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Franklin D. Roosevelt

Origin: Hyde Park, New York
January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945

Heroic Values: Achievement, Caring, Courage, Faith, Humility, Integrity, Perseverance, Selflessness, Tolerance, Vision, Wisdom

Background

Franklin Delano Roosevelt grew up in a wealthy family in New York. While in college at Harvard, Roosevelt's fifth cousin, Theodore, became president. Theodore's time in office made him Franklin's hero. He also met his wife at the White House - Theodore's niece, Eleanor.

Roosevelt entered political life as a senator for New York. He remained there, gaining popularity, for three years. In 1913 President Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He stayed in that position until 1920 when he unsuccessfully ran for Vice President. A year later he contracted polio (or possibly Guillain-Barré syndrome) which paralysed him below the waist.

He spent four years as governor of New York and then ran for president in 1932. He was elected on the back of the promise of a "new deal" for the country that suffering under the Great Depression. He set up numerous efforts to overcome the depression with a focus on reducing fear of investing and providing work for the quarter of the population that was unempolyed. He established Social Security to help care for the poor, sick, and elderly.

In a landslide result, Roosevelt was re-elected to a second term. During this time his focus turned to foreign relations as Adolf Hitler's rise to power began. The United States was not interested in looking overseas at the time and he struggled to draw attention to the danger of the brewing Second World War.

Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third term in office in 1940 and began to concentrate on preparing for what he knew was the inevitable war effort. At the end of 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and resistance from the public essentially disappeared. Roosevelt sent America to war.

Working closely with Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Chiang Kai-shek, Roosevelt helped steer the Allies to victory. After the victory in Europe, he realised the need to prevent such a war happening again so he promoted the formation of the United Nations.

After being elected for a fourth term, Roosevelt succumbed to failing health and died in 1945. He is widely considered one the top three presidents in American history.

Sources

Wikipedia
The online encyclopedia

whitehouse.gov
FDR's biography

Time 100
Essay on Roosevelt

PBS Newshour
An essay on FDR's character