Franklin Roosevelt
The story of a leader who inspired a nation
New Deal
Speech
Fireside Chat
His Life
Franklin's "Uncle Teddy", or former president Theodore Roosevelt, encouraged and guided Franklin down the path of politics. It was also Theodore who introduced Franklin to his future wife, Eleanor. Anyway, under president Theodore, Franklin easily won a seat as a New York representative in 1910. Using this success, Roosevelt sprung himself onto the national stage and, by 1920, he became the democratic Vice Presidential nominee. The election however, wan't even close. Despite this, Roosevelt took the loss an a learning experience as he gained valuable knowledge he would use later on.
Shortly after Franklin's run for Vice President, Roosevelt contacted Polio, a disorder which took away Roosevelt's ability to move his legs. Despite this, Roosevelt taught himself to walk short distances by twisting himself in a very painful way and never used his wheelchair in public, as he thought it would make look like a weak leader. Roosevelt however, was anything but weak and, the peopled showed their respect for him in 1929, when he was elected as the governor of New York. In his 3 years as governor, Roosevelt transformed the state of New York and, by the next presidential election, he was a popular choice for the top job.
By 1932, America was in tatters. The Great Depression had swept across the nation and, many were left jobless or homeless. Not many people wanted to lead in the time like this but, Roosevelt was up for the job. After many months of hard campaigning, Roosevelt won the election by a great margin but, the real task was up ahead. Roosevelt had to lead America out of the Great Depression, a time of instability for our once thriving nation. His "New Deal" however, was simple yet ingenious and, Roosevelt's policy led America out of it's darkest days.
Roosevelt was extremely popular as leader and, in 1937, he won a re-election in a landslide vote. The "New Deal" still continued to work wonders throughout Roosevelt's second term and, the people were very happy with Roosevelt's refrainment from World War II. Roosevelt had done such a good job in fact, that he had accomplished something never done before . In the 1941 election, Roosevelt was elected to a third term, breaking the 2 term precedent set by George Washington many years ago. Why did break the American tradition? World War II was approaching and, he felt a change of leaders would leave America unstable. As a result, he took the initiative and took a 3rd term, one that proved to be invaluable.
Roosevelt's leadership throughout World War II kept America out of the war for as long as possible and ensured that America's safety was not in jeopardy until the Pearl Harbor attacks forced them into World War II. Even then, Roosevelt teamed up with the other allies and had constructed an effecient military plan to defeat the Axis powers. This success prompted him for a fourth term, which was unfortunately left unfinished. On March 29, 1945; President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tragically died in office of an illness. The nation mourned his death but, he still lived on in his tremendous impact on the nation and its people.
Characteristics
- Calmness : Roosevelt remained calm in the worst crises and always looked for a solution.
- Openess : Roosevelt's openness to the public kept the people secure and confident in their nation
- Intelligence : Roosevelt could find a logical solution to any problem, and use this talent to keep the United States afloat during tough times.