{"id":2046,"date":"2017-05-29T20:36:43","date_gmt":"2017-05-29T20:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=2046"},"modified":"2026-02-18T10:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:33:58","slug":"franklin-d-roosevelt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/franklin-d-roosevelt\/","title":{"rendered":"Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Detailed Biography"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States, serving from 1933 to 1945. He is one of the most influential figures in American history, known for his leadership during two of the most challenging periods of the 20th century: the Great Depression<\/a> and World War II<\/a>.\u00a0 He died while still the President of the United States just months before the end of the war. As such, he in an important figure in American history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT – EARLY LIFE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Franklin D. Roosevelt was born on January 30th, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, into a wealthy and influential family. He was the only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt was privately educated and attended Harvard and Columbia Universities. Roosevelt was always interested in law, and admired his cousin Theodore Roosevelt who was elected as president of the United States in 1900. Roosevelt married Theodore\u2019s niece Eleanor, who was very supportive of Roosevelt and his law passions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roosevelt was appointed as assistant secretary of the United States Navy in 1913. In this role, Roosevelt travelled across the United States, and to Europe. Roosevelt continued to work in politics but ran for President of the United States as a Democratic candidate in 1932 during the early years of the Great Depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Franklin
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in August of 1932.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT – GREAT DEPRESSION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Great Depression<\/a> began on October 24th, 1929 when the New York Stock Exchange began to experience volatility and heavy trading which resulted in a large drop of the overall value of the market.\u00a0 The\u00a0crash of the market\u00a0eventually led to major economic issues in the United States (and around the world) which resulted in high unemployment and an economic recession.\u00a0 The United States President at the time was republican\u00a0Herbert Hoover<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Great Depression unfolded Hoover held a general view of the economy based on self-reliance.\u00a0 This means that he believed it was the responsibility of individuals to take care of themselves and not rely on assistance from the government.\u00a0 As such, he did not agree that the government should intervene in the economy and referred to the economic hardship of the Great Depression as \u201ca passing incident\u201d.\u00a0 As a result of his presidency, many working-class people began to name aspects of their poverty after Hoover.\u00a0 For example, shanty-towns that were constructed on the edge of cities in the 1930s were often referred to as \u2018Hoovervilles<\/a>\u2019.\u00a0 In the 1932 presidential election, Hoover faced off against Roosevelt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hoover
Herbert Hoover with Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 4th, 1933.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT – PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Roosevelt offered a completely different view of the recession and ran on the platform of a \u2018New Deal<\/a>\u2019 for the American people.\u00a0 With unemployment over 20% in 1932, Roosevelt blamed the worsening economic conditions on Hoover\u2019s mishandling of the crisis.\u00a0 As a result, Roosevelt won the election in a landslide victory winning 472 electoral votes to Hoover\u2019s 59.\u00a0 Roosevelt also dominated the popular vote with 23 million votes to Hoover\u2019s 16 million.\u00a0\u00a0He became the 32nd president of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time he entered\u00a0\u00a0the White House, the Great Depression in the United States had reached desperate levels, with over 13 million people unemployed. As a result, Roosevelt had to make drastic changes. So, as part of his role, Roosevelt put a number of New Deal programs and reforms in place. Thanks to the policies, Roosevelt led the United States through the Great Depression<\/a>, and by 1935 the country showed signs of economic recovery.\u00a0 Regardless, the Great Depression ended in the late 1930s with the outbreak of World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Franklin
Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s First Inaugural Address (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT – WORLD WAR II<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While Europe was plunged back into war in September of 1939, with the\u00a0German invasion of Poland<\/a>, the United States remained out of the fighting.\u00a0 While Roosevelt wanted to aid the United States’ allies such as Britain and France, the war was unpopular in the United States.\u00a0\u00a0The world was only 20 years removed from\u00a0World War I<\/a>\u00a0which shocked Americans to the realities of war and the\u00a0brutality of trench warfare<\/a>. In general, the American public were not ready for another major conflict after World War I stayed for so long as a stalemate and the cost of life that the First World War caused. The United States in 1939 was not the military powerhouse it is today and it was a considerable risk to the United States to participate in another worldwide conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some in America believed that the United States should join to support its allies and stop the spread of fascism. This opinion grew in popularity among American politicians after major German advances in Europe, including: the German advances in Denmark, and the surrender of France to German forces. This viewpoint argued that American forces were needed to help Britain fight off the aggressive and powerful German forces. On the other hand, some believed that the advances of the German army in\u00a0Europe proved that the United States should remain out of the conflict, as the German forces were seen\u00a0as too strong. For example, Joseph P. Kennedy, who was the American ambassador to Great Britain,\u00a0held this view and argued that America risked losing if it went up against\u00a0Nazi Germany<\/a>.\u00a0Although the United States did not join direct warfare until 1941 when it was attacked, it did support\u00a0the Allied effort in the war during the previous years through the\u00a0Lend-Lease Act<\/a>. Passed in March of\u00a01941, the Lend-Lease Act allowed\u00a0President Roosevelt\u00a0to support the forces of Britain, the Soviet Union\u00a0and China with ammunition and weapons shipments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, the United States was forced into the war on December 7th, 1941 when\u00a0Japan surprise attack\u00a0the United States at Pearl Harbor<\/a>. With the help of American troops, the Allies were able to push back\u00a0Germany in Europe by 1944 and the United States ended World War II in August of 1945 with the\u00a0atomic bombing of Japan<\/a>.\u00a0 While it was not Roosevelt who used the atomic bombs against Japan, his leadership was vitally important to their construction because he oversaw the\u00a0American program to create the first atomic bomb<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roosevelt led America to victory over Nazi Germany and its allies. After the war, Roosevelt worked with Britain and Russia to build the foundations of a post-war international peace organization.\u00a0 For example, he famously attended the\u00a0Yalta Conference<\/a>\u00a0with British Prime Minister\u00a0Winston Churchill\u00a0and Soviet leader\u00a0Joseph Stalin<\/a>. This organization later became the United Nations<\/a>, and it is still in place today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Franklin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT – DEATH AND LEGACY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The deals and programs that Roosevelt put in place redefined the role of the federal government in the lives of Americans, and still affect the lives of Americans today. Thanks to his hard work, and successful programs, Roosevelt was re-elected as president four times. He is the only American president in history to have been elected four times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roosevelt died in 1945, whilst he was still in office just months before the end of the war. His successor was Harry S. Truman<\/a>, his Vice President, who oversaw the end of World War II for the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency was a defining period in American history. His innovative New Deal programs and steadfast leadership during World War II not only helped the nation overcome significant challenges but also left a lasting legacy that continues to shape the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Franklin<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, is celebrated for his leadership during the Great Depression and World War II, and for implementing the transformative New Deal policies. This article details the life and significance of Franklin D. Roosevelt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":15,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,100,21],"tags":[57,18,66,15,22],"class_list":["post-2046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-great-depression","category-biography","category-world-war-ii","tag-american-history","tag-biography","tag-great-depression","tag-history","tag-world-war-ii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2046"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5464,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046\/revisions\/5464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}