Franklin D. Roosevelt: Difference between revisions

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| caption = Official campaign portrait, 1944

| alt = Franklin Roosevelt, 62, has graying hair and faces the camera.

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A member of the prominent [[Delano family|Delano]] and [[Roosevelt family|Roosevelt]] families, Roosevelt was elected to the [[New York State Senate]] from 1911 to 1913 and was then the [[assistant Secretary of the Navy]] under President [[Woodrow Wilson]] during [[World War I]]. Roosevelt was [[James M. Cox]]'s running mate on the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s ticket in the [[1920 U.S. presidential election]], but Cox lost to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee [[Warren G. Harding]]. In 1921, Roosevelt [[Paralytic illness of Franklin D. Roosevelt|contracted a paralytic illness]] that permanently paralyzed his legs. Partly through the encouragement of his wife, [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], he returned to public office as [[governor of New York]] from 1929 to 1933, during which he promoted programs to combat the Great Depression. In the [[1932 United States presidential election|1932 presidential election]], Roosevelt defeated president [[Herbert Hoover]] in a [[landslide victory]].

 

 

 

==Early life and marriage==

[[File:Franklin-Roosevelt-1884.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.95|A young, [[Breeching (boys)|unbreeched]] Roosevelt in 1884, 2 years old]]

 

 

===Education and early career===

Like most of his Groton classmates, Roosevelt went to [[Harvard College]].<ref name= "Life Before Pres."/> He was a member of the [[Alpha Delta Phi]] fraternity<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0130.html|title=Family of Wealth Gave Advantages|date=April 15, 1945|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 20, 2012}}</ref> and the [[Fly Club]],{{Sfn|Gunther|1950|p=176}} and served as a school cheerleader.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Almanac: The 1st cheerleader|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-the-1st-cheerleader/|access-date=December 1, 2019|publisher=CBS News|date=November 2, 2014}}</ref> Roosevelt was relatively undistinguished as a student or athlete, but he became editor-in-chief of ''[[The Harvard Crimson]]'' daily newspaper, which required ambition, energy, and the ability to manage others.{{Sfn|Gunther|1950|p=175}} He later said, "I took economics courses in college for four years, and everything I was taught was wrong."{{Sfn|Burns|1956|pp=18, 20}}

 

 

 

 

[[File:Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt with Anna and baby James, formal portrait in Hyde Park, New York 1908.jpg|thumb|Eleanor and Franklin with their first two children, 1908]]

 

 

Burns indicates that young Franklin Roosevelt was self-assured and at ease in the upper class. On the other hand, Eleanor was shy and disliked social life. Initially, Eleanor stayed home to raise their children.{{Sfn|Burns|1956|pp=77–79}} As his father had done, Franklin left childcare to his wife, and Eleanor delegated the task to caregivers. She later said that she knew "absolutely nothing about handling or feeding a baby."{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=57–58}} They had six children. [[Anna Roosevelt Halsted|Anna]], [[James Roosevelt|James]], and [[Elliott Roosevelt (general)|Elliott]] were born in 1906, 1907, and 1910, respectively. The couple's second son, Franklin, died in infancy in 1909. Another son, also named [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr.|Franklin]], was born in 1914, and the youngest, [[John Aspinwall Roosevelt|John]], was born in 1916.<ref>{{cite book|last=Abate|first=Frank R.|title=The Oxford Desk Dictionary of People and Places|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195138726/page/329|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-513872-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195138726/page/329 329]}}</ref>

 

==Early political career (1910–1920)==

 

===New York state senator (1910–1913)===

In 1914, Roosevelt ran for the seat of retiring Republican Senator [[Elihu Root]] of New York. Though he had the backing of Treasury Secretary [[William Gibbs McAdoo]] and Governor [[Martin H. Glynn]], he faced a formidable opponent in Tammany Hall's [[James W. Gerard]].{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=122–23}} He also was without Wilson's support, as the president needed Tammany's forces for his legislation and 1916 re-election.{{Sfn|Burns|1956|p=56}} Roosevelt was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary by Gerard, who in turn lost the general election to Republican [[James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.]] He learned that federal patronage alone, without White House support, could not defeat a strong local organization.{{Sfn|Burns|1956|pp=57, 60}} After the election, he and Tammany Hall boss [[Charles Francis Murphy]] sought accommodation and became allies.{{Sfn|Smith|2007|p=125}}

 

 

Roosevelt requested that he be allowed to serve as a naval officer, but Wilson insisted that he continue as Assistant Secretary. For the next year, Roosevelt remained in Washington to coordinate the naval deployment, as the Navy expanded fourfold.{{sfn|Dallek|2017|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=139–40}} In the summer of 1918, Roosevelt traveled to Europe to inspect naval installations and meet with French and British officials. On account of his relation to Theodore Roosevelt, he was received very prominently considering his relatively junior rank, obtaining long private audiences with King [[George V]] and prime ministers [[David Lloyd George]] and [[Georges Clemenceau]], as well as a tour of the [[Battle of Verdun|battlefield at Verdun]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Phillips |author-link=Phillips O'Brien |date=2024-08-10 |title=Franklin Roosevelt was made in world war one |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/franklin-roosevelt-was-made-in-world-war-one/ |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=The Spectator |language=en-US}}</ref> In September, on the ship voyage back to the United States, he contracted [[1918 flu pandemic|pandemic influenza]] with complicating pneumonia,{{sfn|Goldman|Goldman|2017|p=15}} which left him unable to work for a month.<ref name=":1" />

==Paralytic illness and political comeback (1921–1928)==

{{Further|Paralytic illness of Franklin D. Roosevelt}}

 

Though his mother favored his retirement from public life, Roosevelt, his wife, and Roosevelt's close friend and adviser, Louis Howe, were all determined that he continue his political career.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=195–96}} He convinced many people that he was improving, which he believed to be essential prior to running for office.{{sfn|Rowley|2010|p=125}} He laboriously taught himself to walk short distances while wearing iron braces on his hips and legs, by swiveling his torso while supporting himself with a cane.{{sfn|Rowley|2010|p=120}} He was careful never to be seen using his wheelchair in public, and great care was taken to prevent any portrayal in the press that would highlight his disability.{{sfn|Ward|Burns|2014|p=332}} However, his disability was well known before and during his presidency and became a major part of his image. He usually appeared in public standing upright, supported on one side by an aide or one of his sons.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=220}}

[[File:Governor Roosevelt and Al Smith.jpg|thumb|upright=.80|left|Governor Roosevelt with his predecessor [[Al Smith]], 1930]]

 

 

 

In October 1929, the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|Wall Street Crash]] occurred and the [[Great Depression in the United States]] began.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=240–41}} Roosevelt saw the seriousness of the situation and established a state employment commission. He also became the first governor to publicly endorse the idea of [[unemployment insurance]].{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=242–43}}

Reform of the economy was the goal of the [[National Industrial Recovery Act]] (NIRA) of 1933. It sought to end cutthroat competition by forcing industries to establish rules such as minimum prices, agreements not to compete, and production restrictions. Industry leaders negotiated the rules with NIRA officials, who suspended [[United States antitrust law|antitrust]] laws in return for better wages. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in May 1935 declared NIRA unconstitutional, to Roosevelt's chagrin.{{Sfn|Hawley|1995|p=124}} He reformed financial regulations with the [[1933 Banking Act|Glass–Steagall Act]], creating the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]] to underwrite savings deposits. The act also limited affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=331–32}} In 1934, the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|Securities and Exchange Commission]] was created to regulate the trading of [[Security (finance)|securities]], while the [[Federal Communications Commission]] was established to [[Telecommunications policy of the United States|regulate telecommunications]].{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=346}}

 

 

 

====Second New Deal (1935–1936)====

[[File:Signing Of The Social Security Act.jpg|thumb|left|Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law, August 14, 1935.]]

 

 

Roosevelt consolidated the various relief organizations, though some, like the PWA, continued to exist. After winning Congressional authorization for further funding of relief efforts, he established the [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA). Under the leadership of Harry Hopkins, the WPA employed over three million people in its first year of operations. It undertook numerous massive construction projects in cooperation with local governments. It also set up the [[National Youth Administration]] and arts organizations.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=353–56}}

Eight million workers remained unemployed in 1936, and though economic conditions had improved since 1932, they remained sluggish. By 1936, Roosevelt had lost the backing he once held in the business community because of his support for the [[National Labor Relations Board]] (NLRB) and the Social Security Act.<ref name = "FDR Campaigns"/> The Republicans had few alternative candidates and nominated Kansas Governor [[Alf Landon]], a little-known bland candidate whose chances were damaged by the public re-emergence of the still-unpopular Herbert Hoover.{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=364–66}} While Roosevelt campaigned on his New Deal programs and continued to attack Hoover, Landon sought to win voters who approved of the goals of the New Deal but disagreed with its implementation.{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=371–72}}

 

 

In the election against Landon and a third-party candidate, Roosevelt won 60.8% of the vote and carried every state except [[Maine]] and [[Vermont]].{{sfn|Burns|1956|p=284}} The Democratic ticket won the highest proportion of the [[List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin|popular vote]].{{Efn|The [[1964 United States presidential election|1964]] Democratic ticket of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and [[Hubert Humphrey]] would later set a new record, taking 61.1% of the popular vote}} Democrats expanded their majorities in Congress, controlling over three-quarters of the seats in each house. The election also saw the consolidation of the New Deal coalition; while the Democrats lost some of their traditional allies in big business, they were replaced by groups such as organized labor and African Americans, the latter of whom voted Democratic for the first time since the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].{{Sfn|Smith|2007|pp=373–75}} Roosevelt lost high-income voters, especially businessmen and professionals, but made major gains among the poor and minorities. He won 86 percent of the Jewish vote, 81 percent of Catholics, 80 percent of union members, 76 percent of Southerners, 76 percent of blacks in northern cities, and 75 percent of people on relief. Roosevelt carried 102 of the country's 106 cities with a population of 100,000 or more.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mary E. Stuckey|title=Voting Deliberatively: FDR and the 1936 Presidential Campaign|url={{GBurl|id=OootCgAAQBAJ|pg=PT19}}|year=2015|publisher=Penn State UP|page=19|isbn=978-0-271-07192-3}}</ref>

====Conservation and the environment====

 

 

====GNP and unemployment rates====

The main foreign policy initiative of Roosevelt's first term was the [[Good Neighbor Policy]], which was a re-evaluation of U.S. policy toward [[Latin America]]. The United States frequently intervened in Latin America following the promulgation of the [[Monroe Doctrine]] in 1823, and occupied several Latin American nations during the [[Banana Wars]] that occurred following the [[Spanish–American War]] of 1898. After Roosevelt took office, he [[United States occupation of Haiti|withdrew]] U.S. forces from [[Haiti]] and reached new treaties with [[Cuba]] and [[Panama]], ending their status as U.S. [[protectorate]]s. In December 1933, Roosevelt signed the [[Montevideo Convention]], renouncing the right to intervene unilaterally in the affairs of Latin American countries.{{Sfn|Leuchtenburg|1963|pp=203–10}} Roosevelt also normalized relations with the Soviet Union, which the United States had refused to recognize since the 1920s.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=341–43}} He hoped to renegotiate the Russian debt from World War I and open trade relations, but no progress was made on either issue and "both nations were soon disillusioned by the accord."{{sfn|Doenecke|Stoler|2005|p=18}}

 

 

[[File:FDR-George-VI-Potomac-June-9-1939-2-detail-crop.jpg|thumb|The Roosevelts with [[King George VI]] and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]], sailing from Washington, D.C., to [[Mount Vernon]], Virginia, on the [[USS Potomac (AG-25)|USS ''Potomac'']] during the first U.S. visit of a reigning British monarch (June 9, 1939)]]

====Pearl Harbor and declarations of war====

{{See also|Events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor}}

{{Listen

| filename = Roosevelt Pearl Harbor.ogg

| description2 = Section of Pearl Harbor speech including "infamy" line. (168 [[Kilobyte|KB]], [[ogg]]/[[Vorbis]] format).

| format2 = [[Vorbis]]

 

====War plans====

[[File:Ww2 allied axis 1942 jun.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Territory controlled by the Allies (blue and red) and the Axis Powers (black) in June 1942]]

 

 

In 1942, Roosevelt formed a new body, the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]], which made the final decisions on American military strategy. Admiral [[Ernest J. King]] as [[Chief of Naval Operations]] commanded the Navy and Marines, while General [[George C. Marshall]] led the Army and was in nominal control of the Air Force, which in practice was commanded by General [[Hap Arnold]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Chambers|first=John Whiteclay|title=The Oxford Companion to American Military History|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00cham/page/351|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press, US|isbn=978-0-19-507198-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00cham/page/351 351]}}</ref> The Joint Chiefs were chaired by Admiral [[William D. Leahy]], the most senior officer in the military.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=546}} Roosevelt avoided micromanaging the war and let his top military officers make most decisions.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=598–99}} Roosevelt's civilian appointees handled the draft and procurement of men and equipment, but no civilians—not even the secretaries of War or Navy—had a voice in strategy. Roosevelt avoided the State Department and conducted high-level diplomacy through his aides, especially Harry Hopkins, whose influence was bolstered by his control of the Lend-Lease funds.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fullilove|first1=Michael|title=Rendezvous with Destiny: How Franklin D. Roosevelt and Five Extraordinary Men Took America into the War and into the World|date=2013|publisher=Penguin Press|isbn=978-1-59420-435-7|pages=147–49}}</ref>

}}

[[File:Franklin Delano Roosevelt Gravesite August 21, 2012.jpg|thumb|Graves of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York]]

 

In the afternoon of April 12, 1945, in [[Warm Springs, Georgia]], while sitting for [[Unfinished portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt|a portrait]] by [[Elizabeth Shoumatoff]], Roosevelt said: "I have a terrific headache."<ref name=dayb>{{cite web|title=Franklin D. Roosevelt Day by Day – April|url=http://fdrlibrary.wordpress.com/tag/elizabeth-shoumatoff/|work=In Roosevelt History|publisher=Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum Collections and Programs|access-date=May 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/president-franklin-roosevelt-dies-63-article-1.2597712|title=President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies at 63 in 1945|date=April 13, 1945|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|access-date=December 29, 2017 }}</ref> He then slumped forward in his chair, unconscious, and was carried into his bedroom. The president's attending cardiologist, [[Howard Bruenn]], diagnosed a massive [[intracerebral hemorrhage]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Presidential Stroke: United States Presidents and Cerebrovascular Disease|first1=Jeffrey M.|last1=Jones|first2=Joni L.|last2=Jones|journal=CNS Spectrums|volume=11|issue=9|date=September 2006|pages=674–78|doi=10.1017/S1092852900014760|pmid=16946692|s2cid=44889213 }}</ref> At 3:35&nbsp;p.m., Roosevelt died at the age of 63.<ref>{{Cite web|title=President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies at age 63, April 12, 1945|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/this-day-in-politics-april-12-1945-221722|last=Andrew Glass|work=[[Politico]]|date=April 12, 2016 |access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

===Memorials===

{{Main|List of memorials to Franklin D. Roosevelt}}

Roosevelt's [[Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site|home in Hyde Park]] is now a [[National Historic Sites (United States)|National Historic Site]] and home to his [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum|Presidential library]]. Washington, D.C., hosts two memorials: the {{convert|7+1/2|acre|ha|0|abbr=off|adj=on}} [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial|Roosevelt Memorial]], located next to the [[Jefferson Memorial]] on the [[Tidal Basin]],<ref name="npsmem1">{{cite web|title=Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/fdr_memorial.html|website=National Park Service|access-date=January 19, 2018}}</ref> and a [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial#Original Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial|more modest memorial]], a block of marble in front of the National Archives building suggested by Roosevelt himself, erected in 1965.<ref>{{cite web|author1=jessiekratz|title=The other FDR Memorial|url=https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2015/04/10/the-other-fdr-memorial/|website=Pieces of History|publisher=National Archives|access-date=June 19, 2017|date=April 10, 2015}}</ref> Roosevelt's leadership in the [[March of Dimes]] is one reason he is commemorated on the American [[Dime (United States coin)|dime]].<ref name="dime1">{{cite news|title=Conservatives want Reagan to replace FDR on U.S. dimes|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-12-05-reagan-dime_x.htm|access-date=January 22, 2018|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=USA Today|date=December 5, 2003}}</ref> Roosevelt has also appeared on several [[U.S. Presidents on U.S. postage stamps#Franklin D. Roosevelt|U.S. Postage stamps]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Franklin Delano Roosevelt Issues|url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-modern-period-1940-present-commemorative-issues-1940-1949-1944-1945-5|publisher=[[National Postal Museum]]|access-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref> On April 29, 1945, seventeen days after Roosevelt's death, the carrier [[USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42)|USS ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'']] was launched and served from 1945 to 1977.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FDR Library – USS Roosevelt|url=http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/ussroos4.html|access-date=September 25, 2021|website=docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu}}</ref> London's [[Westminster Abbey]] also has a stone tablet memorial to Roosevelt that was unveiled by [[Clement Attlee|Attlee]] and Churchill in 1948.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Franklin Delano Roosevelt|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/franklin-delano-roosevelt|publisher=Westminster Abbey|access-date=April 16, 2022}}</ref> [[Roosevelt Island|Welfare Island]] was renamed after Roosevelt in September 1973.<ref>{{Cite web|title=COMING TO LIGHT: The Louis I. Kahn Monument to Franklin D. Roosevelt|url=https://archweb.cooper.edu/exhibitions/kahn/history_01.html|access-date=September 25, 2021|website=archweb.cooper.edu}}</ref>

 

File:FDR-Memorial-Grosvenor-Square.jpg|1948 statue of Roosevelt in [[Grosvenor Square]], London

File:FDR Memorial wall.jpg|Engraving of the [[Four Freedoms]] at the [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial]], dedicated in 1997 in Washington, D.C.

 

==See also==

* [[Cultural depictions of Franklin D. Roosevelt]]

* [[List of Allied World War II conferences]]

 

==Notes==

[[Category:20th-century presidents of the United States]]

[[Category:American anti-fascists]]

[[Category:American philatelists]]

[[Category:American politicians with disabilities]]

[[Category:American Episcopalians]]

[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]

[[Category:1920 United States vice-presidential candidates]]

[[Category:Candidates in the 1932 United States presidential election]]

[[Category:United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy]]

[[Category:United States government officials of World War II]]

[[Category:World War II political leaders]]