Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving US president and the only one to have served more than two terms. His first two terms centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth focused on US involvement in World War II. A member of the Democratic Party, Roosevelt served in the New York State Senate from 1911 to 1913 and as the 44th governor of New York from 1929 to 1932.
Born into the prominent Delano and Roosevelt families, Roosevelt graduated from Harvard University. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1910, before becoming the assistant secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Roosevelt was the running mate of James M. Cox on the Democratic ticket in the 1920 presidential election, which Cox lost to Republican nominee Warren G. Harding. In 1921, an illness permanently paralyzed his legs. However, partly through the encouragement of his wife Eleanor, he was elected governor of New York in 1928. As governor, he promoted programs to combat the Great Depression.
Roosevelt defeated President Herbert Hoover in a landslide victory in the 1932 presidential election. During his first 100 days as president, Roosevelt initiated the program to implement the New Deal, built the New Deal coalition, and realigned American politics into the Fifth Party System. He created programs to provide relief to the unemployed and farmers while seeking economic recovery with the National Recovery Administration and other programs. He was re-elected in 1936, in one of the largest landslide victories in American history. Major surviving programs and legislation implemented under Roosevelt include the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Labor Relations Act, and Social Security. In 1940, he was reelected, as there were no presidential term limits until 1951.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt obtained a declaration of war on Japan, and subsequently on Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Roosevelt supervised the mobilization of the American economy to support the war effort and implemented a Europe first strategy. He also initiated the development of the first atomic bomb and worked with the other Allied leaders to lay the groundwork for the United Nations. Roosevelt won reelection in 1944, but died in 1945. Since then, some of his actions have been criticized, such as his ordering of the internment of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans. Nonetheless, historical rankings consistently place him among the three greatest American presidents.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, to James Roosevelt I and his second wife, Sara Ann Delano. His parents, who were sixth cousins, came from the wealthy Roosevelt and Delano families. They resided at Springwood, a large estate south of Hyde Park's historic center. James, "a wealthy, landed gentleman who dabbled in but usually devoted no great effort to business", was a prominent Bourbon Democrat. His mother Sara "devoted virtually all her energies to raising her only child". Franklin had a half-brother, James Roosevelt "Rosy" Roosevelt, from his father's previous marriage.
According to Alan Brinkley, the family lived "in a manner reminiscent of the English aristocracy, and Franklin grew up, therefore, in a remarkably cosseted environment, insulated from the normal experiences of most American boys". Frequent trips to Europe and Canada helped Roosevelt become conversant in German and French. Aside from a stint in public school in Germany at age nine, Roosevelt was homeschooled by tutors until age 14. He then attended Groton School, an exclusive Episcopal boarding school in Groton, Massachusetts. He was not among the more popular Groton students, who were better athletes. Its headmaster, Endicott Peabody, preached the duties of Christians and urged his students to enter public service. Peabody remained a strong influence throughout Roosevelt's life, officiating at his wedding and presiding over the church service which preceded his inauguration as president.
Like most of his Groton classmates, Roosevelt went to Harvard College. He was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity "Fly Club", though he regretted not being admitted to the Porcellian Club. Roosevelt was relatively undistinguished as a student or athlete, but he became editor-in-chief of The Harvard Crimson newspaper.
Roosevelt's father died in 1900. The following year, Roosevelt's cousin Theodore Roosevelt became US president. Theodore's vigorous leadership style and reforming zeal made him Franklin's role model. Franklin graduated from Harvard in three years in 1903 with an A.B. in history. He took graduate courses for an additional year to continue his work with the Crimson. Roosevelt entered Columbia Law School in 1904, but dropped out in 1907 after passing the bar.
Marriage, family, and extramarital affairs
While at college, Roosevelt met and proposed to the heiress Alice Ruggles Sohier, who declined. Franklin then began courting his childhood acquaintance and fifth cousin once removed, Eleanor Roosevelt, a niece of Theodore Roosevelt. In 1903, Franklin proposed to Eleanor. Despite "initial resistance" from his mother, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were married on March 17, 1905. Theodore, who was then President, gave away the bride since Eleanor's father Elliott was deceased. The young couple moved into Springwood. Franklin's mother, Sara Roosevelt, also provided a townhouse for the newlyweds in New York City, and had a house built for herself alongside that townhouse. Eleanor never felt at home in the houses at Hyde Park or New York City. However, she loved the family's vacation home on Campobello Island, also a gift from Sara.
Burns indicates that young Franklin Roosevelt was self-assured and at ease in the upper class. On the other hand, Eleanor was shy and insecure, and initially focused on her husband's career. As his father had done, Franklin left childcare to his wife, and Eleanor assigned the task to caregivers. They had six children. Their only daughter, Anna, was born in 1906. James was born in 1907. The couple's second son, Franklin, died in infancy in 1909. Elliott was born in 1910, another son named Franklin followed in 1914, and the youngest, John, was born in 1916.
Roosevelt had multiple extramarital affairs. He commenced an affair with Eleanor's social secretary, Lucy Mercer, soon after she was hired in 1914. Eleanor discovered the affair in 1918. Franklin contemplated divorcing Eleanor, but Sara objected, and Mercer would not marry a divorced man with five children. Franklin promised never to see Mercer again, but their marriage shifted to become a political partnership. Eleanor soon established a separate home in Hyde Park at Val-Kill and devoted herself to social and political causes independent of her husband. Franklin broke his promise to Eleanor regarding Lucy Mercer. He and Mercer maintained a correspondence and began seeing each other again by 1941. Roosevelt's son Elliott claimed that his father also had an affair with his private secretary, Missy LeHand.
New York state senator (1910–1913)
In 1908, Roosevelt took an unsalaried position with the prestigious law firm of Carter Ledyard & Milburn, later moving into the firm's admiralty law division. Roosevelt cared little for the practice of law and told friends he planned to enter politics. Despite his admiration for cousin Theodore, Franklin accepted an invitation to run for the Democratic Party in the 1910 elections for the New York State Assembly. He was a compelling candidate due to his name recognition and his family's ability to contribute to party fundraising, but his campaign ended after the Democratic incumbent, Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler, chose to seek re-election. Rather than putting his political hopes on hold, Roosevelt ran for a seat in the New York State Senate. The senate district, located in Dutchess, Columbia, and Putnam Counties, was strongly Republican. Roosevelt feared that opposition from Theodore could end his campaign, but Theodore encouraged his candidacy despite their party differences. Acting as his own campaign manager, Roosevelt traveled throughout the senate district via automobile at a time when few could afford a car. In the Democratic landslide in the 1910 US elections, Roosevelt won a surprising victory.