Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often called FDR, served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. He remains the longest-serving president in American history and the only one elected to more than two terms. His presidency is split into two distinct phases: his first two terms were dedicated to fighting the Great Depression, while his third and fourth terms were consumed by American involvement in World War II. A Democrat, he had previously been a member of the New York State Senate from 1911 to 1913 and served as the 44th governor of New York from 1929 to 1932.

Born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, Roosevelt came from the wealthy and prominent Roosevelt and Delano families. His father, James Roosevelt I, was a wealthy landowner and a Bourbon Democrat, while his mother, Sara Ann Delano, focused entirely on raising him. He had a half-brother, James Roosevelt "Rosy" Roosevelt, from his father's first marriage. The family lived in a style reminiscent of the English aristocracy, and Franklin was raised in a highly sheltered environment. He traveled frequently to Europe and Canada, becoming fluent in German and French. After being homeschooled until age 14, he attended Groton School, an exclusive Episcopal boarding school in Massachusetts, where he was not among the most popular students. The school’s headmaster, Endicott Peabody, strongly influenced him, emphasizing Christian duty and public service. Roosevelt then went to Harvard College, where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and became editor-in-chief of *The Harvard Crimson*, though he was an undistinguished student and athlete. His father died in 1900, and the following year his cousin Theodore Roosevelt became president, becoming a major role model. He graduated from Harvard in 1903 with a degree in history, took graduate courses for another year, and then entered Columbia Law School in 1904, dropping out in 1907 after passing the bar exam.

While at college, Roosevelt proposed to heiress Alice Ruggles Sohier, who turned him down. He then began courting his childhood acquaintance and fifth cousin once removed, Eleanor Roosevelt, a niece of Theodore Roosevelt. He proposed to her in 1903, and despite initial resistance from his mother, they married on March 17, 1905, with President Theodore Roosevelt officiating.

Roosevelt was elected to the New York State Senate in 1910 and later served as assistant secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson starting in 1913. In the 1920 presidential election, he was the running mate of Democrat James M. Cox, but they lost to Republican Warren G. Harding. In 1921, an illness left him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Encouraged by his wife Eleanor, he ran for governor of New York and won in 1928. As governor, he launched programs to address the Great Depression.

In the 1932 presidential election, Roosevelt defeated incumbent President Herbert Hoover in a landslide. During his first 100 days in office, he launched the New Deal, built the New Deal coalition, and reshaped American politics into the Fifth Party System. He created relief programs for the unemployed and farmers, pursued economic recovery through the National Recovery Administration and other measures, and enacted major regulatory reforms in finance, communications, and labor. He also oversaw the end of Prohibition. He was re-elected in 1936 in another landslide victory. However, his attempt to expand the Supreme Court in 1937 failed, and that same year a conservative coalition formed to block further New Deal reforms. Major programs and laws that survived from his administration include the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Labor Relations Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Social Security. He was re-elected again in 1940, as no presidential term limits existed until 1951.

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt secured a declaration of war against Japan, and soon after against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. He directed the mobilization of the American economy for war, adopted a Europe-first strategy, and initiated the development of the first atomic bomb. He also worked with other Allied leaders to establish the foundation for the United Nations. He won a fourth term in 1944 but died in 1945. Some of his actions have since been criticized, particularly his order to intern German, Italian, and Japanese Americans. Despite this, historical rankings consistently place him among the three greatest American presidents.