Franklin D. Roosevelt Biography and Photographs

 

One of the longest serving president in U.S. history, Franklin Delano Roosevelt served four terms as president, from 1933 to 1945. He is considered one of the three favorite presidents, following Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. When he first took office, Roosevelt met with a major opponent--the Great Depression. But he would meet that struggle, and the start of the Second World War with bravery.

Roosevelt was born in 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. His parents were from wealthy Dutch and French families, and Franklin was to be their only child. The Roosevelts were one of the wealthiest and longest standing families in the state of New York, so the young Roosevelt grew up very privilege. While his father was distant since he was an older man when Franklin was born, his mother devoted much of her time to him, and the child went on frequent trips to Europe, and was taught to speak German and French.

At the boarding school in Massachusetts that he attended young Roosevelt would be taught the importance of social service. He went on to study at Harvard University and became president of the school's daily newspaper. It's believed that his studies were not as impressive as his social life while there. Yet, as a student there, his fifth cousin Teddy Roosevelt became President of the United States. Although he entered Columbia Law School Franklin Roosevelt dropped out as he had passed the New York bar exam and went to work for a well-known firm on Wall Street, which dealt with corporate law.

 

Personal Life

It was Teddy Roosevelt's niece who Franklin Roosevelt fell in love with during, and during his last year at the University, they two were engaged. Elanor and Franklin were married on St. Patrick's Day , 1905. Although they were fifth cousins once removed, they were distant enough to marry and have children. Franklin's mother was unhappy with the relationship as she thought Eleanor too unworldly, but the couple had six children, five of which would live to adulthood.

Franklin was not faithful to his wife and had several affairs, which threatened not only his marriage, but also his political status. His mother also threatened him to stop his affairs or she would halt any monies he was given. While he agreed, he continued to meet with lover Lucy Mercer who was his wife's social secretary. The Secret Service gave her the code name "Mrs. Johnson," and she was with him at his death.

Roosevelt's health was a major issue in his personal life, but he rarely let it come into the fore. In 1921, when he was 39 years old, he suffered an attack of poliomyelitis, or polio. The disease would paralyze both of his legs and his hips, and he had to wear leg braces to help him stand. It was his wife Eleanor who stated that while it injured him physically, it proved to be a blessing in disguise. She stated, "it gave him strength and courage he had not had before." Perhaps more than anything, though, it made his wife Eleanor braver and stronger than she had ever been. A shy person by nature, Eleanor was forced to do some of his public speaking for him and keep his name alive in the Democratic circles, which would eventually lead to his presidency.

As a result, his train travels were restricted to speeds of 35 miles per hour, so that the vibration of the cars would not cause him pain or discomfort. The condition also led him to fund research on the disease, which would ultimately be the cause of a polio vaccine. By 1944, the president suffered from serious weight loss.

 

Presidency and The New Deal

The Stock Market had crashed on October 24, 1929, instigating the worst economic crisis in American history, and eventually putting a quarter of the country out of work. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, there were 13 million Americans unemployed, thanks to the Great Depression. But he faced the problem head-on, with an attempt to get business and employment going again, and so instituted his New Deal. The New Deal was a set of governmental reforms, including the introduction of Social Security, labor unions and policies for sustainable farming.There were actually two New Deals, the first in 19933, and the second in 1934. The first tackled railroads and the banking industry, as at the time, nearly all the banks across the country were closed.

Roosevelt also pushed to create a balanced budget and involvement in the Second World War to spur economic revitalization. Some of his ideas for growth in United States focused on building and construction to get people back to work, and included various projects such as the construction of dams, state park facilities, road paving, and public structures.

Although many criticized the New Deal, and the Supreme Court ruled that some of its programs were unconstitutional, it impacted Americans. Part of the plan was the creation of the Works Progress Administration, or WPA, which funded work by artists. Much great work came out of the WPA and still exists and resonates today.

Other programs created through the New Deal still exist, and they are the FDIC, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Besides that, we still have the Social Security System, Fannie Mae and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also part of the New Deal, Roosevelt ended Prohibition in 1933, which had made the production of alcoholic beverages illegal. Once the amendment was lifted, revenues of alcohol contributed to the increase in employment and manufacturing. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution made alcohol illegal, and the 21st made it legal again. It was the only Constitutional Amendment ever to be repealed.

World War II and Fading Health

Although Roosevelt had intended to keep America out of World War II, he was still prepared for the possibility of war and assisted the British and French military. It was in his third term as president that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and Roosevelt was prepared and had previously met and communicated with foreign leaders, especially Winston Churchill on steps. Roosevelt became part of the "Big Three," including Churchill and Joseph Stalin to discuss how to defeat Germany in the war.

While the war continued, by 1944, Roosevelt's health was in decline. Twenty years of paralysis had affected him, as had the stress of the war and his presidency. He suffered from emphysema from smoking, angina, coronary artery disease and high blood pressure. A doctor even predicted that he would die of a cerebral hemorrhage within six months, and he did.The president had just been served lunch, and complained ot a terrible headache, then slumped down into his chair.

At the time, the president had been sitting for a presidential portrait. Done in watercolors, the original would stay in complete. The artist was Elizabeth Shoumatoff and the work became known as the Unfinished Portrait of FDR. Shoumatoff, however, did another finished version of the painting and worked from memory.

The country was in shock over the president's death. His body was placed in a casket and covered with an American flag, Then it was put on a presidential train and the funeral a the White House was held. After that, his body was sent to Hyde Park New York, at his request, to be buried at his family's estate. The final train ride was guarded by four servicemen, one each from the Marines, Navy, Army and Coast Guard.

 

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