Chandni
3/4/11
5-Bur
L.A.
Franklin Roosevelt’s History In the 1930s
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a courageous hero. Franklin saved the
country from the Great Depression. He was born in a house called Springwood,
above Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York, on January 30, 1882. He died in
Warm Spring, Georgia, on April 12, 1945. If there wasn’t Franklin D. Roosevelt as
president, then who knows what would have happened to this country!
Franklin’s house called Springwood was in his home town on top of the
Hudson River in Hyde River. His house was very big and was a mansion. Franklin’s
parents came from rich families. Franklin also had grown up rich, yet he was the
only child in his family and was lonely. He wasn’t allowed to play with the other
boys because his mom always said, “They are not our type.” However Franklin did
have fun. Franklin loved sailing, riding horses, and playing football as a boy.
Franklin had many different cool things about him; here are the following:
Sailing was like an adventure to him. His dad even had bought a boat for him
when he was sixteen which was called The New Moon. He even liked to go
horseback riding with Popsy (his father). Even though Franklin wasn’t fast, he still
fought hard in football and loved it. He even had a passion for photography.
Franklin was the only president who was elected four times in a row! He had
many ideas to help the country, so people always voted for him. He never gave up
and always came up with great ideas. Franklin suddenly woke up one morning
and his whole body was aching. Eleanor (his wife) had to call three doctors to find
out what the problem was. Soon Franklin found out he had polio. Polio is a virus
that caused high fevers and often left people unable to walk. Franklin actually
discovered a way to float in water without keeping your legs up, this really helped
his legs!
Soon, Franklin had fallen in love with Eleanor Roosevelt. Franklin was
Eleanor’s cousin. Once at Christmas time, there was a party where Eleanor’s
entire family was invited. Franklin was there too, and he asked her to dance with
him. She accepted that even though she didn’t know how to, but Franklin didn’t
seem to mind that. They both fell in love with each other and soon got engaged.
Eleanor and Franklin got married in New York City on St. Patrick’s Day! Their first
child was Anna Eleanor. Their next child was James. Then came Franklin but he
died when he was only eighteen months old because of having the flu! Elliot,
Franklin Jr., and John were the last three children.
Franklin didn’t want to be a gentlemen farmer like his father. What
appealed to him was politics. In 1910 he ran for office at twenty-one years old. He
asked democrats in Hyde Park if he could run for senate. His name wasn’t
enough, so he had to get voters to know him. Therefore, he got a red flashy car
and asked famous politicians to ride with him. He gave friendly honest speeches
to people and they loved it! Franklin had even supported Woodrow Wilson
because of Wilson’s ideas and Franklin hoped to get a job in Washington. Soon
after that, Franklin was asked if he wanted to be Assistant Secretary of the Navy!
Would he like it?! He would LOVE it! This was the perfect place for Franklin since
he loved sailing! Everyday, he wanted to learn more about the Navy, so he asked
everyone like admirals and sailors to tell him every little detail. War broke out in
1914 against Germany. Franklin urged everyone to build a strong and rugged
battleship. There was soon a new battleship in Brooklyn Navy Yard. This mighty,
powerful ship was named USS Arizona. Now, Franklin had a keen understanding
of warfare. The war ended on November 11, 1918 along with Germany’s defeat.
Then, Franklin went to Paris to attend the peace treaty conference. To Franklin’s
surprise, James Cox asked him to be vice president.
This was the time of crisis! Franklin was back in New York as a lawyer, in
1921. He and his family went on a vacation to Campobello. Franklin and his sons
went for a swim. When Franklin came back he had a cold and his back ached, so
he went to bed early. Soon, it grew worse; he couldn’t even get out of bed.
Eleanor, his wife had to call three doctors to find out what it was. They both soon
found out it was polio. Would people like him to be a president even if he has
polio? He had to keep this a secret. Franklin was determined to walk again so he
started to exercise right away.
Franklin was soon able to walk and four years later in 1928, Franklin was
elected governor of New York. It was soon the start of the Great Depression.
Many people thought he would be a leader that they can count on. He was now
the president of the United States. He had beaten his opponent, President
Herbert Hoover.
A lot of people were losing their jobs and the breadlines had grown longer.
Many people thought that it was not going to last long and it was just a temporary
thing. Herbert Hoover had said “No one is actually starving.” It got worst,
hundreds of thousands people had suddenly found themselves homeless. This
was just the start of the Great Depression! Franklin had promised everyone that
he would recover the country. He had once stated “The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself.”
There were two reasons for the Great Depression. One reason is that there
were many downfalls in individual nations’ economies. An example is that farm
products were very costly (mostly wheat), were quickly falling and the cause
being of overproduction. The other reason is that there was suddenly an
international financial crisis including the United States stock market. The stock
market had crashed in 1929. In shock, United States investors took more and
more from Germany and other European markets. That, had weakened the banks
of Germany and other European states. Many people were left homeless. Some
families even survived on eating dandelions and berries.
Franklin Roosevelt was a true representative, even though he had a disease
called polio and was brave enough to fight the depression and be the president.
Franklin had thought of many programs and agencies like: AAA, CCC, NRA, TVA
SSA and WPA. AAA helped farmers to sell their crops and pay their rent or
mortgages. CCC took young men and men that don’t have jobs to do many
things. They went to national parks or forests to plant trees, build fire stations,
and put out fires. The NRA made principles to help businesses and workers
become friendlier with each other. TVA had brought electricity and many other
improvements to rural areas specifically in the seven southern states. A program
that still exists today and is important is the SSA. It was created in 1935. The
government had mailed checks to retired people who were over 65 years old, to
the disabled, the unemployed, and to the needy children. All around the country
artists, writer, and musicians to paint murals, to write many books, and to
perform concerts. This was all part of the WPA. People even built roads, hospitals,
schools, and other public structures. All of these programs helped the country
“escape” from the Great Depression.
Franklin D. Roosevelt influenced and inspired many people around the
world to be brave and fight your hardships. Franklin was like a super hero! He was
a brave and bold person that recovered the country from the Great Depression
when people were suffering. What would we do without him?!
Work Cited Page
Allport, Alan. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Philadelphia:
Chelsea House Publishers, 2004.
Freedom, Russell. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. New York: Clarion
Books, 1990.
Frith, Margaret. Who Was Franklin Roosevelt? New York:
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2010.
Spielvogel, Jackson. World History Modern Times. New York:
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003