Introduction 6 During his presidency Franklin D Roosevelt spoke directly to the American people in regular national radio broadcasts that became known as fireside chats
Franklin D Roosevelt was the only U S president elected to the office four times In his 12 years in office Roosevelt was both hated and loved His opponents criticized him for the way he expanded the powers of the federal government Most people however hailed him for his efforts to lead the United States through two of the great est crises of the 20th century the Great Depression and World War II Roosevelt started his career in politics in 1910 when he was elected as a Democrat to the New York Senate In 1913 he was appointed assistant secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson During World War I 1914 18 Roosevelt helped lead the Navy to victory over German sea forces In 1920 he ran for vice president but the Democrats lost the election In 1921 Roosevelt was stricken with polio myelitis a disease that paralyzed him from the waist down In later years he could walk a little using a cane and leg braces but he usually used a wheelchair although not in public In 1928 and again in 1930 Roosevelt was elected governor of New York During his 7
Franklin D Roosevelt governorship the worldwide economic downturn known as the Great Depression took hold Roosevelt responded to the cri sis by introducing programs to help the state’s poor farmers and unemployed Roosevelt’s aggressive relief policies in New York helped him to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1932 In the election he won an easy victory over his Republican opponent President Herbert Hoover to become the 32nd president of the United States By the time Roosevelt took office in 1933 the depression had deepened Millions of Americans had no work and no money The U S Congress granted Roosevelt unprecedented powers and when it did not give him the powers he wanted he simply assumed them Roosevelt used his authority to create jobs and to help those who needed it In doing so he changed the government’s role in national life For good or ill many of Roosevelt’s ideas of government are still part of the law of the land During World War II Roosevelt was the real commander in chief of the American armed forces in their successful effort to rid the world of German Nazism and Japanese militarism He took charge of the industrial 8
Introduction might of the United States and played a major part in setting up the United Nations In peace and in war Roosevelt always had the people behind him Some of his methods may be questioned but his aims were good Readers of this book will learn about the character intellect and politics that shaped Roosevelt and made him the pivotal leader he came to be 9
