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101 Men and Women Who Shaped Our World Sample Entry “Franklin D. Roosevelt” The Lincoln Library Press, Inc. (800) 516-2656 toll free 812 Huron Road E, Suite 401 (216) 781-9559 fax Cleveland, OH 44115-1172 www.TheLincolnLibrary.com Citation Gall, Timothy, ed. “Roosevelt, Franklin D.” The Lincoln Library of Shapers of Society., vol. 6, Cleveland, OH: Lincoln Library Press, Inc., 2008, 82–99. © 2008 by Lincoln Library Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical—including photocopying, recording, Web distribution, or by any information system—without permission in writing from the publisher.
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) was born on January
30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York. Roosevelt, known as FDR,
became the 32nd president of the United States. He was elected
president four times, the only president to be elected for more
than two terms. Roosevelt took office as president in 1933,
during the Great Depression. He instituted a series of economic
and social reforms known collectively as the New Deal. Many of
these regulations still exist today. In 1941, Roosevelt met with
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
to sign the Atlantic Charter. The Atlantic
Charter essentially set the framework for
the relationship between the Allied Forces
as they battled the Germans in World
War II. On April 12, 1945, just a month
before Germany surrendered to the war in
Europe, FDR died suddenly. He was still
holding office. He was succeeded by the
vice president, Harry S. Truman.
of land along the Hudson River. Sara was the daughter of
During the railroad boom of Warren Delano. Delano’s wealth
the nineteenth century James far exceeded that of the Roosevelts.
Roosevelt became a successful Warren Delano and his partners
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s father
railroad executive. In 1866 he owned clipper ships that trans-
was named James Roosevelt. His
ported, among other things,
ancestors came to America from purchased the Springwood estate
opium from India to China. The
Holland in 1644 and settled in the near the town of Hyde Park, New
opium trade with China was first
Dutch colony of New Amsterdam York. Four years after the death of established by the British. China
on the island of Manhattan. his first wife he attended a college
In 1665 New Amsterdam was graduation party for his cousin Roosevelt campaigning in 1920.
renamed New York City. Theodore Roosevelt (a future presi- Roosevelt was the Democratic
The Roosevelts prospered. dent of the United States). There candidate for the vice presidency,
After the Revolutionary War, he met a distant relative named running with Governor James M.
they acquired thousands of acres Sara Delano. Cox of Ohio: they lost.
8283
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
was exporting tea and silk, but not to give all her own attention to
importing anything from England. Franklin. She didn’t trust anyone
Consequently, British ships would else to care for him. She dressed
sail to England packed with goods, him in dresses and kept his
but would return to China empty. hair in long loose curls until he
The situation was also causing a was almost six years old. Many
severe trade imbalance. To solve mothers at this time were inspired
the problem, the British bribed to dress their sons this way by
Chinese officials into allowing them Little Lord Fauntleroy, a book by
to import opium (which had been Frances Hodgson Burnett.
banned by the Chinese emperor)
Franklin was protected and
into China.
privileged. When he was just four
In the 1830s American business- years old, he began to ride his pony,
men believed that anything was Debby. Each morning Franklin and
fair in global commerce, so they his father would ride out together
joined in on the trade. Although to greet the people who worked for
he could not justify the opium them on their Springwood estate.
trade on moral grounds, as a In the afternoon, Franklin’s mother
merchant Delano considered it Roosevelt with his mother, Sara. enjoyed reading aloud to Franklin,
“fair, honorable and legitimate.” but sometimes he found it hard to
Unfortunately, opium addiction Two years later, on January 30, sit still.
became an epidemic in China. 1882, she gave birth to Franklin
In addition, the Chinese emperor Delano Roosevelt. The child was Roosevelt riding his pony,
resented having to use silver to born into a position of wealth, Debby.
pay for the drug. This sparked privilege, and luxury, but would
an “Opium War” between Britain evolve into a man known for his
and China. Although Britain won compassion for the downtrodden.
the war, public opinion eventually
turned against the opium traders. What Shapes a Person’s
But not before Warren Delano Character?
made a fortune.
Franklin’s birth was difficult and
When Sara met James, he was Sara nearly died. Perhaps that is
fifty-six years old and she was only why Sara was determined to stay
twenty-six. Despite the difference very close to her only son. Wealthy
in their ages, they fell in love and families like the Roosevelts hired
married in 1880. Sara moved to his nurses and nannies to take care
Springwood estate in Hyde Park. of their children, but Sara wanted
84January 30. Born at Hyde Park, New York. Is a fifth
cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. president.
1882 Comes from a wealthy family.
Spanish American War
1904 Roosevelt at 12 years old posing with his father.
Graduates from Harvard University.
1910 Is elected to the New York state senate.
Roosevelt with a camera. 1913 Is appointed assistant secretary of the navy. In the following years,
World War I
supports the League of Nations, extension of the vote to women,
and civil service reform.
Franklin was taught at home by
his mother and a governess. When
he was twelve years old, it was
time for him to be enrolled at the Suffers an attack of polio which leaves his right leg
1921 partially paralyzed.
Groton School, an exclusive board-
ing school in Massachusetts. His Elected governor of New York.
parents weren’t ready for him to
Great Depression
go away to school, so they decided Elected president. Takes office
1932 during the Great Depression.
to keep Franklin at home for two Secures powers to increase
more years. When he reached employment and raise wages.
1932 Proposes social security legislation.
fourteen, his parents delivered
Serves four terms.
him to Groton. Sara recorded in
her diary that Franklin was “dry-
eyed and resolute.” He had learned Prepares nation for WWII. Directs war effort after
well to keep his emotions under 1940 bombing of Pearl Harbor.
World War II
control. How would he get along
in a world filled with young men
his own age? April 12. Dies of a cerebral hemorrhage and is succeeded
1945 by Vice President Harry S. Truman.
At Springwood, Franklin had
learned how to please adults. He
also learned to keep his feelings
to himself. In 1890, when James
Roosevelt had a heart attack, Sara Milestones in the Life of Franklin D. Roosevelt
85Roosevelt, Franklin D.
instructed Franklin never to speak football, was valued among all
of it to others. Franklin and Sara other activities, and Franklin’s
kept this their secret. Franklin was slight build was better suited to
learning that the ability to be stoic individual sports such as golf. The
in the face of adversity was part of headmaster, Endicott Peabody,
being a Roosevelt. noted that Franklin was “athleti-
cally rather too slight for success.”
At Groton, he capitalized on his
ability to please adults. He set his Franklin’s years at Groton gave
sights on winning the Punctuality him an appreciation for outsiders,
Prize—vowing not to be late for outcasts, and underdogs, having
class even once. This was a goal experience their isolation himself.
he knew he could achieve. But
punctuality did not win him any On to Harvard
friends. He felt isolated, having Next he entered Harvard, where
arrived two years after most of the he was more successful socially.
others. Franklin had little experi- He devoted himself to work on
ence winning the confidence of the Crimson, Harvard’s student
his peers. He didn’t know how to newspaper. While he was there,
make friends. Athletics, especially his father died, leaving his
devoted mother to monitor
Roosevelt, center, with his and manage Franklin’s every
Groton classmates. decision. Franklin began to
rebel. In 1904, Franklin boldly
informed his mother that he
would travel to Europe with a
friend and without her. It was the
first time he had traveled without
his mother. The next year Franklin
stunned his mother again. He The couple’s first of six children,
announced that he planned to a daughter they named Anna
marry his cousin, Eleanor. In 1905, Eleanor, was born in the spring
the young couple married. Twenty- of 1906. The next year, 1907,
year-old Eleanor, whose father Franklin graduated from Columbia
had died, was given in marriage Law School and joined a law firm
by her uncle, President Theodore in New York City. Before long, he
Roosevelt. (Theodore Roosevelt was daydreaming about entering
was also Franklin’s distant cousin.) politics.
86Roosevelt at Hyde Park, New
York, in 1910, the year he was
elected to the New York state
senate. He was twenty-eight
years old.
A Career in Public Service blood clot in the leg. But doctors in
Boston, hearing of the symptoms,
Franklin Roosevelt, running as a
suspected infantile paralysis or
Democrat, was elected to the New
poliomyelitis, commonly known as
York state senate in 1910. Since
polio. See also Salk, Jonas.
most of his friends and relatives
were Republicans, Franklin’s choice At first Roosevelt was discour-
of party was boldly independent. aged. His political life would be over
Franklin supported Democrat if he didn’t regain his strength. But
Woodrow Wilson for the presi- he had always moved ahead in life,
dency. In 1913, Wilson appointed and this time would be no differ-
Roosevelt assistant secretary of the ent. Before long he presented a
navy. Franklin had been raised to determined and optimistic attitude.
be in charge, and this was the only He kept the details of his illness
time in his political career when quiet, avoiding photographers, and
he was a subordinate. In the years staying out of public life for a while.
Roosevelt (right) campaigning
that followed, Roosevelt supported He devoted himself to exercise in
with Cox in Dayton, Ohio.
the League of Nations, extension
of the vote to women, and civil service reform. In 1920, Roosevelt Roosevelt in Florida in 1922,
was the Democratic candidate one year after being afflicted
Roosevelt in 1911 at his position for the vice presidency, running with polio.
in the New York senate. with Governor James M. Cox of
Ohio. Their ticket was defeated by
Republicans Warren G. Harding
(president) and Calvin Coolidge
(vice president).
Polio Strikes
One day in August 1921, Roosevelt
woke up at the family compound at
Campobello. He felt terrible pain in
his back and weakness in his legs.
He registered a high fever, so he
sent his children on a camping trip
without him. The first doctor who
saw him diagnosed the problem
as a cold; the second diagnosed a
87Roosevelt, Franklin D.
an attempt to reverse the paralysis
of his legs.
The “Jazz Age”
As Roosevelt struggled with his
disability the American people
were having a ball. Fresh from the
success of World War I, the 1920s
ushered in the “Jazz Age.” It was
a time of Prohibition (when drink-
ing alcohol was illegal), speakeas-
ies, wild fads, and technological
advances.
The American people held a
universal belief that “prosperity
is here to stay.” Radio grew to “Lucky Lindy” Lindbergh made his Above, women join men at the
maturity and automobiles, led by history-making airplane flight from bar to drink illegal liquor in a
Henry Ford’s Model T, replaced New York to Paris in 33 hours, speakeasy. Below, two women
the horse and buggy. Charles A. 29½ minutes (May 20, 1927), demonstrate the dance craze,
becoming the nation’s darling. the Charleston, in front of the
Charles Lindbergh and his plane, Talking pictures—“talkies”—were nation’s Capitol.
The Spirit of St. Louis. ushered in by Al Jolson starring in
The Jazz Singer in 1927. Electric
stoves and refrigerators appeared
in the nation’s kitchens for the
first time, and the treadle sewing
machine was replaced by a snappy
electric model. The hamburger and
the milk shake were new dishes on
the national scene.
The era was known as the
Roaring Twenties. Women’s
skirts were short and their hair
was bobbed. Women had never
before been seen in the nation’s
saloons, but now they were
going to speakeasies owned by
88Franklin D. Roosevelt at Fort
Ontario, New York, on July 22,
1929.
doubled and the market only went
higher. It was as if the good times
would never end.
Back in the Game
By 1928 the economy was
booming and Roosevelt was ready
to reenter politics. Although he
was unsuccessful at restoring his
legs to normal strength, he was
determined not to let his disability
stand in his way. He became the
Democratic candidate for governor
of New York. He won the election
by a slim margin of 25,000 votes
and took office in January of 1929.
gangsters, dancing the Charleston Stock Exchange. Money rolled into He was now governor of the Empire
to jazz bands, and drinking illegal the market and stock prices soared. State, home to New York City and
liquor right along with the men. Big business got bigger. Speculators Wall Street. The stock market was
On Sundays, crowds flocked to used other people’s money to lever- strong, the people were happy,
local airfields to watch barnstorm- age investments. Others bought and the nation was prosperous.
ing displays by World War I pilots stocks on margin, sure the market What could go wrong?
who put their airships through could only go up.
grueling “aerobatics.” Midget golf
Stock market trading became
courses sprang up on vacant city
America’s favorite pastime. The
lots. College youths drove fast little
common belief was that stocks
cars known as “bugs,” and wore
were a sure thing. Even cabbies
raccoon coats and waved college
and short order cooks traded stock
pennants. For the first time, men
tips. People mortgaged their homes
and women appeared on beaches
and put the money into the market.
in swimsuits revealing part of their
Millionaires were created overnight.
thighs; and what’s more, the tops
The general atmosphere of high
were sleeveless!
living led to unprecedented install-
Underlying the madness was a ment buying. Industrial production
stock market gone wild. The epicen-
ter of it all was New York City’s Wall The New York Stock Exchange
Street, the home of the New York fueled the Roaring Twenties.
89THE RISE AND FALL
350 of the
STOCK MARKET
(1920–1940)
300 On October 29, 1929 the
market lost 40 percent of its
value. The decline continued
250 for more than two years.
200
150
100
50
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
Year
Roosevelt began his first term as 1933 over a quarter of the nation’s
governor with sweeping reforms. workers were unemployed.
He tackled official corruption and
reformed the state’s prison system. As the country sank deeper
Then, ten months into his term, on into depression Herbert Hoover,
Thursday, October 24, 1929, the the president of the United
bubble burst. States, did nothing. In Harlan
County, Kentucky, miners’ families
That morning people began ate dandelions and mountain
selling their stocks. By lunch panic blackberries to appease hunger.
had set in. The big bankers on Wall Mothers heated drafty cabins by
Street tried to calm the market, and burning meager furnishings to
things settled down for a few days. keep children warm. Families who
Then on Monday, October 29, had lost savings, insurance, cars,
the market came crashing down. and finally homes, built colonies
Everyone was selling and no one of hovels in city parks and on the
was buying. outskirts from tar paper, old sheet
metal, and packing crates. These
Overnight the market lost 40 makeshift neighborhoods became
percent of its value. Investors were known as “Hoovervilles.”
ruined. Some jumped out of their President Herbert Hoover sat by
office windows. Businesses closed. and did nothing as the country Despite the crisis, Hoover
Banks failed and people lost their sank deep into depression. He believed the economy would right
life savings. Farmers defaulted on believed that the economy would itself. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
loans. Millions lost their homes. By eventually fix itself. thought otherwise.
90Roosevelt decided to make a run Roosevelt told the people, “The
for the presidency. By 1932 the only thing we have to fear is fear
American people hated Herbert itself.” To calm the nation he intro-
Hoover. In his campaign, Roosevelt duced the custom of addressing
promised a “New Deal.” He won the nation directly via radio—his
by an overwhelming margin of famous “fireside chats.” These radio
472 electoral votes to 59. addresses made all Americans more
aware of what was going on in the
The New Deal nation’s capital. They also served to
Roosevelt took office at a time endear the president to the people.
when nearly four years of economic
The first 100 days of Roosevelt’s
depression had resulted in a nation-
administration were marked by
wide bank panic. Banks had
action. With boldness, he called
closed in thirty-eight states.
a special session of Congress.
Across the country there were
Congress gave the president
more than 13 million jobless
special power to raise price levels,
workers. In his inaugural address
People gather in front of a These men stand in line at a People who had lost everything,
bank that had shut its doors, soup kitchen waiting for a free built shacks on vacant land.
wondering what would happen meal. At one point a quarter of These neighborhoods became
to their money. the workforce was unemployed. known as “Hoovervilles.”
91“…what started as a European war has developed…into a world war for
world domination…unless the advance of Hitlerism is forcibly checked
now, the Western Hemisphere will be within range of the Nazi weapons
of destruction.”
—FDR, Fireside Chat, May 27, 1941
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
cut agriculture surpluses, increase was reelected by an electoral count German economy. The German
employment, and raise wages. He of 523 to 8. people looked for a strong leader
regulated the securities markets who would restore their nation to a
The U.S. Supreme Court,
and protected collective bargaining position of strength and prosperity.
however, thought some of
rights. He also introduced social They found that person in Adolf
Roosevelt’s programs had gone
security legislation. The social Hitler. Hitler inspired the German
too far. The Court declared some
security laws provided unemploy- people and rebuilt the industrial
of the New Deal measures uncon-
ment compensation, old-age strength of the German nation.
stitutional. But Roosevelt was
pensions, and aid for dependent However, Hitler had a dark side.
determined to get his way. In 1937
children and the blind. He engulfed Europe in war and in
he sought authority to enlarge the
doing so engaged in some of the
membership of the Court from
The New Deal changed every worst atrocities in recorded history,
nine to as many as fifteen justices.
aspect of economic life in the including the murder of nearly six
He wanted to “pack” the court with
United States. Bankruptcies were million European Jews.
a majority of justices that agreed
curtailed. Aid was made available
with his policies. To his dismay, the In 1940, as Hitler waged war
to homeowners, farmers, and
attempt to enlarge the Court failed in Europe, Roosevelt made a third
businesses. Legislation was also
by a narrow majority in Congress. bid for the White House. By now
passed designed to prevent the
Germany had conquered France
recurrence of economic crises. The New Deal restored a
and had begun an air war against
Foreign trade was encouraged, measure of confidence to the
Great Britain. Roosevelt believed
taxation policies were put in place American people. It also allevi-
that the fate of the free world
to prevent concentration of wealth, ated the worst suffering. However,
depended on a British victory. He
and federal works programs were it did not end the Depression. A
argued that a change in administra-
created to put people back to decade after the crash, millions
tion would be highly dangerous.
work. of Americans were still hungry,
homeless, and without jobs. It Roosevelt’s bid for a third term
Reelection would take an event of epic broke with long-established tradi-
proportions to unleash the tion. From the beginning of the
The Republican Party opposed industrial might of the United American republic the people
these changes. They were opposed States. were wary of aristocracy and
to the general trend toward the the concentration of political
centralization of national power. A Precedent-Breaking power in a single person. George
In the 1936 presidential election Third Term Washington voluntarily declined to
Alfred M. Landon, the Republican The Depression in America was run for a third term and, in doing
candidate, pledged the repeal of not an isolated event. Its economic so, set a precedent. This precedent
many of the new laws. But the impact was being felt throughout was affirmed by Thomas Jefferson
people were for Roosevelt. When the world. In Germany rampant who wrote “if some termination to
the votes were tallied, Roosevelt inflation had destroyed the the services of the chief Magistrate
92Adolf Hitler poses in front of
the Eiffel Tower in Paris after
Germany’s defeat and occupation
of France. In the photograph
below, he accepts the ovation
of the German Reichstag after
announcing the “peaceful”
acquisition of Austria.
be not fixed by the Constitution,
or supplied by practice, his office,
nominally four years, will in fact
become for life.”
Roosevelt, for some reason,
believed he was the exception to
the rule and the people believed
him. He defeated Wendell L. Wilkie
by an electoral vote of 449 to 82
and began his precedent-breaking
third term on January 20, 1941.
Preparing for War
Roosevelt saw clearly the threat
Nazi Germany posed to world
freedom. But the American people
were not ready for war. In his
campaign against Wilkie he had
promised, “No American troops
will go overseas.” That pledge,
no doubt, helped him get elected.
Privately, Roosevelt saw an inevita-
ble showdown with Germany and
its allies Japan and Italy, known
collectively as the Axis powers.
Despite the American people’s
opposition to getting involved,
Roosevelt took concrete steps to
prepare the United States for war.
A military service draft law was
passed. Appropriations of huge
sums were made to double the navy
and to create the world’s largest
air force. Congress voted him the
power to lease or give tools of war
to other nations in order to make
93the United States the “arsenal of Churchill met on board a battleship of the aggressor nations. At an
democracies.” on the Atlantic Ocean. Together, Inter-Allied Conference in London
they issued a statement called the on September 24, twelve nations
Other defense measures
Atlantic Charter. It was a pledge pledged adherence to the charter.
included the registration of aliens,
of postwar aims, despite the fact The term “United Nations” was
the closing of German and Italian
that the United States had not yet applied to the signers of the
consulates to stop espionage and
become involved in the war. See document.
propaganda, and the freezing of
also Churchill, Winston.
the assets in the United States of
A Day of Infamy
Axis and Axis-occupied countries.
The Atlantic Charter contained
Any hope that America would
When Germany invaded eight points. The United States be spared entry into the war was
Denmark, the United States and Britain sought no aggran- shattered on December 7, 1941.
assumed control of Greenland dizement, territorial or otherwise. On that day the air forces of
(Greenland is a part of Denmark). They wanted no changes in territo- Japan attacked the American
The United States also sent forces ries except with the consent of the naval fleet stationed at Pearl
to Iceland. The “neutrality patrol” of peoples concerned. They pledged Harbor in Hawaii. The attack
the American coasts was extended. themselves to self-determination fused the United States into an
German submarines were sinking and the restoration of self-govern- unprecedented unity of purpose.
American supply ships headed for ment to conquered lands. They America declared war on Japan.
England and American lives were endorsed the access of all, victors Germany then declared war on the
being lost. Still, the nation resisted and vanquished, to free trade and United States.
the call to war. to the raw materials of the world.
They sought full collaboration of Under Roosevelt’s leadership
The Atlantic Charter all nations in the economic field. the country prepared for war. The
The free nations of the world were They upheld the ideals of freedom draft age for military service was
alarmed at the triumph of Nazi from fear and want. They guaran- extended. Eleven million men were
Germany in Europe. In August teed the peacetime freedom of the drawn into the American armed
1941 President Roosevelt and seas. And Britain and the United forces. The navy’s strength was
British Prime Minister Winston States called for the disarmament tripled.
94“The task that we Americans now face will test
us to the uttermost. Never before have we been
called upon for such a prodigious effort. Never
before have we had so little time in which to do
so much.”
—FDR, Fireside Chat, February 23, 1942
Federal agencies already exist- number of government employees High school girls learned to
ing were enlarged and new ones increased from one million in 1939 shoot rifles at school.
created. These included the War to some three million by 1945.
Production Board, organizing
Roosevelt believed that the
production; the War Manpower United States could out-produce
Commission; and the War Labor the Axis powers. American
Board, regulating labor and wages. industry rose to the challenge.
To prevent inflation, the Office of Industrial production increased
Price Administration tried to hold phenomenally and ships, tanks,
down prices and administered a arms, and supplies flooded the
rationing system. battlefields. Increased industrial
Congress created so many new production not only supported
the war effort, it finally brought Young boys gathered scrap metal
agencies that duplication of efforts
the country out of the Great to be turned into armaments.
was inevitable. In response, the
Depression.
Office of War Mobilization and
Rehabilitation was created in 1944 The war caused profound
to coordinate federal activities. The changes in American society.
Everyone got involved. As the
In this picture, a store owner men left for war, women took
advertises his support of price their places in the factories and on
controls. The program was not the farms. Children scoured their
popular with everyone. neighborhoods for scrap metal to
support the war effort. Young girls
learned to shoot rifles in case of Women joined the workforce
invasion. People planted “victory doing jobs traditionally done
gardens” to supplement the food by men. And (below) everyone
supply. Everyone contributed and planted victory gardens.
many made the ultimate sacrifice
on the battlefields of Europe,
Africa, and the Pacific Islands.
Winning the War
After military successes in North
Africa and Italy, Roosevelt and
Churchill began amassing men and
supplies for a massive invasion of
Europe. On the island of England
95Roosevelt, Franklin D.
the Allies gathered the largest lost, but the invasion
invasion force in history. Over was successful. A beach-
300,000 troops, 54,000 vehicles, head had been
and 100,000 tons of supplies established in
were poised to cross the English France. Men
Channel. Their mission was to land and materi-
on the beaches of France and crush als began to
the Nazi armies. It was the decisive flood into
act of the war. American General Europe. In
Dwight D. Eisenhower was chosen the eyes of
to command the operation. See the Allied
also Eisenhower, Dwight D. generals it was the
beginning of the end of for the fourth time on January 20,
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the
Hitler and the Nazis. 1945. Soon after, on February
invasion began. The fighting was
4–11, 1945, a summit conference
fierce and many Allied lives were Roosevelt and Churchill
was held at Yalta, in the Crimea
met in a second conference
General Dwight D. Eisenhower (modern-day Ukraine). There, the
September 11–16, 1944, in
talks to American soldiers prior Russian leader, Joseph Stalin, met
Quebec, Canada. They dealt
to the D-Day invasion. the two Western heads of state,
with questions relating to the
President Roosevelt and Prime
war in the Pacific. Then the
Minister Churchill.
International Security Conference,
at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington,
At this conference, plans for the
D.C., formulated a plan for a world
defeat, occupation, and control of
organization to preserve peace.
Germany were settled. Preliminary
The United States, Britain, Russia,
plans were also made for an
and later Nationalist China partici-
assembly of the United Nations in
pated in the International Security
San Francisco for April 25, 1945.
Conference.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt did
not live to see his hopes for world
A Final Term peace and unity fulfilled. He died
Roosevelt was admired for all he on April 12, 1945, of a cerebral
accomplished. He was reelected hemorrhage. In remembering
for a fourth term as president in Roosevelt, Churchill said, “In war
1944, defeating the Republican he had raised the strength, might
candidate, Thomas E. Dewey. and glory of the great Republic to a
The electoral vote was 432 to 99. height never attained by any nation
Roosevelt took the oath of office in history.”
96Roosevelt (center) at the an indefinable sense of fear that the object of the most admiration
Yalta conference sitting for his health and his strength were and the most hatred of any leader
a photograph with Winston on the ebb.” in the political history of the United
Churchill (left) and Joseph Stalin. States.
Roosevelt was succeeded by the
vice president, Harry S. Truman. Roosevelt’s enemies said he
In recalling the historic meeting lacked depth of thought. They
But without regard to changes in
at Yalta, Churchill would later accused him of deceit and tyranny.
Washington, the war moved on
reflect, “But at Yalta I noticed that to a victorious conclusion for the Some argue that he acted like
the President was ailing. His capti- Allies. Germany surrendered in royalty and purposely allowed the
vating smile, his gay and charming May. Then on August 14, 1945, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
manner, had not deserted him but President Truman announced the in order to bring America into the
his face had a transparency, an air war.
unconditional surrender of Japan.
of purification, and often there was Roosevelt’s defenders saw
a faraway look in his eyes. When I A Lasting Legacy him as the champion of labor,
took my leave of him in Alexandria Roosevelt was a controversial of farmers, and of the “common
harbour I must confess that I had figure. He has been described as man.” He was regarded by many
97Roosevelt, Franklin D. Franklin D. Roosevelt
as the man who led his country out in peace and war. Roosevelt and in such a thorough
of the Depression, stabilized the challenged the American people to fashion that no nation will be
economy, and made the United overcome the economic hardship in a position to commit an act
States the first nation in the world of the Depression. of physical aggression against
and the savior of democracy. any neighbor—anywhere in
Four Freedoms the world.
On all sides, Roosevelt was
recognized as an able political In 1941, Roosevelt gave a speech
that has come to be called the Four That is no vision of a distant
strategist. He was unsurpassed in
Freedoms Speech. Roosevelt said: millennium. It is a definite
gaining the support of the voters.
basis for a kind of world
Roosevelt was a master of public
In the future days which we attainable in our own time
relations. He created a corps of
seek to make secure, we look and generation.
officials and administrators that
forward to a world founded
practiced effective government
upon four essential human Whatever one may think of
freedoms. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, none
can question the lasting impact he
The first is freedom of speech has had on the American republic.
and expression—everywhere Because of him the office of the
in the world. president increased in power and
influence and the national govern-
The second is freedom of
ment took center stage in the lives
every person to worship God
of the average person. It is a legacy
in his own way—everywhere
that today affects every man,
in the world.
women, and child in the United
The third is freedom from States of America.
want, which, translated into
world terms, means economic After one of the largest funer-
understandings which will als in American history, Roosevelt
secure to every nation a was buried on the grounds of his
healthy peacetime life for its beloved Springwood estate in
inhabitants—everywhere in Hyde Park, New York.
the world.
Eleanor Roosevelt talks with On March 21, 1947, the U.S.
General Eisenhower at Hyde The fourth is freedom from Congress passed an amendment
Park on July 10, 1949, three fear, which, translated to the Constitution limiting future
months after the death of her into world terms, means presidents to two terms in office.
husband and two months after a worldwide reduction of It was ratified by the states on
Germany’s surrender. armaments to such a point February 27, 1951.
98Roosevelt’s wife, Eleanor,
was affectionately called the
First Lady of the World. In
1921, when her husband
was permanently disabled by
poliomyelitis, Eleanor became
active in social work and helped
to revive her husband’s interest
in his political career. As the
First Lady, she held her own
press conferences for women
journalists. During World War II,
as director of the Office of
Civilian Defense, she made
numerous visits to American
forces overseas. In 1945, after
Further Study Ward, Geoffrey C. Before the Trumpet:
Young Franklins Roosevelt 1882–1905. her husband’s death, she was
BOOKS New York: Harper & Row, 1985. appointed the U.S. delegate
Jenkins, Roy. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. ———. A First-Class Temperament: The to the United Nations and
New York: Times Books, 2003. (YA/M) Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt. New
Leuchtenburg, William E. The FDR Years:
the following year became
York: Harper & Row, 1989,
On Roosevelt & His Legacy. New York: chairman of the Commission
WEB SITES
Columbia University Press, 1995. (M) on Human Rights. There she
Polenburg, Richard D. The Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
and Museum. www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/ was instrumental in drafting a
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945: A
Brief History with Documents. New (accessed December 2007). Declaration of Human Rights,
York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2000. The White House: The Presidents of which proposed universal
(M) the United States. “Franklin Delano
personal freedoms. She is shown
Morris, Jeffrey. The FDR Way. Roosevelt.” www.whitehouse.gov/
Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1996. history/presidents (accessed December here at the United Nations in
(Juvenile/YA) 2007). Paris in November 1951.
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