Franklin D Roosevelt Biography

Franklin D Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States of America, he is among the prominent figures of American as well as world politics. Often known for his leadership during the Great Depression and the second world war, he is the leader that established the supremacy and leadership of the United States at a global level. The full name of the American president is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He served four terms as the president of the United States from 1933 until he died in 1945.

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Early Life and Education

Roosevelt is often known as the FDR, he was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York. He was born into a rich family, his parents were James Roosevelt and Sara Ann Delano Roosevelt. He was the only child of the couple, he belonged to a family that was not only wealthy but was politically active, Theodore Roosevelt the 26th president of the United States was a family member, he was a cousin of his father, James Roosevelt. 

The president came from a family of prominent socialities of several generations, the family fortune came from the trade and real estate business. Roosevelt’s father, James Roosevelt was also a member of the democratic party, he was known for his liberal ideologies and beliefs. Her mother also came from a prominent family of traders and politicians. FDR is known to be greatly influenced by his mother, especially in his early teenage years and childhood. 

Needless to say, young Roosevelt has a sense of self-importance from a very young age, many biographers mention the importance of his mother in shaping his ideologies and the sense of self. Roosevelt was not a very athletic child, due to which he felt difficult to adjust among his peers in early teenage.

Education

Franklin D Roosevelt was homeschooled by tutors during his early childhood years, he was tutored at home till the age of 14. Franklin Roosevelt education was later pursued in a prestigious school called  Groton School. It was a boys school, the school was a prestigious institution known for its academic excellence and athletics, it was an Episcopal preparatory school located in Massachusetts. Franklin  Delano Roosevelt faced difficulties in adjusting to the environment, this was mainly due to lack of athletic ability, the Gorton Scholl was known for its ability to produce highly athletic students. Franklin suffered from polio. 

Roosevelt biography mentions his study abroad for a short duration. It is documented that at the age of 9 he went to Germany for a year to study, apart from this the early education that Roosevelt was mainly from a private tutor and his mother. Due to his year abroad he was proficient in German. Apart from his mother his headmaster at Gorton school,  Endicott Peabody, influenced Franklin D Roosevelt. He graduated from the school in 1990. 

Upon graduation in 1990, he was accepted at Harvard University, where he studied economics. Roosevelt was an editor in the local newspaper of Harvard, he was also a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. Although as mentioned in the Roosevelt biography by James MacGregor Burns he was not academically exceptional, he managed to get his degree from Harvard University in three years. 

After completing his degree of Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1903 from Harvard, Roosevelt continued his masters in law. He was a student of law at Columbia University Law School. He got enrolled in the course in 1904. He was considered a good student, he passed the  New York Bar Examination. The bar association of a jurisdiction that a student must pass to be admitted to that jurisdiction’s bar is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction. He passed the bar exam in 1907 and dropped out of Columbia University Law School.

He was a practising lawyer prestigious law firm of Carter Ledyard & Milburn, working in the firm's admiralty law division which was a typical lifestyle everyone expected of a member of an elite family. Although he was successful and made good money he found the work to be restrictive. Roosevelt’s father died in 1900, which caused distress and emotional turmoil in his life, after completing his education while working as a lawyer he focused on the politics of the country.  Theodore Roosevelt was the president at the time, his vigorous leadership style and reforming ardour established his interest and greatly influenced the political beliefs of the young Roosevelt.

Early Political Career

• New York Senate Elections

The first political role that Roosevelt took up was the election for the New York state senate. Roosevelt was only 28 when he was invited to run for the senatorial race for Democratic Party in the district that was primarily republican. Through strategic and aggressive political campaigning he managed to influence the district that had voted as republican for approximately 32 years. He was the campaigning manager and determined his motto and slogans for the campaign.

An interesting fact or event mentioned in his political career is that he opposed some of the elements of the Democratic political machine, which led to disputes between some democratic leaders but this gained him national notoriety and valuable experience in political tactics and intrigue which were the leading factors of his win. He allied with Louis Howe and was re-elected in 1912 where he served as chair of the agricultural committee, passing farm and labour bills and social welfare programs.

• Assistant Secretary of the Navy 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt also served as the assistant secretary of the navy from 1913 to 1919. Roosevelt was known to be an energetic and efficient administration. One of the major achievements of his term during his term was the foundation of the U.S. Naval Reserve, his primary focus was on getting budgets approvals and systems modernized. Roosevelt also founded the Council of National Defense.

It was during his term that Congress declared war on Germany, after the declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare on America, in April 1917. Roosevelt requested to serve as a naval officer, but Wilson (the president at the time) insisted that he continue to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. During this time he focused on coordinating the mobilization, supply, and deployment of naval vessels and personnel, and also the expansion of the navy. The US entered the war fourfold expanded its navy. Roosevelt personally ordered the preservation of the Navy's Aviation Division.

• Campaign for Vice President

Franklin D Roosevelt campaigned for the post of vice president in 1920. At the Democratic Convention in the following year, he accepted the nomination for vice president, as James M. Cox's running mate. Although they did not win the election, they lost by Republican Warren G. Harding in the general election, but the experience gave Roosevelt national exposure. The relationships and goodwill that was made in the 1920 campaign proved to be a major asset in his 1932 presidential campaign. The 1920 election also saw the first public participation of Eleanor Roosevelt who, with the support of Louis Howe, established herself as a valuable political ally.

Health of Franklin D Roosevelt

After the democratic convention and campaign Roosevelt suffered from polio. He was diagnosed with the disease in the year of 1921, he was 39 at the time. During the time he was expected to be completely paralyzed, fighting the odds of his health he maintained this political career and partially recovered from the disease. Although he did not regain the complete use of his legs. After that he mostly used a wheelchair, he was careful to not be publicly seen in a wheelchair. Later in his life, he founded the March of Dimes program that eventually funded an effective polio vaccine. During this, his wife and close friends helped and supported him greatly.

Presidential Elections

After the huge loss in the stock market, America went into the Great Depression, which is still one of the most frightening economic crises the country has seen. It was during this time Roosevelt stood up for the presidential election as a member of the Democratic Party. He ran and won against Herbert Hoover in November 1932. He started his campaign by emphasizing government intervention in the economy to provide relief, recovery and reform. Roosevelt served his term as president four consecutive times from 1933 until he died in 1945. Franklin D Roosevelt vice presidents were John Nance Garner who served as vice president from 1933 to 1941, Henry A. Wallace serving from 1941 to 1945, and Harry S. Truman who served in 145.  Franklin D Roosevelt vice presidents were prominent in the policy-making of his administration, Harry S. Truman followed him as the 33rd president of the United States.

Some of the important agreements and bills passed during his tenure include The New Deal, which focuses on the sweeping economic reforms to address the Great Depression. He ordered temporary closure on all banks to halt the run on deposits. "Brain Trust" of economic advisers was formed. The main contribution was the formation of "alphabet agencies" such as the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration), to support farm prices by reducing agricultural production through subsidies. CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), was formed to employ young unmarried men to work refurbishing public lands and national parks; and NRA (National Recovery Administration), was formed which regulated wages and prices. 

Roosevelt also focused on foreign policies, he made the Monroe Doctrine and established the Good Neighbor Policy with Latin America. He also established good relations with France and Britain to help America against the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany. During his term, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act in 1941. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. He helped develop a strategy for defeating Germany in Europe. He suggested a series of invasions first in North Africa in November 1942, then Sicily and Italy in 1943, followed by the D-Day invasion of Europe in 1944.

Family and Death

Roosevelt married Eleanor Roosevelt, on March 17, 1905. The couple met during his time at Harvard University, they became engaged during Roosevelt’s last year at Harvard. Franklin and Elenor had six children who were named Anna, James, Franklin, Elliott, Franklin Jr. and John. their third son Franklin died as an infant. All the children of Roosevelt had a career in public service and politics. His youngest son John was an exception who became a businessman.

He died on April 12, 1945, Roosevelt suffered from a cerebral haemorrhage, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. His cause of death was a cerebral haemorrhage. Roosevelt died at the age of 63.

Franklin D Roosevelt is often heralded as one of the greatest American presidents. Roosevelt’s greatest accomplishments include the victory of the second world war and bringing the country out of the economic crisis. Many historians and political science experts believe and note the important contribution made in the field of federal control and organization during the worst economic crisis of American history, the Great Depression.