Franklin D. Roosevelt

At 63 years old, Franklin D. Roosevelt has this physical status:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), also known as FDR for the initials FDR, was an American politician who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945.

He won four presidential races and became a central figure in international affairs in the first half of the twentieth century.

During the bulk of the Great Depression, Roosevelt supervised the federal government, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in reaction to the country's biggest economic crisis ever.

He founded the New Deal Coalition, which unified American politics into the Fifth Party system and defined American liberalism in the middle of the twentieth century.

World War II, which came shortly after he died in office, ruled his third and fourth terms.

He is regarded by scholars as one of the three top US presidents, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but has also been subjected to significant criticism. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York, to a Dutch American family whose name was well known thanks to Theodore Roosevelt, the country's 26th president, and William Henry Aspinwall.

Early life and marriage

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in the Hudson Valley town of Hyde Park, New York, on January 30, 1882, to businessman James Roosevelt I and his second wife, Sara Ann Delano. His parents, who were his sixth cousins, were among wealthy, well-established New York families, the Roosevelts, Aspinwalls, and the Delanos. In the 17th century, Roosevelt's paternal ancestor immigrated to New Amsterdam, and the Roosevelts followed as merchants and landowners. In 1621, the Delano family patriarch, Philip Delano, migrated to the New World on the Fortune, and the Delanos flourished as merchants and shipbuilders in Massachusetts. From his father's previous marriage, Franklin had a half-brother, James Roosevelt "Rosy" Roosevelt.

They father graduated from Harvard Law School in 1851 but after receiving an inheritance from his grandfather, James Roosevelt, they did not practice medicine. "I am making a strange wish for you," Roosevelt's father, a well-known Bourbon Democrat, told Franklin once that he went to visit President Grover Cleveland. You will never be President of the United States,' it is said. "My son Franklin is a Delano, not a Roosevelt at all," Franklin's mother, who was the dominant influence in his youth, once said. Some regard James, who was 54 years old when Franklin was born, was seen as a distant father by some, but biographer James MacGregor Burns argues that James interacted with his son more often than was expected at the time.

Roosevelt learned to ride, fire; sail; and sail; and sail; and play polo, tennis, and golf.

Frequent trips to Europe, starting at the age of two and spanning from age seven to fifteen, helped Roosevelt become fluent in German and French. Roosevelt was home-schooled by tutors until age 14, except for attending public school in Germany at age nine. He then attended Groton School, an Episcopal boarding school in Groton, Massachusetts. He was not one of the more popular Groton students, who were better athletes and had rebellious streaks. Endicott Peabody, the country's headmaster, argued that Christians must assist the homeless and encouraged his students to enter public service. Peabody maintained a major presence during Roosevelt's life, officiating at his wedding and visiting him as president.

Roosevelt went to Harvard College, like the bulk of his Groton peers. He served as a school cheerleader and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and the Fly Club. Roosevelt was fairly unpopular as a student or athlete, but he became editor-in-chief of The Harvard Crimson daily newspaper, requiring enthusiasm, motivation, and the ability to control others. "I took economics courses in college for four years, and everything I was taught was wrong," Trump said later.

Roosevelt's father died in 1900, causing great sadness for him. Theodore Roosevelt's fifth cousin, Roosevelt, became President of the United States the following year. Franklin was Franklin's role model and hero because of his zealous leadership style and reforming zeal. Franklin graduated from Harvard with an A.B. in 1903. In history, there has been no one better than anybody else in the world. He attended Columbia Law School in 1904 but was disqualified in 1907 after passing the New York Bar Examination. He began working in the firm's admiralty department in 1908 and spent 1908-1908.

He met and proposed to Boston heiress Alice Sohier, who turned him down during his second year of college. Eleanor Roosevelt, the niece of Theodore Roosevelt, began suing his child-acquaintance and fifth cousin who had been removed. Franklin suggested Eleanor in 1903, but they were married on March 17, 1905, despite opposition from his mother. Elliott, Eleanor's father, was deceased, and her uncle Theodore, then the president, ruled out the wedding. Both the young couple and Franklin Roosevelt built a house for themselves in Springwood, and Sara Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt built a townhouse for the couple in New York City. Eleanor never felt at home in the Hyde Park or New York homes, but she loved the family's holiday home on Campobello Island, which Sara also gave the couple. Young Roosevelt, according to Burns, was both confident and at ease in the upper class, while Eleanor was shy and uncomfortable with social life and wanted to raise their children. Franklin left the children to his wife, but Eleanor delegated it to caregivers as his father did. She later said she had "nothing" about handling or feeding a child. Eleanor thought that sex was "an ordeal to be endured," but she and Franklin had six children. Anna, James, and Elliott were born in 1906, 1907, and 1910, respectively. Franklin, the couple's second son, died in infancy in 1909. In 1914, another son, also named Franklin, was born in 1914, and John, the youngest boy, was born in 1916.

Roosevelt had several extra-marital affairs, including with Eleanor's social secretary Lucy Mercer, who was hired in 1914 but found by Eleanor in 1918. Franklin considered divorce Eleanor, but Sara protested, and Lucy refused to marry a divorced man with five children. Both Franklin and Eleanor were married, and Roosevelt promised that Lucy would never see her again. Eleanor never forgive him, and their union became more of a political union. Eleanor moved to Val-Kill, a separate home, and devoted herself to social and political causes independent of her husband. Eleanor and his family's emotional breakdown were so bad that she refused to return home and live with him again when Roosevelt asked Eleanor in 1942, despite his declining health. He was not even aware of when she visited the White House and for a time, she was unable to reach him on the phone without his secretary's assistance; Roosevelt, on the other hand, did not visit Eleanor's New York City apartment until late 1944.

As Franklin and Lucy continued a formal correspondence, they spotted each other again in 1941 or earlier. Elliott LeHand, Roosevelt's son, denied that his father had a 20-year affair with his private secretary, Marguerite "Missy" LeHand. "There is a strong likelihood that a romantic relationship existed" between his father and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, who lived in the White House during World War II. At the time, Aides began to refer to her as "the president's wife" and rumors linking the two romantically appeared in the newspapers.

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Early political career (1910–1920)

Roosevelt was unconcerned about the administration of justice and told colleagues he intended to enter politics. Despite his admiration for cousin Theodore, Franklin D. Roosevelt revealed his father's ties with the Democratic Party, and the party recruited Roosevelt to run for a seat in the New York State Assembly prior to the 1910 elections. Roosevelt, a good recruit for the party, was a persuasive recruiter. He had the personality and vigour for campaigning, and he had the funds to pay for his own campaign. However, Roosevelt's bid for the state assembly came to an end after the Democratic incumbent, Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler, declined to run for re-election. Roosevelt rather than putting his political aspirations on hold, he applied for a seat in the state senate. The senate district, which is located in Netherlandsess, Columbia, and Putnam, was largely Republican. Roosevelt was worried that Theodore's opposition would have ended his campaign, but Theodore encouraged his candidacy despite their party lines. Roosevelt, the senate district's campaign manager, rode around by car at a time when few people could afford one. Roosevelt gained a surprising victory in the 1910 United States elections thanks to his arduous campaign, his name recognition in the Hudson Valley, and the Democratic landslide.

Despite brief legislative sessions, Roosevelt regarded his new position as a full time job. Roosevelt took his seat on January 1, 1911, becoming the leader of a group of "Insurgents" in opposition to the Tammany Hall machine that ruled the state Democratic Party. Roosevelt and nineteen other Democrats created a long deadlock in the 1911 United States Senate election, which was determined in a joint session of the New York state legislature by a group of Tammany-backed candidates. Tammany threw its support behind James A. O'Gorman, a highly respected judge who Roosevelt found commendable, and O'Gorman ran in late March. Roosevelt, who was born in the process, became a well-known figure among New York Democrats. "The second coming of a Roosevelt" is depicted in news articles and cartoons, bringing "cold shivers down the spine of Tammany."

Roosevelt opposed Tammany Hall by supporting New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson's successful bid for the 1912 Democratic nomination. After Theodore Roosevelt left the Republican Party to run a third party campaign against Wilson and sitting Republican President William Howard Taft, the race became a three-way contest. Excepting Theodore, Franklin's decision to support Wilson over his cousin in the general election alienated some of his relatives. Roosevelt beat a bout of typhoid fever, and with the help of journalist Louis McHenry Howe, he was re-elected in 1912 polls. He served as chairman of the Agriculture Committee, and his success with farm and labor bills was a harbinger of his New Deal policies 15 years later. Since being more centrist in favor of education and social care services, he had been more vocal.

Wilson's admiration of him resulted in his appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in March 1913, the second-ranking official in the Navy Department after Secretary Josephus Daniels paid it no attention. Roosevelt was a devoted supporter of a large, effective force and was well-read on the subject. Daniels and Roosevelt introduced a merit-based promotion scheme and introduced other improvements to extend civilian control over the Navy's autonomous departments with Wilson's help. Roosevelt oversaw the Navy's civilian staff and gained the respect of union members for his fairness in settling disputes. During his seven-plus years in the office, no strikes occurred, as he gained valuable expertise in labour issues, wartime management, naval affairs, and logistics.

In 1914, Roosevelt ran for the seat of retiring Republican Senator Elihu Root of New York. Despite having the support of Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo and Governor Martin H. Glynn, he met a formidable foe in Tammany-Hall's James W. Gerard. Wilson was also without Wilson's help for his laws and 1916 re-election, as the president was dependent on Tammany's staff for his orders. Gerard was convincingly defeated in the Democratic primary by Gerard, who lost the general election to Republican James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. He found that federal patronage alone, without White House help, could not beat a strong local group. Charles Francis Murphy, the current Tammany Hall boss, and the election result became allies.

As World War I broke out in Europe in August 1914, Roosevelt refocused on the Navy Department. Though he remained openly supportive of Wilson, Roosevelt sympathized with the Preparedness campaign, whose leaders strongly supported the Allied powers and called for a military build-up. After the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German submarine, the Wilson administration ordered an extension of the Navy, and Roosevelt helped establish the United States Navy Reserve and the Council of National Defense. Wilson's call for a declaration of war on Germany was accepted by Congress in April 1917, after Germany announced that it would engage in unrestricted submarine warfare and sank several US ships.

Roosevelt ordered that he be allowed to serve as a naval officer, but Wilson refused to serve as Assistant Secretary. As the Navy increased fourfold, Roosevelt stayed in Washington to coordinate the deployment of naval vessels and personnel. Roosevelt travelled to Europe in the summer of 1918 to inspect naval structures and speak with French and British officials. He re-boarded the USS Leviathan in September and returned to the United States. The pandemic influenza virus killed many people on board on the 11-day journey. Roosevelt became ill with influenza and a virulent pneumonia, but by the time the ship landed in New York, he was recovered. Daniels and Roosevelt oversaw the demobilization of the Navy after Germany agreed to an armistice in November 1918. Roosevelt ordered the preservation of the Navy's Aviation Division, against older officers, such as Admiral William Benson, who said he could not "conceive of any use the fleet will ever have for aviation." Roosevelt envisioned his second attempt for office as the Wilson administration was coming to an end. He approached Herbert Hoover about his bid for the 1920 Democratic presidential nomination, with Roosevelt as his running mate.

Although Hoover officially declared himself to be a Republican, Roosevelt's attempt to run for the nomination fell through, but Roosevelt decided to seek the 1920 vice presidential nomination. Governor James M. Cox of Ohio received the party's presidential nomination at the 1920 Democratic National Convention, nominating Roosevelt as his running mate, and the convention accepted him by acclamation. Although his appointment shocked most people, he balanced the ticket as a moderate, a Wilsonian, and a prohibitionist with a common name. After the Democratic convention and campaigned around the country for the party ticket, Roosevelt, then 38, resigned as Assistant Secretary.

During the 1920s, Cox and Roosevelt defended the Wilson administration and the League of Nations, both of which were unpopular. Roosevelt personally supported the membership of the United States in the League of Nations, but unlike Wilson, he favoured compromise with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and other "Reservationists" rather than Wilson. Republicans Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge won the presidential race by a wide margin, while the Republican ticket carried every state other than South. Roosevelt accepted the loss on the issue, but later reflected that the friendships and goodwill he created in the 1920 campaign had been a major asset in his 1932 campaign. Eleanor Roosevelt's first public appearance in 1920 also marked her as a valuable political figure, with the help of Louis Howe.

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