FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: BIOGRAPHY, PRESIDENCY, AND FACTS - ARTE - 2024

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 - 1945) was a politician, lawyer, and statesman charged with leading the United States of America during World War II. He was the 32nd president of that nation and the only one to be elected for four terms. He was a member of the Democratic Party, he was also one of the leaders of the powers known as the Allies and one of the main builders of the victory of that coalition in the fight against Germany and the Axis.

He entered politics as a senator from New York and has been building his path to the presidency ever since. He served as Secretary of the Navy from 1913 to 1920. There he gained vast influence in the Secretary of Defense during the Woodrow Wilson administration.

Official portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, by Frank O. Salisbury, via Wikimedia Commons

He retired for a time from the political scene and made his reappearance in the New York Governor's elections in 1928. He served in office until 1933 and from there began to face the economic difficulties that the nation was going through.

In 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to participate in the race for the Presidency of the United States of North America, a contest in which he was the winner against his Republican opponent, Herbert Hoover.

So, Roosevelt carried out a policy that became known as the New Deal, which translates to New Deal. It was intended to relieve the poor and unemployed, recover the economy, and prevent the events of the Great Depression from repeating themselves.

Roosevelt's plan was to reverse the crisis that had been in progress since 1929 in the country, through the state's economic interventionism manifested in aid programs, regulations, financial reforms, and public works.

Beginning in 1938, Roosevelt assisted the ROC, led by the Nationalist party. He also collaborated with the United Kingdom and its Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, since before the United States became actively involved in World War II.

Roosevelt's first priority was defeating the Nazi regime, despite being attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor. To achieve this he not only worked closely with Great Britain, but also with the Soviet Union.

Franklin D. Roosevelt provided the necessary impetus for the development of the first atomic bomb to begin. He also promoted the creation of the United Nations.

He had won his fourth reelection in 1944; however, he died in April 1945, shortly before the Allied victory in World War II.

Biography

Early years

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in the Hudson Valley, Hyde Park, New York. His parents were James Roosevelt with his second wife, Sara Ann Delano.

Roosevelt's father was a lawyer but he never practiced the profession since he had received a family inheritance. He had another son from his first marriage named James Roosevelt.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt with his mother Sara, 1887, via Wikimedia Commons

The closest relationship that Franklin had within his family was with Sara, his mother, who said that her son had taken more from the Delano than from the Roosevelts.

Although the bond between father and son was not excessively strong, it has been claimed that their relationship was closer than what was customary at the time.

Franklin was fluent in French and German. She studied for a time at a school in Germany and traveled constantly with her parents on the European continent. She also practiced different activities such as tennis, polo, shooting and even learned to sail.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt with father James Roosevelt in 1895, via Wikimedia Commons

The Roosevelt family was divided into two great branches: those of Hyde Park, to which Franklin belonged, and those of Oyster Bay. Of the latter, one of the most prominent names is Theodore Roosevelt, who was the 26th president of the United States and a fifth-degree cousin of Franklin D.

Education

Franklin D. Roosevelt attended a boarding school called the Groton School, in Massachusetts. It was a religious school that promoted in its students values ​​of social service and collaboration with those who were less favored.

He then attended Harvard University, where he performed as an average student among his peers. Roosevelt was part of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity in his years as a student.

National Archives and Records Administration, via Wikimedia Commons

His most prominent involvement at Harvard was as editor-in-chief of the university newspaper The Harvard Crimson.

When Roosevelt was 18 years old, his father died. Three years later he received his BA in History and in 1904 he entered Columbia University School of Law. In 1907 he retired from the career, but had passed the exam that allowed him to practice the profession in New York.

Since then, Roosevelt began working for a prestigious Wall Street law firm named Carter Ledyard & Milburn.

Marriage

When he was in his early 20s, Franklin Roosevelt began to pretend to young Eleanor Roosevelt. The boys were distantly related, five generations apart, and had known each other since childhood.

Eleanor was Theodore Roosevelt's niece and belonged to the Oyster Bay family.

They began to write frequently in 1902 and two years later Franklin proposed to Eleanor, who was then heavily engaged in social work in upstate New York.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt with Anna and baby James, formal portrait in Hyde Park, New York 1908, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1905 the couple married. However, Franklin's mother did not fully agree to the union, not because she disliked Eleanor, but because she did not want her son to leave her side so young.

Since Eleanor's father had died, her uncle Theodore took his place at the wedding. The couple moved into Franklin's parents' property in Springwood, where they lived with Sara Delano, who had a house next door.

Eleanor was in charge of raising the children of the couple. They had six children, but the second boy died in infancy. The first daughter was born in 1906 and was named Anna, she was followed by James the following year, Elliott in 1910, Franklin was born in 1914 and John two years later.

Political beginnings

For Franklin D. Roosevelt, his cousin Theodore was a role model. However, he decided to keep his father's line and join the Democratic Party. He did not feel totally comfortable practicing law, so he tried to try his luck in politics.

In 1910 the Democrats tried to get Roosevelt to run for the New York State Assembly, but he ultimately decided to run for the Senate. The constituency he was enrolled in was traditionally Republican.

He made an aggressive campaign in the area and it was fruitful, since Roosevelt obtained a wide victory, something that was not anticipated by many. From the beginning he excelled in his position and began to view politics as a lifetime occupation.

He supported the candidacy of Woodrow Wilson, who became president of the United States of America in 1912, thus becoming the first Democrat to reach the prime minister in 20 years.

Roosevelt was reelected to his post as senator in 1912 and began serving on the agriculture committee. Then he developed a vision about the public policies that later became the New Deal that he applied when he became president.

Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy

In 1913 Franklin D. Roosevelt became the second in command of the Secretary of the Navy, after Josephus Daniels. His fondness for the navy was widely known, as was his desire to create a strong naval force in the United States.

Franklin Roosevelt Secretary of the Navy 1913, via Wikimedia Commons

The new administration was in charge of promoting a meritocratic system in the institution and of strengthening the positions of civilians within the organization.

At that time, Roosevelt imbibed all the necessary knowledge of the operation of the Navy and its handling during the war, which broke out in 1914 between various powers.

Roosevelt considered it necessary that the American armed forces be strengthened, but Wilson was not of the same opinion.

It was after the German attack on the RMS Lusitania that the growth of the naval forces of the United States of America began and Roosevelt actively collaborated in this process. Finally, in 1917 the United States joined the First World War.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of the main coordinators of the operation of the Navy during the war. In 1918 he traveled to Europe to supervise the naval bases in the Old Continent and meet with the representatives of France and Great Britain.

On that trip the crew contracted influenza, but Roosevelt managed to recover while they were still at sea. He personally saw to it that the Navy Air Division continued to exist after the First World War.

Political hiatus

After an unsuccessful bid for the campaign vice president of Ohio Gov. James M. Cox, Roosevelt devoted himself for a time to practicing law in New York.

He planned to return to the political scene in 1922, but illness got in the way of his career. While he was on vacation with his family, certain symptoms began to attack him.

Roosevelt presented fever, symmetrical and ascending paralysis in the extremities, he also had facial paralysis and numbness in the abdomen and back. However, he later recovered partially and was only paralyzed from the waist down.

Later it was learned that he had contracted polio, probably from swimming in a pond in the area. Despite this, other sources affirm that it could be a misdiagnosed case of Guillain Barré syndrome.

For a time he dedicated himself to trying to rehabilitate himself, but his disease had no cure so he learned to use methods to walk short distances assisted by devices. In addition, he was always careful not to be seen in public using a wheelchair.

In fact, when he had to give a speech he was held by one of his children in a concealed way or he clung to the lecterns to be able to stand up during his participation.

New York Governorate

Al Smith and other members of the Democratic Party convinced Franklin D. Roosevelt to run for governor of the state of New York and, although reluctant at first, Roosevelt relented and participated against Republican Albert Ottinger.

Although the former governor of New York, Smith, failed to secure the presidency, Roosevelt was elected by a small margin for the position of governor. Thanks to that, his chances of running for president increased.

In January 1929, Roosevelt took office and one of his first proposals was the creation of hydroelectric plants and the search for solutions to the agricultural crisis that was in process during the time.

When the 1929 crisis erupted at the end of the year, Roosevelt was one of the first to take it seriously and start employing policies to reverse the negative effects on the economy.

National Archives and Records Administration via Wikimedia Commons

Among its plans were aid for the agricultural sector, the promotion of total employment, unemployment insurance and old-age pensions. He also worked to reduce corruption in the New York State public apparatus.

On the way to the white house

Franklin D. Roosevelt's campaign was oriented toward the recovery of economic levels in the United States of America. Tariff reduction, agricultural relief, government-funded public works and the end of Prohibition were some of his proposals.

Finally, in the 1932 elections, Roosevelt managed to win the support of 42 states, in addition to 57% of the popular vote against his Republican opponent, who had run for reelection to the Presidency of the United States, Herbert Hoover.

National Archives and Records Administration, via Wikimedia Commons

Thanks to the victory of Roosevelt the Democratic Party had great changes in its demographics, since around the New Deal many groups gathered, such as small farmers, Catholics, Jews, North African Americans, liberals, trade unionists and intellectuals, who identified with the Democrats since then.

A month before taking office, Roosevelt was the victim of an attack perpetrated by Giuseppe Zangara. Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was assassinated in the incident.

Presidency

First stage

On March 4, 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt received the position of President of the United States of America in the midst of a great economic recession. Then a quarter of the population was unemployed.

By Vincenzo Laviosa, via Wikimedia Commons

The crisis had affected almost all sectors of the country and it was urgent that the new government take measures to achieve a change in the situation of the population, which is why the first part of Roosevelt's plan began to be applied almost immediately.

1936 reelection

Supported by the majority of the Democratic party, Franklin D. Roosevelt ran as a candidate for reelection. His opponent on that occasion was Republican Alf Landon. Roosevelt's electoral support grew and he was reelected with 60.8% of the vote and won representatives in 46 states.

There, the change that the economic and social policies of the Roosevelt government had generated at the base of the Democratic Party was made present. The phenomenon became known as the New Deal coalition.

In the new stage, Congress and the Senate were not a problem for Roosevelt's policies, but the Supreme Court was, since it was made up entirely of members who had been appointed before his administration and used to invalidate his most relevant measures.

He tried to cut public spending during 1937 abruptly and the response of the economy was a new recession. So the government re-implemented policies that increased the public deficit, but quickly recovered the economy.

Election of 1940

Although at first it seemed that Franklin D. Roosevelt was not going to participate in the 1940 elections, since no president since George Washington had repeated more than two opportunities in office, when the Nazi threat rose in Europe, he decided that he I had to take the country during that opportunity.

The Democrats thought that Roosevelt was the only one capable of defeating Wendell Willkie, who was the Republican candidate. The latter was strongly opposed to the United States' participation in a European war, and Roosevelt promised to stay out of the conflict.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the winner with 55% of the popular vote and 38 states in his favor.

Towards war

In 1940 the United States was preparing for World War II. A rearmament stage began. In addition, they served as suppliers for the Allies, which earned the country the nickname "Arsenal of Democracy."

A program was approved to provide military and economic assistance to Great Britain and the ROC. After the Soviet Union was invaded by Germany, aid was extended to that country in equal measure.

Roosevelt promoted the policy of good neighbors, with which he sought to have better relations with Latin America.

At that time the relationship between the American President and the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was quite close. Both leaders discussed the international future after the war and the actions to be taken during the war.

Churchill wanted the United States of America to join the war; however, Congress was not in favor of entering the conflict.

After the Germans attacked an American ship, the country responded with a policy in which they would support the Allies as escorts between Britain and the United States. Also, they would shoot any German ship that got too close to an American ship.

Second World War

On September 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, by surprise. At the same time there were attacks in Thailand and the British dominions in Hong Kong, the Philippines and other territories.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1941. National Archives and Records Administration, via Wikimedia Commons

In that attack, almost 2,500 Americans perished and part of the Pacific fleet was destroyed. The next day Roosevelt addressed Congress and obtained a declaration of war against the Japanese Empire.

With the United States' entry into the conflict, Roosevelt and Churchill developed a joint strategy and, since January 1, 1942, twenty-six countries joined the Allied side to defeat the Axis-aligned powers.

Faced with the possibility that Germany was making progress in the development of nuclear weapons, Roosevelt approved the start of the nuclear program, which was called the Manhattan Project.

The North African campaign was a success for the Allies and it was followed by the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. Thanks to that occupation, they obtained the armistice of Italy. However, the Italian campaign continued until 1945.

France

Dwight D. Eisenhower was put in charge of military operations on French territory by Roosevelt. The Normandy landing occurred on June 6, 1944. The largest naval force ever used was deployed, accompanied by 12,000 aircraft.

The United States of America recognized Charles de Gaulle as head of the provisional government of France in July.

After, thanks to the advanced alidade, the territories that were in the possession of the Nazis were recovered, the Gaulle government was given official status.

Then, the invasion of German territory began and in April 1945 the German resistance was weakened by trying to maintain a war on both fronts, since it was attacked by the Allies in the West and the Soviet Union was pressing in the East.

Roosevelt was not involved in the tactical planning of the war, but was concerned only with the strategies that were applied during the conflict.

The Americans demanded that the main actions be directed towards Japan, which had been the main aggressor. However, Roosevelt considered that Germany was the first enemy to eliminate and then his supporters would be easy prey.

Internal affairs

The real solution to the economic crisis in the United States of America was the nation's entry into the war. When hostilities began, this became the main focus of the Franklin D. Roosevelt government.

When the policy of military growth was established, the economy soared. The industry was greatly benefited, in 1941 half of the 7.7 million unemployed got a job and the following year there were only 1.5 million unemployed in the whole country.

Many workers were needed in the industrial zones and that prompted a large migration of African Americans from the South to the West Coast.

At that time heavy taxes were levied on those with very high incomes. This was a measure so that the merchants did not benefit from the war and did not decide to encourage it to take advantage of it economically.

Roosevelt also promoted a law that offered benefits to veterans such as college education, health and unemployment insurance, and low-interest loans.

That project was known as the GI Bill and was approved uniformly by the Congress of the United States of North America in mid-1944.

Fourth period

Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for a fourth term as president and Harry S. Truman was nominated for the vice presidency. The Republican opponent was Thomas Dewey, who served as governor of New York.

FDR Presidential Library & Museum, via Wikimedia Commons

Democrats won 53.4% ​​of popular support and 36 of the 48 states in their favor.

At that time Roosevelt's health was not in the best shape. He had been a lifelong smoker, and in 1944 it was discovered that he suffered from high blood pressure, blocked arteries, angina and heart failure.

However, all these physical problems were hidden during his election campaign for reelection in the fourth term. Roosevelt's main concern was with the direction of the country during the final stage of World War II.

By March 1945, Roosevelt's physical appearance betrayed his health problems. At that time he had friction with Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, since the latter did not adhere to the agreements that both nations had coordinated in Yalta.

Death

Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed away on April 12, 1945 in Warm Springs, Georgia, at the age of 63. The cause of his death was a massive brain hemorrhage. Moments before his death, he stated that he had a terrible headache, then fainted and was unconscious.

Last photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt, taken April 11, 1945. FDR Library via Wikimedia Commons

The following day his body was transferred to Washington in a coffin wrapped with the flag of the United States of America aboard the presidential train. Thousands of people gathered around to show respect to the remains of President Roosevelt.

On April 14, the funeral was held at the White House and his remains were transferred to Hyde Park, the property of his family where he was buried on April 15 as he had expressly requested.

Roosevelt was the first president of the United States of America with a disability. However, he never used that to cause pain in the public, but decided to show himself as a man full of strength. That was probably one of the reasons why he kept his declining health a secret in recent months.

Germany surrendered a month after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Truman was in charge of the country at the time. The first president decided to dedicate the Victory in Europe day to Roosevelt and a national mourning was maintained for thirty days.

The Hundred Days

Roosevelt came before Congress with a plan to provide substantial short-term relief to the poor and unemployed population, which at the time numbered millions. Furthermore, it called for the reform of those aspects that had led the country to collapse.

One of the first measures was the closure of all the nation's banks until a congressional session scheduled for a few days later. When the step was completed and the entities reopened, the population resumed its calm and the desperate withdrawals gradually stabilized.

A plan for the administrative adjustment of agriculture was approved in which it was established that the products of the sector would increase their cost constantly. In addition, it dedicated a greater percentage of the budget to that economic sector in the form of subsidies.

Social Security Online, via Wikimedia Commons

In addition, the creation of public works was undertaken throughout the country, while increasing public spending. At the same time, standards were established so that the relationship between workers and companies was not unfair, such as minimum wages and caps on working hours.

The work was promoted through organizations such as the Civil Conservation Corps, which were dedicated to reforesting vast areas of land. Another plan was refinancing, for those who had a mortgage on their house and could not cancel the payments.

Second

After 100 days the improvement in the economy was minimal. However, it was enough for the electorate to give confidence to the Democrats, who in the 1934 elections increased their representation in Congress and the Senate.

During this period, measures such as Social Security were approved, in which disability and unemployment insurance were granted to all Americans, in addition to pensions for the elderly who could not work.

Similarly, work programs were implemented which benefited approximately 2 million people per month in the construction of roads, airports, bridges, public buildings and cultural activities.

The tax collection parameters were also reformulated. People who received the highest income or large companies had to pay a greater proportion than those who received the least.

Roosevelt always claimed that he was not totally sure which policies would really work, instead he saw the New Deal as a constant experiment in which he discarded what did not work and kept what was effective.

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Franklin D. Roosevelt. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
2. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). Franklin D. Roosevelt - Biography, Presidency, & Facts. Available at: britannica.com.
3. Coker, J. (2005). Franklin D. Roosevelt: A biography. Westport: Greenwood.
4. Potts, S. (1996). Franklin D. Roosevelt: A photo-illustrated biography. Mankato, Minn.: Bridgestone Books.
5. Brinkley, A. (2010). Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Oxford: Oxford University Press.