Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd President of the United States
(March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945)
Full Name: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Nickname: "FDR"
Born: January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York
Died: April 12, 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia
Father: James Roosevelt (1828-1900)
Mother: Sara Delano Roosevelt (1854-1941)
Married: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), on March 17, 1905
Children: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1906-75); James Roosevelt (1907-91); Elliott Roosevelt (1910-90); Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. (1914-88); John Aspinwall Roosevelt (1916-81)
Religion: Episcopalian
Education: Graduated from Harvard College (1903); Attended Columbia Law School
Occupation: Public official, lawyer
Political Party: Democrat
Other Government Positions:
- Member of New York State Legislature, 1911-13
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1913-20
- Governor of New York, 1929-33
Presidential Salary: $75,000/year
Presidential Election Results:
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt 22,809,638 472
(map) Herbert Hoover 15,758,901 59
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt 27,752,869 523
(map) Alfred M. Landon 16,674,665 8
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt 27,307,819 449
(map) Wendell L. Wilkie 22,321,018 82
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt 25,606,585 432
(map) Thomas E. Dewey 22,014,745 99
Vice President: John N. Garner (1933-41); Henry A. Wallace (1941-45); Harry S. Truman (1945)
Cabinet:
- Secretary of State
- Cordell Hull (1933-44)
Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. (1944-45) - Secretary of the Treasury
- William H. Woodin (1933-34)
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. (1934-45) - Secretary of War
- George H. Dern (1933-36)
Harry H. Woodring (1937-40)
Henry L. Stimson (1940-45) - Attorney General
- Homer S. Cummings (1933-39)
Frank Murphy (1939-40)
Robert H. Jackson (1940-41)
Francis B. Biddle (1941-45) - Postmaster General
- James A. Farley (1933-40)
Frank C. Walker (1940-45) - Secretary of the Navy
- Claude A. Swanson (1933-39)
Charles Edison (1940)
Frank Knox (1940-44)
James V. Forrestal (1944-45) - Secretary of the Interior
- Harold L. Ickes (1933-45)
- Secretary of Agriculture
- Henry A. Wallace (1933-40)
Claude R. Wickard (1940-45) - Secretary of Commerce
- Daniel C. Roper (1933-38)
Harry L. Hopkins (1939-40)
Jesse H. Jones (1940-45)
Henry A. Wallace (1945) - Secretary of Labor
- Frances Perkins (1933-1945)
Supreme Court Justices:
Hugo Black (1937-1971)
Stanley Forman Reed (1938-1957)
Felix Frankfurter (1939-1962)
William O. Douglas (1939-1975)
Frank Murphy (1940-1949)
Harlan F. Stone, Chief (1941-1946)
James F. Byrnes (1941-1942)
Robert H. Jackson (1941-1954)
Wiley Blount Rutledge (1943-1949)
Notable Events:
- 1933
- During Roosevelt's first 100 days Congress passed many of his New Deal initiatives.
- On March 12, Roosevelt delivered the first of his fireside chats.
- 1934
- In May a significant wind storm blew top soil from Oklahoma and Texas to the East Coast, beginning the Dust Bowl.
- 1935
- On August 14, Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act guaranteeing pensions to all Americans over the age of 65.
- On August 31, Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act which prohibits the shipment of weapons to countries during a state of war.
- 1937
- Roosevelt, frustrated by Supreme Court decisions against some of his New Deal programs, attempts to add more justices he would nominate.
- 1939
- On September 1, Germany invaded Poland starting World War II.
- 1941
- On March 11, Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act empowering the President to lend arms to Britain and the Allies without declaring war on the Axis powers.
- On August 14, Roosevelt and British Prime Mister Winston Churchill announced the Atlantic Charter, the ideal goals for the post-war world. The Charter was later confirmed by the rest of the Allied countries.
- On December 7, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii attacked by Japan. War declared on Japan the next day. On December 11, war declared on Germany and Italy.
- 1942
- On February 19, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, paving the way the way for 110,000 Japanese-Americans to be incarcerated in internment camps.
- 1943
- On September 8, Italy unconditionally surrendered.
- On November 28, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Joseph Stalin met at the Tehran Conference.
- 1944
- On June 6, referred to as D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy began.
- On August 25, Allied forces liberated Paris.
- 1945
- On February 4, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at the Yalta Conference.
- On April 12, Roosevelt died from a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
Internet Biographies:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt -- from The Presidents of the United States of America
- Compiled by the White House.
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- from The American President
- From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt -- from Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Facts about Roosevelt and his presidency.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt -- from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum
- Includes a biography as well as additional stories and media.
Videos:
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Franklin D. Roosevelt - U.S. President | Mini Bio | BIOFDR and Al Capone’s Car - a Presidential Story Ep. 24Pres. Roosevelt Married a Roosevelt Cousin - a Presidential Story Ep. 38FDR’s Wheelchair Diplomacy with the Saudi King - a Presidential Story Ep. 57America's Presidents - Franklin D. Roosevelt1 / 4
Historical Documents:
- First Inaugural Address (1933)
- Second Inaugural Address (1937)
- Third Inaugural Address (1941)
- Fourth Inaugural Address (1945)
- Fireside Chats (1933-44)
- Quarantine the Aggressor (1937)
- The Arsenal of Democracy (1940)
- Four Freedom's Speech (1941)
- War Message (1941)
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Digital Collections - from the Library of Congress
Other Internet Resources:
- The Best Biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt
- In 2012, Stephen Floyd started his search for the best biography of each president. He usually has reviews of multiple biographies for each president.
- FDR Cartoons
- "This site contains political cartoons from the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This preservation project is a cooperative venture of the AP Computer Math class and the AP United States History classes at Niskayuna High School."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum
- Tourist information along with history, genealogy, and documents of the former president. Located in Hyde Park, New York.
- Frankilin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
- Located in Washington, D.C., This site had tourist information, insight into the design of the memorial, and the text of the inscriptions throughout the memorial.
- Health and Medical History of Franklin Roosevelt
- Medical background of each president with references. Compiled by John Sotos, MD.
- Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
- Tourist information on Roosevelt's Hyde Park, New York birthplace and boyhood home. Includes information about FDR and links to other Roosevelt tourist spots.
- Roosevelt Campobello International Park
- Located in New Brunswick, Canada, this international park is maintained equally by the U.S. and Canada. Roosevelt vacationed here often, fishing, hiking and sailing. Visitor information is available.
- Roosevelt's Little White House
- Located in Warm Springs, Georgia, this 1932 house was built near the springs Roosevelt hoped would help his polio. While posing for a portrait he suffered a stroke and died. The portrait is on display here.
- USS Potomac - The Presidential Yacht Potomac
- Tourist information on FDR's "Floating White House," which is now located in Oakland, California.
Points of Interest:
401 Little White House Rd, Warm Springs, GA 31830
459 NB-774, Welshpool, NB E5E 1A4, Canada
End of Clay St, Oakland, California
1850 West Basin Dr SW, Washington, DC 20242
4097 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, NY 12538
401 Little White House Rd, Warm Springs, GA 31830
459 NB-774, Welshpool, NB E5E 1A4, Canada
End of Clay St, Oakland, California
1850 West Basin Dr SW, Washington, DC 20242
4097 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park, NY 12538
Additional Facts:
- After ratification of the Twentieth Amendment, Roosevelt became the first president inaugurated on January 20th.
- Roosevelt was an avid stamp collector.
- Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor, was his fifth cousin once removed. Eleanor's uncle, Theodore Roosevelt, walked her down the aisle.
- Roosevelt appointed the first woman, Frances Perkins, to a cabinet position.
- Roosevelt held office for over twelve years, longer than any other president. Unless the 22nd amendment is repealed no one will serve longer.
- Roosevelt was the first president to fly in an airplane while in office.
- Roosevelt was the first president to appear on television when he made a speech at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
- Roosevelt was the first president to establish a presidential library.
- Roosevelt vetoed more legislation than any other president - 635. Nine of those were overridden.
- Roosevelt suffered from polio in 1921, losing the use of his legs.
Quotes:“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.”
“Yours is not the task of making your way in the world, but the task of remaking the world which you will find before you.”
“A good leader can’t get too far ahead of his followers.”
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.”
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
“I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.”
“Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. We will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God.”
“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
“The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.”
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.”
“Yours is not the task of making your way in the world, but the task of remaking the world which you will find before you.”
“A good leader can’t get too far ahead of his followers.”
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.”
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
“I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.”
“Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. We will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God.”
“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
“The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.”