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Franklin Delano Roosevelt [a] (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), commonly known by his initials FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. The longest-serving U.S. president, he is the only president to have served more than two terms.
Oct 6, 2014 · Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who got us through the Great Depression and World War II. As Miller sees it, we will be just as well-off with no more Rushmore-worthy chief executives. Interview...
Jul 17, 2024 · Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd American president. FDR, as he was often called, led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II, and greatly expanding the powers...
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Roosevelt attended Harvard University and then went on to Columbia University Law School. Afterward he practiced law with a leading New York City law firm. His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, was a lifelong advocate of human rights and liberal causes, and she particularly helped open her husband’s eyes to the deplorable state of the poor in New York’s slu...
The Great Depression began in 1929, and by the time of the 1932 presidential election the U.S. economy was in deep crisis. As the Democratic nominee for president, Roosevelt stated, “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” Running against Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover, Roosevelt campaigned on a “new deal” for economic recovery. Unhappy with Hoover’s unsuccessful policies, American voters overwhelmingly elected Roosevelt.
By the time of Roosevelt’s inauguration on March 4, 1933, most banks had shut down, industrial production had sharply decreased, farmers were struggling, and at least 13 million workers were unemployed. Roosevelt addressed the nation, declaring that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Taking immediate action, he launched “The Hundred Days”—the first phase of the New Deal. He ordered all banks closed until Congress could pass legislation allowing banks in sound condition to reopen. On March 12 he delivered the first of his radio “fireside chats.” Roosevelt’s radio addresses helped raise the country’s morale during the Great Depression. The Hundred Days established several federal aid programs, including the National Recovery Administration. Roosevelt greatly expanded the powers of the federal government, creating government regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The initial New Deal programs provided some relief, but because the country still had not recovered from the economic crisis, Roosevelt worked with Congress to pass additional New Deal legislation—the “Second New Deal”—in 1935. The key measures of the Second New Deal were the Social Security Act, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the Wag...
Early on in his presidency Roosevelt initiated the Good Neighbor Policy to improve dealings with Latin America, and he supported mutual agreements to lower trade barriers between the United States and other countries. When World War II broke out in Europe in 1939, foreign policy began to overshadow domestic policy. Congress was dominated by isolati...
On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Speaking before Congress the following day, Roosevelt declared December 7 “a date which will live in infamy” and asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Congress quickly voted to do. The attack unified the American public and swept away any earlier support for neutrality. A few days later Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. With U.S. entry into World War II, Roosevelt mobilized industry for military production and formed an alliance with Britain and the Soviet Union. He met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin to form war policy at Tehrān, Iran (1943), and Yalta (1945). During the war the major Allied powers agreed to establish a new global organization to help manage international affairs. This agreement was first articulated when Roosevelt and Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter in August 1941. The proposed organization was eventually realized in the form of the United Nations. Despite declining health Roosevelt won reelection for a fourth term against Thomas Dewey (1944), but he served only briefly before his death on April 12, 1945.
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Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression as our 32nd President (1933-1945), Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves.
Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the nation through the Great Depression. His signature domestic legislation, the New Deal , expanded the role of the federal government in the nation’s economy in an effort to address the challenges of the Great Depression.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt was a transformative U.S. president during the Great Depression and World War II, who implemented groundbreaking policies that reshaped America’s economy and led it through one of its most challenging periods in history.
