Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945)
In 1933, the United States was deep in the
Great Depression. However, an optimistic
new President had been elected. At his
inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
declared, “[T]he only thing we have to fear is
fear itself.” With these words, he immediately
began to improve the mood of a nation.
Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York,
in 1882. He attended Harvard University and
Columbia School of Law. In 1905, he married
Eleanor Roosevelt, a distant cousin, and they
had six children. Roosevelt became a lawyer,
but he quickly realized that a career in law
was not for him. Like his cousin, President Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt was drawn to politics.
Roosevelt’s political career began with his election to the New York Senate in 1910. He quickly rose to
prominence. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him assistant secretary of the navy. By 1920, Roosevelt
was the Democratic nominee for vice president.
However, in 1921, Roosevelt’s life changed forever when he was struck with polio. This disease left him
unable to walk. He fought to regain use of his legs, but never fully recovered. Despite this setback,
Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1928. In 1932, he was elected U.S. President. He would be
elected President a total of four times—the only person to serve more than two terms.
When Roosevelt took office, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression. He brought hope for the
future with promises of swift action. His New Deal programs aimed to put Americans back to work. He
also oversaw programs that provided safety nets for jobless people or those who were too old to work, such
as Social Security. Not everyone agreed that government should interfere in the economy—even if it meant
helping its citizens. However, from that time on, the government has had a major role in the economy.
Then, in 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This drew the United States into World War
II. Roosevelt rallied the country and was a positive and forceful leader. Factories shifted toward supporting
the war effort, the unemployment rate began to fall, and the country was finally pulled out of the Great
Depression. Roosevelt’s genius at appointing the right people to various war-time commands and positions
contributed greatly to the Allied success.
The hard work of his first three terms had worn Roosevelt down, and as a result, his health deteriorated
quickly in his fourth term. In 1945, shortly before the Allied victory in Europe, Roosevelt died in Warm
Springs, Georgia.
Evaluating How did Franklin Roosevelt’s leadership affect the nation during the Depression and World
War II?
FDR re-instilled hope for the future by enacting his New Deal programs aimed to put Americans back to
work and provide services/programs for the unemployed or the elderly, such as Social Security. He also
rallied the country to support of the war effort, which helped pull the US out of the Depression and
contributed to Allied success. Despite some people’s dissent over government involvement in Americans’
lives and the economy, the government, nevertheless, has had a major role in the economy ever since.