Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born January 30, 1882. He was the only child. His parents were James Roosevelt and Sara Delano Roosevelt. He was raised very fortunate because his family had a lot of money. Franklin, at age fourteen, attended Groton School. For his undergraduate degree he attended Harvard University. At Harvard he was elected editor-in-chief of the college paper. Franklin looked up to his distant cousin, Teddy Roosevelt. He wanted to be in office just like Teddy was. He ran for his first office in 1910 for New York’s state Senator.
With in three years he was chosen Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a highly respected position. In August of 1921 Roosevelt was paralyzed in both legs due to a disease called polio. This meant that he had to stop swimming and sailing, two of his favorite hobbies. Because of his inability to do the things he loved, he spent more time focusing on his political ambitions. It also helped him become more aware of the problems the people were facing. In 1928, he was elected to the governorship in New York.
He was nominated for presidency in 1932. In his campaign he promised that the government would be responsible for the welfare of the people. With fifty-seven percent of the popular vote he was elected President. In his first term he called two emergency sessions, in which he created major acts and administrative bodies of the New Deal. Roosevelt started by solving the banking problems. He would shut down banks for four days at a time until they could be reopened again on a firmer basis.
He then passed the Emergency Banking Act, which gave federal assistance to banks. He also created the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, which paid young men to work on conservation projects under the Army’s supervision. He also created the AAA, Agricultural Adjustment act, too. The AAA subsidized farmers for limiting acreage and taxed processors of products to pay for subsidies, and many more. Roosevelt’s policies prevented the bottom from falling out of the American economy.
He also did his best to aid the Allies despite congress’ resistance. After the attack of Pearl Harbor, Franklin knew how to handle things. He set up a front that met a very high goals of production levels. He knew the only way the war could be won was by the country who had the most resources. He also realized that peace after war would only be guaranteed by the great powers of the world so he created the International Monetary Fund, the United States Nations, and he negotiated peace.
Although Roosevelt is often criticized by some of his decisions he made while in office, he made many great changes to the American society. If I had to recommend this book to anyone I would probably be honest and say don’t waste your time unless you are in to biographies. To me this was an extremely hard book to read just because it was so boring to me. On the other side I did learn a lot of things that I wouldn’t have know unless I read this book so it turned out for the better. All in all, Franklin D. Roosevelt left a significant mark on American history.
