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
Early Life Education and the New York Senate 10 Chapter 1 ranklin D Roosevelt was born on January 30 1882 at the family estate Springwood on the Hudson River near Hyde Park New York His father James Roosevelt was a wealthy landowner and railroad vice president His mother was Sara Delano Roosevelt of an old merchant-shipping family She was James Roosevelt’s second wife F
Early Life Education and the New York Senate The birthplace and home of Franklin D Roosevelt in Hyde Park New York became a summer White House while Roosevelt served as president Franklin was the only child of this sec ond marriage He had a half brother 18 years older than he President Theodore Roosevelt was their fifth cousin once removed The Roosevelt family in America had been started by Klaes Martensen van Roosevelt He came to America from Holland in about 1644 11
