Dad spoke frequently about President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. Dad served during WWII when Roosevelt was president. He seemed to hold him and his wife in high regard. This encouraged me to read more about this beloved president. Many authors described him as having temperament, personal charm, and luck. He was often referred to by his initials, FDR. He was the only president who served four terms in office.
Roosevelt was the only child of wealthy parents. He was born in 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. His distant cousin was former president Theodore Roosevelt While in college, he fell in love with Theodore Roosevelt’s niece and they married in 1905. They had a daughter and four sons. Their fifth son died in infancy.
Roosevelt had a long career in public service. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He was a New York senator from 1911-1913 and governor from 1929-1933.
Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio in 1921; he was 39 years old and was unable to walk. He removed himself from public office while he rehabilitated. Initially, he focused on rehabilitation at his home. He swam three times a week and by the spring of 1922, he was able to stand with braces. Two years later, he traveled to Warm Springs, Georgia, hoping to be healed in the mineral waters. He ended up purchasing the resort and turned it into a rehabilitation center for polio patients.
His wife was his biggest supporter and kept his reputation strong despite his illness. She also organized the women’s division of the Democratic Party. When he was governor, he grew more liberal in his policies and the nation sank deeper into economic depression after the stock market crash of 1929. He sprang into action and set up the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA). This agency helped find jobs for the unemployed, and by 1932 TERA was helping approximately one out of 10 New York families.
He was elected the 32nd President of the United States. He was inaugurated in 1933. In the 1932 presidential election, he defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover. He began his presidency during the Great Depression. He created programs designed to produce relief, recovery, and reform. They were collectively called the New Deal and provided relief to people who were unemployed. He was a leader who exuded confidence and displayed optimism that lifted the morale of Americans during the bleak period of the Great Depression and the sacrifices of war.
Immediately after his landslide 1936 victory over Republican Alf Landon, Roosevelt attacked the Supreme Court. They had struck down New Deal measures as unconstitutional. He sent to Congress a bill known as the “court packing plan.” He proposed adding six new justices, who as his appointees would be friendlier to the New Deal. This bill was not passed.
In 1937, the slow recovery from the Great Depression was reversed by a new recession. President Roosevelt was not known as a great economist and was indecisive. Luck came to his rescue and the war in in Europe gave Americans business new markets and the recession ended.
Black people mostly voted Republican from after the Civil War and through the early part of the 20th century. That’s not surprising when one considers that Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president, and the white, segregationist politicians who governed Southern states in those days were Democrats. The Democratic Party didn’t welcome Black people then, and it wasn’t until 1924 that they were even permitted to attend Democratic conventions in any official capacity. Most Black people lived in the South, where they were mostly prevented from voting at all.
The election of Roosevelt in 1932 marked the beginning of a change. He got 71 percent of the Black vote for president in 1936 and did nearly that well in the next two elections, according to historical figures kept by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. But even then, the number of Black people identifying themselves as Republicans was about the same as the number who thought of themselves as Democrats.
Encouraged by his wife, Eleanor, President Roosevelt appointed more women to federal posts than any previous president. He also included Black Americans in federal jobs.
President Roosevelt won this fourth presidential election in 1944. He died in office on April 12, 1945, thirty-nine days after his inauguration. The public was heartbroken. He is considered to be one of the highest ranked presidents to date.
Francie Mae. October 15, 2022.
References
Franklin D. Roosevelt. History.Com Editors. Updated: Jan 5, 2022, Original: October 29, 2009. Web Accessed October 14, 2022.
Taranto, James and Leo, Leonard 2004. Presidential Leadership. Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House. New York, New York. Wall Street Journal Book.