TB2+FDR


 * Franklin D. Roosevelt **

Early Life

Roosevelt’s family is the oldest family in New York State. One ancestor, Isaac Roosevelt was part of the New York Militia during the American Revolution. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in January 30, 1882 to a businessman, James Roosevelt, and Sara Ann Delano at Hyde Park, New York (Now a National Historic Site). Growing up, Franklin ha d more privilege than others. His family was wealthy and when he was little his dad (James Roosevelt) took him to see president Grover Cleveland. That’s when Franklin was told not to be the president of the United States when he grows up by Grover. Sara Ann Delano (Franklin’s Mother) influenced his early life the most. Sara once said that “Franklin is a Delano, Not a Roosevelt at all.” For Franklin’s Father (James Roosevelt), he interacted with Franklin more than usual. Franklin took his first trip to Europe at the age of 2 and then he went every year at the age of 7 to 15.

Roosevelt went to an Episcopal School called Groton School in Massachusetts. 90% of the students that attended Groton school were from a higher class family. His headmaster Endicott Peabody influenced Franklin the most into his presidency. Endicott Peabody preached the duty of Christians to help the poor and homeless. Also he urged all his students to get into public services and Franklin was influenced by it. In school, Franklin was the only democratic student continuing the political tradition of his side of the Roosevelt family. After Groton, Franklin attended Harvard College and studied economics courses but he claimed that all he was taught are wrong. Later on Franklin graduated with an A.B in history and later on he received an honorary LL.D. from Harvard.

On March 17, 1905, Roosevelt Married Eleanor who is fierce resistant of his mother. With Franklin’s mother (Sara Roosevelt) disliking her, she tried several times to break the engagement. Franklin and Eleanor’s m arriage wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Franklin had an affair with Eleanor’s social secretary Lucy Mercer which began soon after she got hired in the early 1914. Eleanor found out the affair when she found a letter in Fran  klin’s luggage coming back from World War I. Franklin tried to divorce Eleanor but Lucy couldn’t marry a divorced man with five children. Therefore, Franklin and Eleanor remained married. Franklin promised Eleanor that he would never see Lucy ever again but that didn’t last long. From that point on, they were more like political partners than a married couple. One of Roosevelt’s son, Elliott, stated that his father had a 20 year affair with his private Secretary Marguerite "Missy" LeHand. Another son, James, also stated that Roosevelt might have had an affair with Princess Märtha of Sweden when she stayed in the White House during World War II. After Eleanor discovered the affairs, she lived in a separate house in Hyde Park at Val kill. The emotional break was so severe that when Franklin’s health was failing, he asked for Eleanor to come back to him but Eleanor refused him.


 * Polio **

During the summer of 1921 Roosevelt noticed some weakness in his legs while vacationing with his wife. Within days, the weakness got worse and worse therefore he got medical help and came to realization that he had polio. Polio is a disease that effects the brain and spinal chord and at times leaving the patient paralyzed. Roosevelt was paralyzed from his waist down, and he never regained use of his legs. FDR started a successful foundation to help others with this awful disease, he also inspired and was in control of March Of Dimes which created a vaccine that had much success.

Presidency

In 1932, Roosevelt defeated Republican candidate Herbert Hoover. Voters were attracted by his charming and positive personality. He took office in March of 1933. Upon entering office he stated, "This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and prosper...[T]he only thing we have to fear is fear itself (history.com)." At the time that Roosevelt entered office, there were 13 million unemployed Americans and hundreds of closed banks. Within the first 100 days of his presidency, Roosevelt enacted a series of new programs known as the "New Deal." He temporarily closed every bank in the nation in order to avoid more money being taken out. The New Deal also included programs such as the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the National Recovery Administration (NRA). These programs set farm prices, created jobs for young men, and regulated wages and prices, respectively. In 1935, bankers and businessmen began to turn against Roosevelt and his New Deal. Roosevelt faced scrutiny for taking the United States off the gold standard and deficits in the national budget. In turn, Roosevelt enacted a new program commonly known as the "Second New Deal." This second wave of reforms brought about Social Security and higher taxes for the wealthy.

By 1936, the United States economy had shown improvement. Employment decreased from 25% to 14%. Many New Deal acts, such as the AAA, were found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Roosevelt's third term in office began in 1940. Since World War I, the United States had been moving towards a policy of isolationism, but as the growing conflict that would eventually become World War II progressed, those ideals disappeared. Efforts to keep the United States of the war completely disappeared after the attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During World War II, Roosevelt was commander in chief and came up with a strategy to defeat Germany through a series of invasions

Death

The stress of the war took a toll on Roosevelt, and in 1944 he was diagnosed with atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and congestive heart failure. Despite these health ailments, Roosevelt took office for a fourth term. In 1945, Roosevelt attended the Yalta Conference with the Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, the Soviet General Secretary, in order to discuss post-war organization. On April 25, 1945, Roosevelt suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died.

Sources

biography.com history.com whitehouse.gov