s first “Hundred Days” created some of the most important programs and institutions of Roosevelt’s New Deal, including the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), the Public Works Administration (PWA), the Civilian Conservations Corps (CCC) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). In addition to programs aimed at providing economic relief for workers and farmers and creating jobs for the unemployed, Roosevelt also initiated a slate of reforms of the financial system, notably the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to protect depositors’ accounts and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the stock market and prevent abuses of the kind that led to the 1929 crash.
In 1935, after the economy had begun to show signs of recovery, Roosevelt asked Congress to pass a new wave of reforms, known as the “Second New Deal.” These included the Social Security Act, which for the first time provided Americans with unemployment, disability, and pensions for old age and the Works Progress Administration. The Democratic-led Congress also raised taxes on large corporations and wealthy individuals, a hike that was derisively known as the “soak-the-rich” tax.
FDR & WWII
As early as 1937, FDR warned the American public about the dangers posed by hard-line regimes in Germany, Italy and Japan, though he stopped short of suggesting America should abandon its isolationist policy. After World War II broke out in September 1939, however, Roosevelt called a special session of Congress in order to revise the country’s existing neutrality acts and allow Britain and France to purchase American arms on a “cash-and-carry” basis. Germany captured France by the end of June 1940, and Roosevelt persuaded Congress to provide more support for Britain, now left to combat the Nazi menace on its own. Despite the two-term tradition for presidents in place since the time of George Washington, Roosevelt decided to run for re-election again in 1940. He defeated Wendell L. Wilkie by nearly 5 million votes.
Roosevelt increased his support of Great Britain with passage of the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941 and met with Prime Minister Winston Churchill in August aboard a battleship anchored off Canada. In the resulting Atlantic Charter, the two leaders declared the “Four Freedoms” on which the post-war world should be founded: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear. On December 8, 1941, the day after Japan bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress, which declared war on Japan. The first president to leave the country during wartime, Roosevelt spearheaded the alliance between countries combating the Axis powers. He met frequently with Churchill and sought to establish friendly relations with the Soviet Union and its leader, Joseph Stalin. Meanwhile, he spoke constantly to the American public via radio, reporting war events and rallying Americans in support of the war effort (as he had for the New Deal).
As early as 1937, FDR warned the American public about the dangers posed by hard-line regimes in Germany, Italy and Japan, though he stopped short of suggesting America should abandon its isolationist policy. After World War II broke out in September 1939, however, Roosevelt called a special session of Congress in order to revise the country’s existing neutrality acts and allow Britain and France to purchase American arms on a “cash-and-carry” basis. Germany captured France by the end of June 1940, and Roosevelt persuaded Congress to provide more support for Britain, now left to combat the Nazi menace on its own. Despite the two-term tradition for presidents in place since the time of George Washington, Roosevelt decided to run for re-election again in 1940. He defeated Wendell L. Wilkie by nearly 5 million votes.
Roosevelt increased his support of Great Britain with passage of the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941 and met with Prime Minister Winston Churchill in August aboard a battleship anchored off Canada. In the resulting Atlantic Charter, the two leaders declared the “Four Freedoms” on which the post-war world should be founded: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear. On December 8, 1941, the day after Japan bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress, which declared war on Japan. The first president to leave the country during wartime, Roosevelt spearheaded the alliance between countries combating the Axis powers. He met frequently with Churchill and sought to establish friendly relations with the Soviet Union and its leader, Joseph Stalin. Meanwhile, he spoke constantly to the American public via radio, reporting war events and rallying Americans in support of the war effort (as he had for the New Deal).