Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York to a
wealthy and well known family. He was educated at home until the age
of fourteen when he entered an all boys private school in Massachusetts.
Here, he was taught the ways of a gentleman who understands the voices
of those who are less fortunate than himself and the importance of
public service.
Franklin continued his education at Harvard University where he met his
future
wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, his distant cousin, Theodore Roosevelt’s niece.
While
vacationing on Campobello Island in New Brunswick in 1921,
Franklin contracted the disease poliomyelitis (polio). The disease crippled his legs and made him unable to
walk for the remainder of his life. In time, he started a foundation to help polio victims which inspired the
creation of the March of Dimes foundation. The March of Dimes foundation later went on to find the cure for
polio.
In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president. This era was known as the Depression and was
said to be the worst time in American history since the Civil War. Factories, banks, and many other businesses
closed and many people were out of work. FDR immediately put a new economic plan into action. He signed a
series of laws called The New Deal. These laws started programs that gave Americans jobs and hope.
During their marriage, Eleanor and Franklin cooperated to help others. Eleanor would travel around
the United States talking to people about the problems they faced. She would then discuss these
conversations with her husband and try to figure out ways to make things better. Because of this, she was
known as the President’s “eyes and ears.”
As President during World War II, Roosevelt led the fight for freedom and liberty around the world. He
cooperated with world leaders and brought out the best in people. He taught people to work together when
the going was tough. His leadership helped protect democracy in Europe, Japan, and the United States.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt died of a stroke in Georgia in 1944. He is buried in his estate in Hyde Park,
New York. After serving as president for four terms, FDR is the only President to ever be elected to serve more
than two terms in office.
Name _____________________________
Directions: Answer the following questions about Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
1) Where was Franklin Delano Roosevelt born?
a) New York
b) Georgia
c) Montana
d) South Carolina
2) Who was called Roosevelt’s “eyes and ears”?
a) George Washington
c) George Bush
b) Eleanor Roosevelt
d) Mary McLeod Bethune
3) What is the meaning of the term cooperated?
a) worked against something
c) worked against someone
b) worked together with someone else
d) worked for someone else
4) What was one of the benefits of the New Deal?
a) Americans could now afford to go to college.
b) African Americans gained civil rights.
c) Women were given the right to vote.
d) Americans were able to get jobs and have hope for the future.
5) FDR helped to protect democracy in the U.S and which other two places?
a) China and the U.S.
b) Japan and Europe
c) New York and Georgia
d) Europe and the U.S.
6) What handicap did Franklin Roosevelt’s polio cause?
a) He was unable to speak.
b) He was unable to hear.
c) He was unable to use his legs.
d) He was unable to use his hands.
7) Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the only president to
a) be in office during a war.
b) serve more than two terms in office.
c) serve in the military.
d) have a wife who helped the American people.
8) Which war was started while FDR was in office?
a) World War II
b) Korean War
c) World War I
*Bonus*: Which of the following people served as an advisor to FDR?
a) Sojourner Truth
b) Frederick Douglass
c) Mary McLeod Bethune
d) Harriet Tubman
d) Iraqi War